EVERETT—Everett Recovery Café welcomed Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) on Tuesday, December 19, to share firsthand experiences of substance abuse disorder by frontline employees and volunteers.
“Addiction is a not a moral failing, but a disease that requires treatment and support for recovery,” Representative Larsen said. “Congress and the Administration must continue to listen to the challenges communities like Everett and Snohomish County face in tackling the opioid crisis and invest in community-based solutions like the Everett Recovery Café that help our neighbors battling addiction access the treatment and recovery they need.”
Everett Recovery Café, founded by Wendy Grove in 2015, provides a safe place for people in recovery to gather and receive long-term recovery support. Anyone is welcome to visit the café as a guest for the day, as long as that person has been drug and alcohol free for at least 24 hours.
“Our program is designed to help people maintain recovery, reduce relapse and fulfill potential,” its website reads.
The Café’s new location at 1212 California Street hosts recovery circles, community meals, service work, recovery coaching, and peer leadership.
Last year it received $500,000 in federal earmark funding secured by Senator Patty Murray and additional monies from the Washington State Health Care Authority to expand its community-based, peer-supported recovery program.
This funding will also allow for an additional counselor to continue education for recovery coaches who will provide coaching services to more members of the café.
Everett Recovery Café welcomed a total of 752 members in 2023, totaling over 14,000 daily visits. Additionally, the cafe added 236 Members into its Recovery Coaching Program that provided 353 recovery housing vouchers and 1,818 transportation vouchers.
The FY23 Omnibus spending package that passed Congress in December of 2022, included $971 million for Drug Interdiction and Counter-Drug Activities, of which, $200 million is for the National Guard Counter-Drug Program.
According to Larsen, the Biden Administration’s domestic supplemental funding request for next year includes funding to tackle the opioid epidemic, including $1.55 billion to strengthen addiction treatment and $1.2 billion to crack down on trafficking.
To learn more about Everett Recovery Café visit https://www.everettrecoverycafe.org/ or call 425-258-5630.
Author: Mario Lotmore
