Lane County’s first center for peer-supported recovery from substance use opened this week.
Restored Connections resides in an inviting old home on 12th Avenue in Eugene. Stephanie Cameron is the founder and Executive Director. She told KLCC the center was largely funded from Oregon’s Measure 110, the Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act, and it’s open to people at any stage of recovery. “We have people who need some strong clinical services around treatment and detox," she said. "We have people who are stabilized and maybe graduating treatment and moving onto the next journey in their story. And then we have some people who have been clean and sober for quite some time and they want to get back to their community.”
Cameron said the center is a zero-barrier facility, so people don’t have to be clean and sober to drop in. Right now, it employs two administrators and six peer counselors who have lived experience. The model allows people to get hope, advice and referrals from others who have been in similar situations.
In the future, Cameron hopes to add locations with more room for community building, such as spaces for painting classes, self-care groups, and games like foosball and pool.