FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY)

CONTACTS: Kevin Lewis, SWFAS, 332-6937
                       Karen Hawes, Lee County Human Services, 652-7930

WHAT: Grand Opening of Permanent Housing Center for Persons Recovering from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Disorders.

WHEN: 10 a.m., Thursday, August 5

WHERE: SWFAS Transitional Living Center, 2560-2580 Grand Ave. in central Fort Myers.

OTHER: Refreshments and tours of the home, two apartments and two duplex units also will be offered.

BACKGROUND:

Southwest Florida Addiction Services (SWFAS) is pleased to open its first long-term housing for persons recovering from substance abuse and mental health disorders at its Transitional Living Center in central Fort Myers.

The first phase of SWFAS' new permanent supportive housing will provide homes for seven individuals or families on Grand Avenue in central Fort Myers. Residents, who are homeless at time of admission, may remain in the housing as long as they live a drug-free lifestyle, obtain work, and pay monthly rent that is based on their income. Approximately 35 percent of the residents have a mental illness in addition to substance abuse issues.

"This has been identified as a critical need by Lee County leaders for years. With the closing of G. Pierce Wood Hospital and Charter Glade Behavioral Health Care Center several years ago, there has been no place for patients to go. For a growing community like Lee County, this truly has been an emergency situation," said H. Randall Bixler, SWFAS Adult Services Director.

The new permanent housing, consisting of a single family home, two apartments, and two duplex units, was acquired and renovated with $423,000 in grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Supportive Housing Program (SHP), as well as the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP), in partnership with the Lee County Board of County Commissioners.

Work now is underway on the second phase, in which SWFAS will build four new duplex units near the same location, providing permanent housing for an additional 16 people.

Providing a stable home-like environment for persons recovering from substance abuse is a key part of the recovery process,@ said SWFAS Executive Director Kevin B. Lewis.

SWFAS' new permanent housing is part of the Transitional Living Center campus of SWFAS that stretches from Dixie Parkway to Grand Avenue. The TLC provides residential treatment for 35 men and women with drug and/or alcohol problems in either a short-term residential program (one month) or in a four to six-month transitional living program. The facility is supported by medical staff already in place at the SWFAS Detoxification Center across the street.

SWFAS is the oldest and largest comprehensive substance abuse treatment and prevention program in Southwest Florida. Since 1980, SWFAS has helped more than 57,000 residents in Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Glades and Hendry counties rebuild their lives. SWFAS offers treatment and prevention services at all levels of intensity including residential, outpatient counseling, and group therapy. In addition, SWFAS provides detoxification services for adults, prevention programming in the schools, and an Employee Assistance Program for about 80 Southwest Florida businesses.