A Bangor recovery center may be closer to reopening after Penobscot County Commissioners approved funds for the organization Wednesday.
County commissioners Andre Cushing, David Marshall and Dan Tremble approved up to $7,000 in funding Wednesday for the Together Place Peer Run Recovery Center. The funding was not immediately given to the center, but will be given as a match of up to $7,000 contingent upon the Bangor City Council’s decision to provide money to the Together Place.
Penobscot County is using its reserve of opioid funds to allow the longstanding recovery center to reopen, but only if the Bangor City Council also agrees to fund the center. The Together Place closed in July after running out of money, but after a string of donations the center is now less than $14,000 from reopening.
About 50 people a day are being turned away from the center while it’s closed, Joe Hartel, executive director of the Together Place, told commissioners Wednesday. While there is no deadline for when Together Place will reopen, Hartel said he’s worried about looming cold nights and the potential to lose donated funds if the center remains closed for an extended period.
“I’m a little bit concerned about some of the donors backing out if we’re not able to open soon. I think they have concerns like we’re giving you this money, and we want to make sure that you’re open as soon as possible,” Hartel said.
Commissioners approved the funding, which could be more than half of the $13,521 the center needs to reopen and run for a year, knowing that Bangor City Councilors will approve the city’s funding by Sept. 14 at the earliest. Councilors will discuss the decision to fund the center at next week’s government operations committee meeting.
Although the money for the Together Place will come from the county’s opioid funds, the county will still allocate $400,000 in funds in December. The Together Place can apply for additional funding through the committee at that time.
Hartel came to the commissioners to ask for funding because the opioid committee does not have a path to fund emergency requests. Pat Kimball, a member of the Penobscot County Opioid Advisory Committee, said the committee will look for a way to take these requests in the future.
The Together Place has raised more than $200,000 since July. The majority of the funds are matching grants, but $50,000 was donated by the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation and $25,000 has been donated by more than 150 community donors, Hartel said.
“The community’s really spoken that they see this nonprofit as an asset to the community, and we just want to be able to reopen,” Hartel said.