BANGOR, Maine — The Bangor City Council voted 8-1 to award Fresh Start Sober Living with $500,000 in COVID relief funds.
“We are in good step with one another as far as the other councilors go in helping out organizations much like Fresh Start,” Bangor City Council Chair Rick Fournier said.
The funds will allow Fresh Start to revamp the property at 100 Center St. into a "social detox" center allowing for high-quality recovery and increased comfort of patients.
“They are very nice rooms. They have a living room area. They have a bathroom in each unit,” Ken Hutchings, intake coordinator and assistant manager for Fresh Start, said.
Hutchings takes pride in the next location and the mission of Fresh Start. “I’m a recovering addict myself. So to see the City of Bangor helping us with the funding for the detox and for the people in our community, it means a lot.”
With 14 sober living homes, 12 of which are in Bangor, the 100 Center St. house will add a capacity of eight to a network that already houses 112 individuals in recovery.
“I think Bangor will always be that kind of source for helping people,” Fournier said about the impact Bangor has in the greater region’s overdose crisis.
The Bangor City Council will also award $2,484,880 in COVID relief funds to Penobscot Community Health Center to renovate and enlarge the Hope House Shelter.