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<p>After three years of planning, the first drug recovery support center in Luzerne County is set to open next month.</p><p>Called New Roots, the center will be located in a former painting business warehouse at 121 Water St. in Wilkes-Barre, next to the county prison.</p><p>Designed to prevent those who have stopped using drugs from relapsing, support centers provide a walk-in place to obtain guidance or interact with others who can relate to their struggles.</p><p>Rebuilding lives in recovery can be a socially isolating experience due to advice to avoid old acquaintances and haunts that may trigger drug use, officials have said.</p><p>&#8220;I believe individuals who are experiencing substance use disorder and their families need a safe place to support one another,&#8221; said Kristen Topolski, who founded the company that owns and operates the center &#8212; New Roots Inc. &#8212; with Sarah Helcoski.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re excited to take on this journey,&#8221; Topolski added.</p><p>Their company bought the building for $120,000 in December from Joseph Dotzel and J-H Smith Co., records show.</p><p><strong>Seeking funding</strong></p><p>New Roots is receiving $500,000 through the nonprofit Northeast Behavioral Health Care Consortium to purchase, staff and operate the center for the first two years, Topolski said. The company must develop fundraisers and other income streams to make the center self-sustaining after two years, she said.</p><p>Luzerne and the three other counties had teamed up to create the consortium more than a decade ago to jointly manage their mental health and drug treatment funding for low-income residents on Medical Assistance. The state agreed some of the savings they amassed through efficiencies could be used for new, in-demand services, such as a recovery center.</p><p>The consortium publicly sought proposals from entities to operate the facility in a high-population area to maximize access to potential clients, volunteers and community partners. As part of the funding, the center must track outcomes and complete financial reports.</p><p>Sidestepping flooring and other supplies for renovation work largely being completed by volunteers, Topolski said Tuesday the center is expected to open April 1, with a grand opening planned for early May.</p><p>While Topolski said she and Helcoski are foregoing compensation until finances allow, the center will have five paid staffers &#8212; three full-time recovery support specialists, a part-time community outreach worker and Program Coordinator Shannon Pieck, who has 11 years of experience in the social services field.</p><p>Recovery specialists must be state-certified and maintained sobriety for an extended period.</p><p>Serving as chief executive officer, Topolski has 20 years of human services experience. Helcoski, the center&#8217;s chief operating officer, has a master&#8217;s degree in criminal justice and completed peer specialist supervisor training.</p><p>At least two staffers will be present whenever the center is open, which will tentatively be from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends, Topolski said, stressing hours are flexible and will be based on the needs of those using the center.</p><p>The center will include a lounge area with a couch and television, a receptionist space with a coffee nook, a computer lab and classroom with self-help books and informational brochures, a kitchen with bistro tables and a King&#8217;s College-sponsored food pantry, she said.</p><p>A future phase will address a large open space in the back that may house a donated pool table and conference room.</p><p>Although some visitors may simply want to have a cup of coffee and talk, the center will provide informational programs, help completing resumes and job applications and connection to available social service organizations, she said.</p><p>Some inmates released from the neighboring prison may turn to the center as they start their recovery, she said. She also expects the center will attract many residents who have completed stays in residential treatment facilities but now need help adjusting in their day-to-day lives.</p><p>The center will welcome all &#8220;pathways to recovery,&#8221; including those participating in medication-assisted therapy programs, she said.</p><p>Pieck said center offerings can be added and deleted as needed.</p><p>&#8220;It comes from them,&#8221; he said, referring to center visitors. &#8220;We can see what services or support they want.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Widespread need</strong></p><p>When discussing the new center in public, Topolski said she has not yet encountered someone without a relative, friend or acquaintance battling substance use disorder.</p><p>The county had 169 overdose deaths in 2018, the fourth consecutive year for a new record high. The total deaths over the four-year period: 559.</p><p>Relapse for opioid addiction is an issue because the drug alters brain chemistry for up to five years after users get clean, officials have said.</p><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s just such a need,&#8221; Topolski said of her center. &#8220;When people hear New Roots, I want them to think of the positive and how it&#8217;s making a safer community for us and giving support to those who really need it.&#8221;</p><p>Information on the center is available at <a href="https://www.newrootspa.org/" target="_blank">www.newrootspa.org.</a></p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Kristen Topolski, at left, and Shannon Pieck discuss the New Roots drug recovery support center set to open next month in a former painting business warehouse at 121 Water St. in Wilkes-Barre, next to the county prison. Topolski is co-owner of the facility and Pieck is program coordinator. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_newroots.jpg</photo0><caption0>Kristen Topolski, at left, and Shannon Pieck discuss the New Roots drug recovery support center set to open next month in a former painting business warehouse at 121 Water St. in Wilkes-Barre, next to the county prison. Topolski is co-owner of the facility and Pieck is program coordinator. </caption0><photoCredit0>Times Leader photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jennifer Learn-Andes</p><p>jandes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Drug recovery support center opening in Wilkes-Barre