A local mental health and substance use disorder support agency has received a $50,000 donation from the Stephen and Tabitha King foundation, which will help fund improvements to the building where clients seek services.
The Kings’ donation to the Together Place Peer Run Recovery Center, at 150 Union St., will be used to weatherize the aged building and replace its porch, both of which were built in 1886, according to Sean Faircloth, executive director of Maine Mental Health Connections, the organization that manages the center. The building has not undergone renovations in at least 30 years, he said.
“If mental health consumers are provided good services, but in a building that looks run-down, that facility is less welcoming to mental health consumers and people living with substance abuse disorders, regardless of economic demographic,” Faircloth said.
The King Foundation was started by writers Stephen and Tabitha King, and donates to organizations and community-based initiatives in Maine that often do not have easy access to resources or funding. It did not return messages for comment left Thursday.
The recovery center helps adults struggling with mental illness or substance abuse to find jobs and provides a place to socialize and get a hot meal. The center has hundreds of clients who visit the center tens of thousands of times each year, Faircloth said.
The grant money will also be used to commission a local artist to paint a two-wall mural on the exterior wall facing the YMCA on 2nd Street, depicting inspiring athletes, writers and artists from Maine. The money will also go toward repaving the center’s parking lot, which the organization shares with the YMCA, Faircloth said.
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