PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Mayor Cherelle Parker on Wednesday unveiled the first city-owned recovery housing for people coming out of drug treatment.
“This is a wellness village. This is about a community,” said the mayor, standing in front of a glass wall revealing a stunning view of the Delaware River.
The Riverview Wellness Center, she explained, is not a drug treatment center but a place where people can live and access services for up to a year after completing treatment, thus setting them up for success in staying drug-free.
“This is long-term care, treatment and housing. This is part of our public health and safety eco-system.”
Isabel McDevitt, the city's director of community wellness and recovery, led a tour of the freshly renovated facility, formerly a nursing home, that sits next to the city's prisons. It includes homey four-bed rooms, community space, industrial kitchens and a health clinic run by the Black Doctors Consortium.
“It is unique that you would have primary care on site at a recovery house, but that's what this is all about,” McDevitt said. “We are bringing services together to address all of the social determinants of health.”
The $100 million facility is key to Parker's plan to address the opioid epidemic and homelessness. While there are readily available treatment beds, recovery beds are in short supply, and many people end up relapsing because they have no place to go after treatment.
“Their alternative is becoming homeless again or moving into an environment that will not be conducive to their recovery.”
Riverview adds 330 recovery beds, increasing the supply by 66%.
Managing Director Adam Thiel said such an ambitious renovation was expected to take 18 to 24 months, but the Parker administration got it done in less than a year and plans to seek funding to add more units on the campus this year.
“While this is a lot, this is an historic investment,” he said. “We need more, and I will be forever grateful to be part of something people said was impossible—but it's not, because you're standing in it.”
Residents will be referred by treatment centers. The city is currently vetting candidates and expects to begin welcoming them within a few weeks.