Ribbon Cut For New Recovery Center In Westhampton Beach

More than 40 million people watched the Super Bowl on Sunday — maybe as many as 51 million at times, according to most estimates.

It’s a day of revelry and fellowship for a lot of people. It’s a time-honored tradition to gather in festive groups, cheer one side or the other as they do battle in America’s Game, and consume large quantities of junk food — and alcohol.

But for the millions of people in this country recovering from alcohol and substance addictions, the day can be one more reminder of their past problems. For many, the idea of gathering in large crowds where alcohol is available can be daunting, leading to isolation and depression — and possibly relapse.

But a new recovery center in Westhampton Beach that opened last month — and is meant to serve the recovering population across the East End — might offer an alternative, giving recovering addicts and alcoholics a place to gather and recreate without the strict and sometimes overbearing dogma of 12-Step programs and professional rehabs.

Perhaps next Super Sunday, clean and sober people can gather there and enjoy the game without the surrounding pressures of alcohol consumption.

Thrive East End is meant to be a clubhouse where people can gather safely, play cards, watch a movie — or the Super Bowl — and just relax with people who are facing the same challenges they are.

Officials from the Family and Children’s Association (FCA) and Human Understanding and Growth Services (HUGS), which partnered in opening the center, as well as a host of recovery advocates and elected officials, gathered at the center on Mill Road on Monday afternoon, February 14, to cut a ceremonial ribbon marking the official opening of the center.

FCA is a not-for-profit human service agency that has been helping Long Islanders for more than 135 years, according to its literature, and has opened similar recovery centers in Hauppauge and Westbury. HUGS, based in Westhampton Beach — in the same complex that the new Thrive center is located — works to reduce high-risk behaviors in the area’s youth.

In addition to a safe space to gather, Thrive will also provide “peer-based support, resources and referral services as well as interactive educational programs that promote wellness, economic prosperity and civic engagement.” There is no charge to participants. The center is funded primarily through state grants.

The opening of the center this week has special significance, especially in light of COVID, Jeff Reynolds, president and CEO of FCA, said on Monday, noting that the pandemic has contributed to increased mental health issues, fatal overdoes and suicides on Long Island.

“The pandemic took a toll,” Reynolds said, “and the same things that protected us from a life-threatening virus put our folks at risk for other things. The concern now is, what do we do going forward? People have been vaccinated and it’s only a matter of time before people start talking about the end of this crisis. This is part of our response.”

He noted that centers like Thrive play an important role in the lives of those seeking recovery from alcohol and drug addiction.

“Recovery centers are vastly different than treatment facilities,” he said. “Treatment is an important part of things, but they’re different. They’re designed to help people support and maintain their recovery after they’ve found themselves on that path. … Creating a support system within that community is vital.”

He noted that after the group’s first recovery house was opened five years ago, they came up with a mantra: “Recovery finally has a home.”

He said it has been a goal to open a center to serve the East End community for a long time.

“We came to understand that the East End needs a recovery center, too,” Reynolds said, noting that people most likely wouldn’t drive to Hauppauge or Westbury from Westhampton, Riverhead or points east. “Ideally, we would have a recovery center in every community across Long Island, every community in America, because we know addiction runs rampant in every community. We’re taking another step today toward making sure that’s a reality. Eventually, we’ll get there.”

Former News 12 anchor and Southampton resident Drew Scott, who lost his granddaughter Hallie Ray Ulrich to an overdose in 2017, spoke at the ribbon cutting. Scott, who has dedicated his time to raising awareness of the opioid crisis and is a member of the Southampton Town Addiction and Recovery Task Force, said that opening a recovery center on the East End has been a long-term goal and a key recommendation of the task force.

He envisioned a different outcome for his granddaughter.

“If this place had existed,” he said, “I’m convinced she would be alive today. I think Hallie Ray is smiling because of this today, so I thank you very much.”

Scott repeated an old recovery adage that in order to find success, you have to change people, places and things, meaning that lifestyle changes to avoid familiar destructive situations are necessary.

“One of the best ways to change people, places and things … is to have a place like this,” he said. “To change the people you associate with. To change the places you go to. To be more building in the things that you do. This place is going to save lives. It was a promise made by the task force in 2017, and thank God it’s been delivered today. We are so grateful.”

Reynolds noted that his organization tries to partner with local organizations to help guarantee the success of the recovery center “and, in this case, the natural choice was to partner with HUGS.”

HUGS Board President Kristen Hanyo, who said she is in recovery herself, noted that the organization was “super excited” to be joining forces with Thrive.

“This is very exciting for me on a personal note,” she said. “I grew up in Hampton Bays and got sober when I was 23, and there was absolutely nothing like this. I’m just so grateful this is happening. …

“When you come into sobriety and start to get your life together, there’s nowhere to go. So to have a place here where you can come and hang out, do activities, yoga, meditation, whatever it may be, it’s invaluable. It’s unbelievable to have this.”

HUGS Executive Director Kym Laube, who was out of town and couldn’t attend the ribbon cutting, echoed Hanyo’s sentiment, noting how critical it was to have a safe space for recovering people on the East End.

“Although the East End is one of the most beautiful places to live, it can be equally as challenging to someone in recovery from substances. The Hamptons party atmosphere coupled with the North Fork’s wine country can be a social minefield of sorts to those navigating life in recovery on a daily basis,” she said. “A recovery center will offer some additional support to those as they find a new way of life without substances, as well as provide positive social alternatives to those who want to enjoy social and recreational activities not centered around substances.

“We know prevention is community focused, not just for youth. We all benefit from a healthier community filled with positive alternatives.”

Westhampton Beach Village Mayor Maria Moore was on hand Monday. “I just wanted to stop by and welcome Thrive to our village,” she said. “We really appreciate that you’re here to provide our community with the support they need.”

Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman noted that he has struggled watching people close to him battle addiction and believed that recovery centers like Thrive would benefit those seeking a better life.

“I don’t know the answer for addiction,” he said. “I know this is part of the answer. It’s been a dream to have a recovery center on eastern Long Island, it was a part of the recommendations of the task force … This was at the top of the list.

“I didn’t know what to do,” he continued, referring to when he formed the town task force in 2017 with Scott. “Nineteen residents of Southampton died one year of overdoses. I didn’t know what the answer was. I turned to Drew and said, ‘We have to figure this out. We can’t endure what’s happening to the community.’ These beautiful lives were being extinguished. I knew part of the answer was in community, in coming together.”

He noted that while overdose deaths had begun to decline in recent years, numbers were rising again in the midst of the pandemic as people were forced to quarantine.

“Isolation is hard,” he said. “We’re social beings. We need to be around other people. You can’t go through this alone. You need support. You need to be able to turn to other people who know what you’re talking about. … If we can create these circles around those people, if we can create these networks, if we can create places like Thrive … then we’ve done something.”

Jamesport resident Drew H., who identified as being in recovery and utilized the center in Hauppauge before moving to his current home, spoke Monday about the benefits of Thrive.

“I found Thrive in Hauppauge, which was an integral part of staying sober in terms of creating a support network for myself,” he said, noting that he was able to become certified as a peer recovery advocate through Thrive during the pandemic. “For me, the format of Thrive … it was just a different setting than a professional setting and an outpatient or in-patient institution. It’s sort of a bunch of drunks getting together to help each other stay clean — and that’s when it became part of me.

“It is a drop-in center,” he added. “If I’m having a rough day and things are going wrong or someone else is, I can just go and meet that someone there and hang out there and play cards, watch a movie, do something that just gets that edge off.”