Monarch Recovery Services will have a new home in the Donovan, inside of St. David School, as early as next March.
The addictions centre purchased the building in January of this year and are now in the process of raising money for renovations to the building that will allow Monarch to condense their services into three buildings rather than the six that they are currently operating.
This will be a cost-saving measure, as Monarch will no longer have to pay rent for two buildings, and they will be able to sell off two buildings that they currently own.
The St. David School location will house the women's residential treatment, men's day treatment, men's recovery home, pregnancy/parenting outreach program, as well as administration.
"Two of the buildings will be sold and we'll be able to stop paying rent on the other two," said Kathryn Irwin-Seguin, CEO, Monarch Recovery Services.
"We'll be able to put it all into one building, except for the two aftercare residences, because it's not therapeutic to have them in the same building as the treatment and recovery home. They are moving into the community so we like to keep them separate."
Monarch Recovery Services treats between 200 to 300 people per year who are struggling with addictions. The men's and women's treatment programs see between 12 to 14 people per five-week treatment period.
The men's recovery home, which has been in Sudbury since 1968, currently houses 18 beds and approximately 50 to 60 people use the facility over the course of the year. The organization employs more than 50 people, from social workers to psychology graduates.
While there are no psychiatrists or psychologists working on site, the programming at the treatment centres are developed with a psychologist, and Monarch has access to sessional fees with psychiatrists, which means that Monarch can refer clients with mental health issues to a psychiatrist if they've never seen a psychiatrist before.
"We pride ourselves on offering best practices in men's and women's treatment, and we've been recognized provincially for that," said Irwin-Seguin.
The level of service provided by Monarch Recovery Services has the opportunity to grow and expand thanks to the purchase of the school building, Irwin-Seguin said.
"We think there will be a lot more synergy with all of the staff working under one roof, and working more closely to develop programs," she said.
"The opportunity is much greater and more likely for us to bring our programs together more readily. This will be better for clients, better for staff, better for training and integration. The new building will also have more amenities because it's bigger."
Some of those amenities include a smudging room for Indigenous clients, and a medical exam room for primary care.
"This is going to be much more advantageous for clients, we're bringing more opportunities together by working with the community and also with each other," said Irwin-Seguin.
"There is definitely an opportunity to develop more programs as well because of this."
For more information on the programs offered at Monarch Recovery Services visit them online here.
