Founders previously said they would house and train 50 men, and Emerge is fully booked for the first cohort and has a waiting list.
Emerge’s model aims to give people recovering from substance abuse the tools and knowledge to have a career and a stable income; and to supply local plumbing, HVAC, and electrical businesses with more skilled workers.
“When they walk through the doors, and they are truly serious about changing the course of their life, they will have every asset and every tool to be equipped to do so,” said founder Kip Morris.
Three years ago, Morris and fellow founders Chris Adams and Doug Van Dyke had two visions: to help others through the trades, and to do it through an addiction treatment center. At the time, the idea of Emerge Recovery and Trade was a pipe dream.
When the former Greene County Career Center facility came up for auction in 2021, the three saw the opportunity to fulfill that dream.
“It’s never been done. We didn’t have a book we could read. There was no information on how you do it. So we just do what we do and we just charged forward,” Morris said.
All three are in long-term recovery from addiction themselves, and so know first-hand what the experience is like.
Each client at Emerge goes through a process of assessment, placing in a career tech program based on their skills and desires, and setting long- and short-term goals. Emerge is also able to communicate with employers, support workers, and support those in recovery through relapses if they happen.
“Each individual’s addiction, and the damage, is different. No two people are the same,” Morris said.
Above all, it’s treating people with compassion, said Adams.
“What I want to give back to the people here is just to walk beside them and give them that hope, to make them understand that they’re not horrible people, that I was there, and how to get out of it,” he said.
“It’s not looking at somebody as a number, as a check in the box,” said Adams. “It’s as a human being, and treating them that way.”
Emerge’s on-site trade school will offer certifications in heating, cooling, plumbing and electrical work to residents. Instructors are sourced from the founders’ companies (Five Star Home Services, Narrow Path, and Van Martin Roofing).
Partner businesses, including Five Star, Digital Watchman, SB III Fire Suppression and Van Martin Roofing, will offer apprenticeships and employment opportunities to those who complete the training. Emerge also offers auto mechanic training through Pitt Stop Xenia, and plans to add a culinary program in the coming year.
Emerge has completed its men’s housing portion, and the site features labs and classrooms, active business tenants, and clinicians and counselors for wrap-around services.
The facility plans to add women’s recovery services, and programs for emancipated youth by this time next year. It functions off of a combination of state/federal grants, money from the founders’ companies, Medicaid and donations.
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