LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Like many other cities, Louisville is in the middle of an addiction epidemic. The Healing Place is helping with that epidemic, but for the last four years, it's had to turn away hundreds of people every month who needed help.
“It's devastating,” said Erin Fogarty, a grant manager and gift officer with The Healing Place.
The facility's men's campus didn’t have enough beds, which is why they had to turn people away, sometimes as many as 300 per month, Fogarty said.
"The largest month was 497 that we turned away," she said. "People wanting help, and we just didn't have the capacity."
That's what caused The Healing Place to make a change, and it was a big one. The new men’s campus under construction since December 2016 will be finished by late December. The new facility will double its current services and have 426 beds.
“I'm very thankful for this place," said Charles Cox, a client of The Healing Place. "This is a learning experience. My life is so much better thanks to this place, and it couldn't be better."
In addition to its drug and alcohol recovery program, the men also receive help in other areas of life. On Monday, nearly 100 men received newly donated shoes and orthopedic screenings
“I want to make sure these guys are out there pounding the streets, going to meetings and going to their jobs are having quality foot care,” said Dr. George Quill with the Louisville Orthopedic Clinic.
“It's just a wonderful thing that you know there's still people out there that really care and really want to see people do right,” said Cory Wright, another client of The Healing Place.
And now The Healing Place will soon be able to help even more people "do right."
“The community is facing an epidemic," Fogarty said. "It's not a heroin epidemic. It's an addiction epidemic. The drug changes, but addiction is always there. It's going to be the best feeling in the world to get somebody off those streets [and] show them what recovery looks like.”
Once the men’s campus is open, The Healing Place will help about 1,000 people battling addiction every day.
The men’s campus was a $29 million project. Fogarty said it has been funded through grants and donations from foundations and corporations in the community.
If you would like to donate to The Healing Place, click here.
Copyright 2018 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
