Former nursing home to become recovery housing for mothers

Next year, a former Lorain County nursing home will be getting a new group of residents. After being closed for several years, the former Villa Camillus in Columbia Station will reopen as recovery housing for women with children.

The revamped residential facility will become The Road to Hope Inc.’s largest and second of its kind to serve mothers in recovery. The nonprofit operates more than 260 beds in facilities across Lorain, Erie and Cuyahoga counties.

The residential programs offer a stable environment for men and women after leaving detox and initial treatment.

“To have that supportive, safe environment - I like to call it ‘the bubble.’ Within the bubble of sober living, it gets you the foundation of your recovery built,” explained Michael Plas.

Now a program director for Road to Hope’s Cleveland men’s recovery housing, Plas was formerly a resident in the program. He described a difficult chapter in his life, bringing him to the nonprofit.

“I felt at home in the bars and in the clubs. And it brought on the drinking. And from the drinking, it became drugs and stuff like that,” Plas recalled. “I was in my late 20s, early 30s and still living at home. I didn’t have a license, I had lost my license when I was 21. And pretty much I was just working to support the habit.”

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He told News 5 that the support he found in the Road to Hope residential program helped give him the consistency to find long-term recovery. Now seven years sober, he’s been able to earn a master’s degree in social work and use his experience and education to help others in similar situations.

“Don’t rush the process. I learned that the hardest way,” he said.

A 2023 study from Ohio Recovery Housing found residential recovery programs not only benefit a person’s recovery but also save public funds. By reducing costs associated with criminal activity, drug and alcohol use and treatment, combined with increased earnings from stable employment, the study calculated a total net economic benefit of about $29,000 per person.

It also found there are only enough beds available for fewer than one in three Ohioans seeking placement in recovery housing. Recovery advocates say the challenges are compounded for mothers.

“Overall in Northeast Ohio, there are very few opportunities for moms that have children and are trying to find a recovery environment to build their long-term recovery,” said Jeffrey Kamms, the founder and executive director of The Road to Hope Inc.

He explained the organization’s newest facility will open shortly after the planned opening of a Lorain County Crisis Center, which offers 32 beds for those struggling with mental health or addiction crises.

“When that opens there will be additional need. Where will they go after there?” Kamms said.

$500,000 from the Lorain County Mental Health, Addiction and Recovery Services (MHARS) Board, in addition to $1 million in state funding and other donations, is helping the nonprofit renovate the former Columbia Station nursing home to help fill some gaps.

The five-wing building will be converted into five separate residential areas for women in 3 different steps of their recovery. At the center, a courtyard with a playground will offer a community space. The facility will provide more than 100 beds for women and space for up to 52 children, along with access to on-site counseling and other services.

“[Being with their children] keeps them on the path towards staying focused on their recovery,” Kamms said. “It gives them the opportunity to learn how to handle tough situations and how to be a good parent, while also having support for what the kids are going through.”

Road to Hope operates a similar facility in Vermilion, with space for 38 women and children. Kamms said the increased capacity at the Columbia Station site will help free up space at other locations and offer more beds to both men and women. He hopes it will give more clients a chance at successful long-term recovery.

Plas believes more options for people in recovery will provide more hope.

“No one said it was going to be easy, but they said it would be worth it,” he said. “It’s just something that’s always stuck with me.”

The organization is aiming to open the Columbia Station facility by October 2025. The Lorain County Crisis Center is tentatively scheduled to open in late summer 2025.

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