Center takes holistic approach to recovery

Sheriff Lorin Nielsen has seen firsthand how some inmates with addiction struggle to readjust to society after leaving jail.

“We’ve tried to put in counseling and guidance in our jail as part of programming, but once they get out of jail there’s no aftercare. There’s no follow-up,” Nielsen said.

That’s where the Hope and Recovery Center comes in, which has been open for the past three weeks. Besides offering peer support groups and recovery coaching, the center also has a computer lab open to its visitors. In it people can brush up their resume, look for jobs or learn computer skills.

There’s also an exercise room and several fitness classes offered there.

“We are the bridge from this institution, hospital or wherever this person is coming from,” said Bobbi Matkin, the center’s executive director. “We create that bridge to the community.”

The center doesn’t offer counseling or detox services, but that doesn’t mean it can’t help.

“We had a young lady come in and she was about 24 hours off of methamphetamine,” Chris Daniels, a member of the center’s board. “Within two hours of her getting here we had her set up for an assessment the next morning and admission into treatment and detox.”

All services are free and open to anyone. People who use the center’s services are encouraged to volunteer time at the center in some form. The center will be doing a lot of fundraising to offset costs, but if you’d like to donate now you can call the center at 208-417-1749.

The center is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is located at 210 E. Center St., Suite D, in Pocatello.

The center is currently working with a pharmaceutical company to get access to Narcan – a medicine that blocks effects of opioids and reverses an overdose. The Bannock County Sheriff’s Office is also working to get the medicine in the hands of deputies.