SAFFORD — The latest addition in the battle against addiction was unveiled to the public Monday.
The Kathy Grimes Caring Hearts Sober Living Home for Women was dedicated with a ceremony and Graham County Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting Monday morning.
The facility is named for Grimes, who founded the Graham County Substance Abuse Coalition, and spearheaded development of the Marge Schade House of Hope Sober Living Home for Men, and the Sunrise Re-entry and Prevention Center.
While Grimes received the praise for getting the new facility built, she said the success is the result of the community coming together.
“From our funders to our volunteers to our coalition members, we all make up that coalition and we work together to accomplish what we need to do,” Grimes said.
– David Bell Photo/Gila Valley Central
Representatives from Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes’ office and U.S. Rep Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., were on-hand to celebrate the facility’s opening, as well as major funders for the project, including the Graham County Board of Supervisors, United Way of Graham and Greenlee Counties, Freeport-McMoRan Community Investment Fund and Arizona Complete Health. And Kristin Johnson, Sunrise Re-entry and Prevention Center manager, said donations for the home have come in from across the state.
“The good news that this home brings to everyone is that you can get yourself out of that mess, too, by making a succession — hundreds, maybe thousands — of the next right choice” said Graham County Superior Court Judge Michael Peterson. “This facility will provide an environment dedicated to sober living, to help individuals who are otherwise committed, to be able to become the best versions of themselves.”
– David Bell Photo/Gila Valley Central
The next community event by the Graham County Substance Abuse Coalition is the annual Dump the Drugs event, Saturday, April 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the parking lot of Home Depot.
Residents can give expired and unwanted human and pet medications to Thatcher Police officers, who will safely dispose of the medications in the department’s new industrial incinerator, ensuring the medications do not fall into the hands of those dealing with addiction or impact the groundwater supply.
