Trillium partnering with RHA to reopen The Harbor Crisis and Detox Center

People struggling with addiction may soon have additional resources available to them after the reopening of a detox center in Wilmington was announced last week. 

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — People struggling with addiction may soon have additional resources available to them after the reopening of a detox center in Wilmington was announced last week.

Trillium Health is working with RHA Health Services to reopen The Harbor Facility-Based Crisis and Detoxification Center in Wilmington. The facility will include 16 beds for detox and a residential space for transitional housing. Services will be available for both individuals receiving Medicaid or who are uninsured.

“Trillium works with experienced agencies such as RHA to provide these services as part of a full continuum of care for people who struggle with mental health or substance use addictions,” Trillium CEO Joy Futrell shared in a press release. “As the full picture of those affected by the pandemic continues to come to light, mental health and substance use crisis services have never been more in need. This new facility will allow RHA to reopen The Harbor and provide treatment and hope that has been lacking.”

Before closing its doors in 2021,  The Harbor served as the only state-funded facility-based center in the area, helping those without insurance seek help.

The center first announced it was closing in the fall of 2020 after New Hanover Regional Medical Center purchased the land it sat on at the corner of Medical Center Drive and S. 17th Street. The hospital provided extensions for The Harbor to find a new location to operate, but after funding uncertainties, the facility closed in 2021. It was completely demolished and the land it sat on is now a parking lot.

Wilmington resident Cheryl Walters advocated to “Save the Harbor” before its closure after losing her brothers to heroin overdoses and continuing to fight her own battle with alcoholism. She says hearing that The Harbor will reopen its doors brought her to tears. She has no doubt it will save lives.

“For addiction and mental health, it’s life or death. You’re fighting for an opportunity to heal and gain sobriety so that you can live a productive life in society. I think those pressures have been so much greater since covid,” Walters said. “I think providing resources in this community is essential to having productive citizens that have an opportunity to create a productive life.”

While ecstatic for the reopening of the facility, Walters hopes it can be opened in a timely manner to address the community’s needs promptly. She says she looks forward to when The Healing Place, a drug and alcohol recovery center set to open in New Hanover County, and The Harbor are both open and operational. The Healing Place’s opening date has been pushed to December of 2022.

Once The Harbor is open, RHA will provide the services for facility-based crisis and medical detoxification. LINC would oversee individuals for transitional housing.

An opening date has not yet been announced.