ISLAND FALLS, Maine — An Island Falls couple who believe religion is a key piece in curing addiction and maintaining a better lifestyle are accepting applications for a new residential treatment center in the community.
With degrees in business administration and management and addiction studies, Michele King said recently she and her husband, Robert King, have spent more than a year preparing Resting Arms Ministries for guests.
Located on 5 acres in this southern Aroostook community, the center is geared toward men and women wishing to break free from addictive and/or compulsive behaviors involving everything from substances, sex and pornography to eating and gambling, Michele King said.
The facility, which has two buildings, will house participants for one year, providing individual and group counseling, Bible studies, work and education programs.
“There are approximately 30 beds,” King said. “Resting Arms Ministries is housed in what was previously the Emma V. Milliken Memorial Hospital and the adjacent house. We are going to be providing the residents with pastoral counseling through the local churches. And since I have a degree in counseling, I am going to be providing the counseling right at the facility. It will be both one-on-one counseling once a week as well as group counseling twice a week.”
The Kings have not yet set an opening date. They still need to hire a second set of individuals to work as “house parents” before they can open, according to King.
The center will be free to accepted applicants, though each must be sponsored by a friend, family or church. The center won’t accept state or federal money or accept medical insurance. Each sponsor will provide a monthly allowance for a resident’s living expenses and offer emotional support. King said a sponsor will be asked to provide $200 in fees when the resident first checks in and about $50 to $75 for a monthly allowance. When the resident is ready to go home, the sponsor is asked to provide travel fare.
If a prospective applicant cannot find a sponsor, he or she still can apply to Resting Arms Ministries and the Kings will assist in obtaining one. No one will be turned away for financial reasons, King said.
Thus far, she said, the couple has received a wealth of support for their new venture, with donations from eight churches already having come in.
“We have gotten tremendous financial support from churches and from the people around here,” King said.
Resting Arms Ministries also will be conducting fundraising efforts, with the goal of raising approximately $5,000 per month to run the facility. Their goal can be accomplished by receiving $25 donations from 200 agencies or individuals each month, according to King.
She added that they will have a better idea about how much it will cost the facility to operate after they have been open for a year.
Medical treatment, if necessary, will be provided by existing local physicians and facilities.
King said the staffing at Resting Arms Ministries, besides herself and her husband, will be all volunteer.
Aside from receiving counseling and being involved in prayers and Bible study, participants will be required to work at the facility. The women will be asked to do the more domestic, indoor work, such as washing dishes and meal preparation and laundry, while the men will keep the ground’s outdoor wood boiler operating, assist with animal care and help with maintenance and lawncare.
King said that in the near future, the couple would like to have the residents travel to a nearby farm to take care of the livestock there or have a few small farm animals right at their facility.
She also said safeguards are in place for when residents travel off the grounds.
If they leave, they will always have a mentor with them, according to King.
“They will not be hanging around Island Falls,” she said. “And if they leave this facility, they get bus fare to return to the town where they came from. They won’t be stranded here.”
King expected some area residents to be concerned about the couple’s plans, but “no one has really been outspoken or has come out and said that we should not be here,” she said. “We were prepared a little bit for that, but we haven’t seen it.”
King said she absolutely believes they can attract people who can commit to spending a year in Island Falls. The couple felt that one year was enough time to help an individual break free from addiction.
“I think we will see many people that apply, and it is absolutely their last chance — they have nowhere else to turn,” she said. “Or they are applying because they are coming back to the church after they fell away from it as a kid. We have already had a number of applicants and are accepting prospective residents at our website.”
For more information, call Resting Arms Ministries at 463-2126, email info@hisrestingarms.org or visit hisrestingarms.org.