Senator King Visits Safe Harbor

Left to right: Edie Smith, Regional Representative Office of US Senator Angus King; Joe Finnemore, Washington County Court Navigator with AMHC,; Bill Kitchen, Machias Town Manager; US Senator Angus King; Katie Sell, Healthy Acadia, Safe Harbor House Manager; Terri Woodruff, Co-Director, Healthy Acadia’s Maine Alliance for Recovery Coaching; Chelsey McBreairty, Downeast Recovery Center Coordinator and Healthy Acadia Recovery Coach, Lauren Sachs, Healthy Acadia PROSPER Health Navigator and Safe Harbor Support Staff.

During his recent visit to Machias on June 30, 2023, US Senator Angus King gained valuable insights into the unique recovery journeys and needs of the residents at Safe Harbor Recovery Home for Women. Maine's Director of Opioid Response Gordon Smith was in Machias on June 29, visiting Safe Harbor and the University of Maine at Machias, where he spoke with members of Sunrise Senior College. The visits took place in the context of Maine's ongoing efforts to address the escalating opioid crisis. The state aims to bolster recovery systems and support networks in the coming months, focusing on key areas outlined in the Maine Opioid Response 2023-2025 Strategic Action Plan.

To effectively address the opioid crisis, the Maine Opioid Response 2023-2025 Strategic Action Plan has identified six primary areas of focus. These include crucial infrastructure developments like detox beds and rural recovery housing.

Safe Harbor Recovery Home for Women and Children is currently the only certified recovery residence in Washington County and serves women from across the region. Arise Addiction Recovery, which operates a residential recovery center and transitional housing for men in Machias, has a combined capacity of just 17 individuals. More recovery beds for Washington County could soon be on the way.

Thanks to a recent settlement, Maine would receive $235 million over 20 years in opioid settlement dollars from drug manufacturers accused of fueling the opioid epidemic. 

Maine's latest state budget plan, not yet approved, includes $1.5 million for recovery beds in Washington and Kennebec counties. 

Safe Harbor Recovery Home for Women and Children provides wraparound support for women in all stages of recovery and is one of the only houses in the state where they can live with their children. Launched and operated by a collaborative effort between Healthy Acadia, Downeast Community Partners, Community Caring Collaborative, and AMHC (Aroostook Mental Health Services, Inc.), Safe Harbor is supported in part by MaineHousing. 

Safe Harbor opened in August 2020 as the first recovery residence in Downeast Maine to be certified by the Maine Association of Recovery Residences (MARR). The home operates as a non-clinical Level 2 program and supports multiple and diverse pathways to recovery, including medication-assisted treatment (MAT), but does not provide clinical treatment services.

The project is the result of a collaborative effort between Healthy Acadia, Downeast Community Partners, Aroostook Mental Health Center, and the Community Caring Collaborative to provide a safe, supportive, affordable living environment for women in recovery. The partners are part of the Washington County Substance Use Response Collaborative, a collaborative of over 25 Washington County nonprofit partners and individuals in recovery which has convened regularly since 2016 to address the broad impacts of substance use disorder.