The Healing Place

What is the Healing Place?

The Healing Place is a long-term peer-driven residential recovery program serving the Greater Richmond community.  Here, men and women suffering from substance use disorder carve pathways to sobriety, employment, and spiritual wellness. The Healing Place program includes a workforce development program, a transitional sober living community, and an active Alumni Association to support lifelong sobriety.

We offer services at no cost. 

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The Problem

Drug overdose deaths in the United States spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that more than 105,000 lives were lost in 2021, up from nearly 92,000 lives lost in 2020. In Virginia, 1,478 men and women died from an overdose in 2021.

These numbers continue to rise for a variety of reasons. The moment a person decides to seek help is a crucial juncture that could save his or her life. Services are not always available, especially if you have a limited income. When adults have access to the tools for recovery and have time for practice, they are able to secure employment, improve their health, and live to the fullest. 

the healing place recovery programThe Solution:

Programs to help people heal and sustain long-term recovery are crucial. The Healing Place is open 24/7/365 and offers recovery services at no cost. Our men’s program is the longest-running of such programs in the region, and has recovery rates that rival those of expensive private facilities. The women’s program is a more recent initiative. It opened in late 2020 to provide a similar long-term addiction recovery program for women in metro Richmond.

The Healing Place model is peer-driven and relies on Peer Mentors – men and women who have recently completed the program and stay on to engage and teach new participants the recovery curriculum. Those who complete the educational portion of the program are enrolled in the workforce development program, CARITAS Works. Once employed, they move to transitional apartments within the CARITAS Center as a next step to integrate back to self-sufficiency.  Residents lead by example and hold each other accountable as they safely practice a life in recovery.  This community stays with them after they leave, especially if they decide to transition into our CARITAS Recovery Residences.

Our Success

Our programs prioritize people. We believe by helping each person as they are, we can help the community at large. We help our residents become mothers, fathers, friends,  sons, and daughters again so they can dream and build brighter futures. Here are a few ways our residents demonstrate success after their time at The Healing Place: 

  • 765 men and women found recovery and hope at The Healing Place in 2021.
  • Staff and peers taught 109,000 hours of recovery classes to those in the program in 2021.
  • Nearly 70% of our alumni are sober after one year of completing the program. 
  • Participants find jobs within one month of completing the workforce development component of the program.
  • An efficient and effective program model allows us to house and provides recovery services to one person for only $17 a day, compared to $500 a day for a night in traditional medical detox. 

Questions?

Men’s recovery program inquiries can contact Ray Porter, The Healing Place for Men Program Manager at (804) 887-1580 or rporter@caritasva.org.
Shop for the men’s program with this wish list.

Women’s recovery program inquiries can contact Anna Murphy, The Healing Place for Women Program Manager at (804) 401-8671.
Shop for the women’s program with this wish list.