New drug addiction recovery hub opens in Huntsville

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — The opioid epidemic continues to ravage through North Alabama.

Betty Dunn struggled with drug addiction for most of her adult life. She faced a hard jail time, and she sought help.

Dunn, along with her partner in recovery, Summer Burden, opened Sisters United where they now help other women to recover from addiction. They both attended the ribbon cutting for a new Resource Recovery Hub as a partner for The Partnership for a Drug-Free Community.

“10 years later, here I am,” said Dunn.  “I own my own recovery house and I’m helping women that struggled just like I did.”

“We’re trying to help people reach out for help and let people know there is hope and there is help,” said Burden.

The Partnership for a Drug-Free Community has been at the forefront in the battle against drug abuse in Madison County.

On Friday, a ribbon cutting on a new location , attended by both city and state leaders, is opening to provide accessible drug treatment care to an individual who is struggling to get clean.

For the past four years, Partnership and The Recovery Resource Hub has received funding from Huntsville and the Madison County Commission to combat the growing substance misuse epidemic that has torn families apart.

“What our people do that’s hard is getting people into recovery. There are still not enough places, but they seem to work miracles here,” explained Karren Crowson, executive director of the Partnership for a Drug-Free Community.

Cheryl Russell, the director of The Resource Recovery Hub, says that since the beginning of June, the number of people seeking addiction recovery services has risen to an almost 200% increase.

“With the peer support specialists and the case managers, our intakes and assessments have reached a great deal,” said Russell.

According to the HEMSI, the number of emergency calls related to an overdose in Huntsville has risen at now an average of three calls per day.

“The assessment that we offer; peer support and case management here at the Hub are all at no cost,” said Kim Lamar of The Resource Recovery Hub. “Not having insurance and not having money should not be a barrier to access and treatment and that’s what we’re here for.”

Partnership for a Drug-Free Community will soon open resource hubs in Marshal, Morgan, Limestone and Jackson Counties.

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