Steve Langlois didn’t hesitate Tuesday when asked why he was admitted to the Farnum Center the day before.
“I got violated on my parole for using, and I couldn’t get out of the cycle – I set it up so I could stay in prison until I got a bed,” the 24-year-old Rochester man said. He stayed almost six months past his 90-day release date, he said, to wait for treatment after struggling with addiction since he was 10.
“To try and better myself, you know, ” Langlois said.
Langlois was admitted to Farnum South in Manchester on Monday, and he was among the dozens of recovery center clients, staff and local and state officials to crowd the grounds of Farnum North in Franklin on Tuesday.
All were there to celebrate a ribbon-cutting event at Webster Place, where an almost $1 million renovation has created 42 more beds for Granite Staters suffering from addiction.
Attendees sat against a backdrop of Franklin cornfields and stayed cool in a shady courtyard as speakers told those struggling with addiction that they deserved treatment – and not stigmatization.
“You have nothing to be ashamed of,” said Cheryl Wilkie, vice president of substance abuse services at Farnum. “No more staying in the closet.”
Adding that she has been in recovery herself for 30 years, she said, “This disease doesn’t have to take everything away from you. It is a wonderful life – and I’m not special. That means it can happen for anyone.”
Gov. Maggie Hassan said that by reducing the stigma attached to substance abuse, New Hampshire makes greater strides toward ending the state’s opioid epidemic. She said this has happened in large part due to people like Wilkie who are in recovery and willing to talk about their own, personal experiences.
“For everybody here who is in recovery who has brought your voice to this issue . . . it has been a game changer,” Hassan said.
She referred to Tuesday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony as one sign of progress toward a greater, comprehensive strategy to address the drug crisis.
“We are here today to continue the work we are doing to ensure all Granite Staters have access to the health care they need, no matter what disease it is they’re challenged with,” she said. “This is a disease and a treatable disease. For too long it has been treated as a character defect.”
The renovation was funded by Easter Seals, a nationwide charitable organization. Donations and manual labor were also supplied by the Meredith Rotary Club.
Inside the updated building, beds lined single, double and triple rooms filled with soft carpets and plenty of light. The rooms were lined with soothing, scenic art, and they were connected with hallways full of fresh plants and flowers leading to group therapy rooms, a gym, a dining room, a chapel and office space.
Webster Place was formerly a peer-based recovery center that opened on the Daniel Webster Farmstead by the Common Man’s Alex Ray in 2007. He offered to merge with the Farnum Center in 2010, and last fall the Franklin facility began transitioning to a fully licensed clinical setting with inpatient and outpatient programs.
The 42 new beds, plus the 21 beds added this past March in Farnum North’s “Ray House” across the street from Webster Place, more than double the Farnum’s total capacity in Franklin, and it has 61 beds at its Manchester facility.
Franklin Mayor Ken Merrifield said he was proud this expanded access to treatment was taking place in his city, especially since he has seen people in his own life affected by the drug crisis.
Merrifield said a close friend lost her son to an overdose. He said that she praised the Franklin Mayor’s Drug Task Force and also gave him some advice.
“I’ll never forget what she said about all this,” Merrifield said. “She said, ‘Save as many as you can.’ ”
Behind Merrifield, Langlois played at the ping pong table set up for Tuesday’s event. He talked about why he wanted to get into the Farnum Center so badly, and why he was willing to wait.
“It took me nine months to get here, but I’m here and I’m making an honest commitment to my sobriety this time,” Langlois said. “I want to live a normal life where I can drive my own car to work and start working on a career and go to school.”
He added, “Better late than never.”