A first step to drug addiction recovery is Fire Station 14
Thomas Young is Safe Station project manager. Photo by David Pierini
By David Pierini, Editor
Cheap fentanyl-laced pills have spread through Minneapolis streets like wildfire, hooking and killing unsuspecting users.
To fight fire, a fire station on Lowry Avenue in North Minneapolis is offering a first step on a road to recovery with a 24-hour drop-in service to get people into detox, treatment and other services.
The Twin Cities Recovery Project has teamed with the Minneapolis Fire Department to create the Safe Station initiative, the first of its kind in Minnesota and the first of three planned locations.
It is funded for the next three years thanks to a $1.2 million federal grant from the Department of Justice.
A person struggling can stop by Station 14, 2002 Lowry Ave., at any hour. They will be greeted by a firefighter without judgment or police intervention. There are recovery specialists at the station from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and others from Twin Cities Recovery are on-call during the off hours.
In the off hours, a Twin Cities recovery coach will get paged and arrive within a half-hour to assess a person and get them into services without delay.
“After 5 p.m., people don’t know where to go for services, but everybody knows the fire department is open and willing to help,” said Thomas Young, peer recovery specialist and the Safe Station project manager. “We fight all substance abuse disorders whether it’s alcohol, cocaine meth, heroin. If they come to the door fighting, we will get them services. Right now there is an opioid epidemic out there and this grant is set up to fight that.”
The Safe Station opened in early April and shortly after, Twin Cities Recovery outreach workers began to spread the word on foot. They distributed flyers to local businesses and public space and, twice a week, walked the neighborhood blocks to explain the services at the Safe Station.
The variety of services include, counseling, crisis intervention, mental health programs, medication for managing withdrawals and extended support form a peer recovery coach.
The coach is someone with their own journey to recovery and has the knowledge to help.
“We’re able to assist them all the way
on their journey until they’re self-sufficient and able to walk for themselves, make good decisions by themselves,” Young said.