A recovery center for people as they journey out of drug addiction is in the works for the Columbia River Gorge, a rural region to the east of Portland along the Washington state border.

State officials have awarded $2 million in opioid settlement funds to Gorge Recovery Center, a nonprofit organization that serves Wasco, Hood River and Sherman counties, to start and operate the recovery center for three years. It will connect people to services and serve as a gathering place for activities, workshops and support groups. Oregon’s opioid settlement funding flows from national litigation against opioid manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies for their roles in putting addictive painkillers into the medicine cabinets of households across the U.S., spawning an opioid epidemic.

The funding comes as Oregon faces an epidemic of fentanyl addiction and lethal overdoses that has spilled into city streets from Portland to the rural, picturesque towns along the Columbia River.

The center will be the first of its kind in the Columbia River Gorge, and the organization anticipates that in its first year it will serve about 400 people. The state’s Opioid Settlement Prevention, Treatment & Recovery Board allocated the money in June as part of $13 million to help rural areas open up centers for people in recovery. Other locations include Curry, Douglas, Josephine and Klamath counties.

The center will not provide medical services but will point people towards those services for drug addiction. It will also host a variety of events – from support groups and personal finance workshops to group hikes.

Making connections and social activities are crucial for a successful long-term recovery, said Derek Greenwood, a hospital emergency department nurse and president of the nonprofit.

“We aim to be a holding place where the recovery community can come together and practice the activities and the strengths that they already do,” Greenwood said in an interview. “But they’re hampered by a lack of space. They’re hampered by the fact that it’s got to be in a church basement, and the space between meetings can be long. And if there’s somebody who’s new to recovery, well, what do they do for the rest of the day while they’re waiting for that 6:30 p.m. meeting to start up?”

Recovery centers do not replace one-on-one meetings with therapists, drug and alcohol counselors or other providers, Greenwood said. However, they provide a successful social network so people can connect to good role models and build new relationships and friendships, he said.

“You might consider it a recovery clubhouse, where people can find others who are walking a similar path,” he said.

The center will also welcome people considering recovery, and providers, who treat drug addiction, can introduce their services.

A personal story

For Greenwood, a recovery center was key to his recovery. When he was 24 years old, activities and friendships he made through a center helped him turn his life around and continue to stay sober while in California.

They went out dancing, had barbecues, went surfing and sat in coffee shops for hours, discussing their lives and growing close.

Without that support, he said, he might not be clean today, at 56, helping others stay away from drugs.

Greenwood said the center will be based in The Dalles, though organizers haven’t identified a building yet. The goal is to open up in January 2025, he said.

Timothy McGlothlin, president of The Dalles City Council, is helping to look for available buildings. Speaking personally, he said the center will be good not only for the people it serves but also for the city. The Dalles is often overlooked when state officials disburse funds.

“We just don’t get resources,” he said. “So when something comes along like this, it’s very important that we support the efforts.”

Providers also see benefits. Shannon O’Brien, a peer program supervisor at the nonprofit One Community Health, works with people who face addiction issues in the Columbia River Gorge.

Groups like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous can help people. But when those programs aren’t a good fit, there isn’t much else, and people in recovery need activities to stay the course, O’Brien said.