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City Partners with Grace Street Recovery Services for Additional Resources at India Street Health Center

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | March 15, 2017

City Partners with Grace Street Recovery Services for Additional Resources at India Street Health Center

PORTLAND, Maine -- The City of Portland is pleased to announce that it is partnering with Grace Street Recovery Services in order to offer additional substance use resources at the India Street Health Center. Grace Street operates medication assisted treatment and recovery programs in Lewiston, Portland and Sanford. This new partnership will allow Portland to provide the first full continuum of care for people suffering from opioid use disorders as well as other substance use disorders. Grace Street will join and complement the City’s other existing health services at India Street - the Needle Exchange program, STD clinic, and the Portland Community Free Health Clinic.

The City is signing a sublease with Grace Street for 1,642 square feet of space for its operation. Grace Street and India Street staff will also share 2,568 square feet of space within the 5,089 square foot health center space at 103 India Street.  

“The addition of Grace Street at India Street will greatly add to our ability to address this public health crisis in our community,” said City Manager Jon Jennings. “They will work side by side with our staff at the Needle Exchange and STD Clinic, as well as the volunteers at the Free Clinic. Through my FY18 budget recommendation to the City Council, I will ask for Council support to fund the Needle Exchange and STD Clinic as we did last year.”

“We are excited to partner with the City of Portland to launch the first full continuum addiction treatment and recovery program in the State of Maine,” said Tim Cheney, COO of Grace Street Recovery Services. “The continuum will be rooted in our community based treatment philosophy that includes a combination of time tested best practices for Medication Assisted Treatment with current Harm Reduction philosophy.  It is our hope that this program paradigm will serve as a model to be replicated in other major urban areas in Maine and serve to address the challenges of building a bridge to sustainable recovery from addiction for an underserved and economically disadvantaged population that has not had the opportunity nor resources to access quality care.”

“I’m glad to see that they are solidifying their position on the peninsula,” said Police Chief Michael Sauschuck. “Through our LEAAP program, we work with them regularly, and they are known as a strong partner in our collective efforts to combat substance use disorders.”