Brittany Seavey, the support coordinator, left, and Director Sara Halsey in a room Thursday used for training and recovery group meetings at the Augusta Recovery Reentry Center in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

AUGUSTA — The Augusta Recovery Reentry Center, which provided help for those recovering from substance use disorder, closed abruptly Thursday after its director learned Tuesday it could not secure sustainable funding to keep the center open at 2 Bangor St.

The Augusta Recovery Reentry Center has helped a large, rapidly growing number of people in recovery from substance use disorder and/or reentering society after being imprisoned. The center helped connect them with treatment, jobs, housing resources, counseling and other services — and with each other. In 2024 the center counted 2,433 visits from clients, and it had 754 client visits so far this year.

The closure could leave its 830 members without a safe, sober place to come for support, potentially losing connections they made that help them rebuild their lives, recover from trauma, and better themselves.

“We’re absolutely concerned about the members, and the community — these members, who have gone through so much, connected with us here,” Sara Halsey, director of the Augusta Recovery Reentry Center, said. “People are scared, devastated.”

Halsey declined to discuss details regarding the sudden lack of funding, other than saying ARRC is closing due to a lack of critical funding.

“While we made every effort to secure ongoing support, we encountered unforeseen challenges that prevented us from meeting that goal,” she said. “Like many nonprofit organizations, we faced staffing and resource limitations that made it difficult to keep up with the growing demand for services while also managing complex requirements. Unfortunately, this led to the situation we are facing now, and we were unable to obtain sustainable funding in time to keep the center open. We are incredibly proud of the work we’ve done and the impact we’ve had on the community, and we remain hopeful that recovery and reentry support services will continue to be a priority in this community.”

Support Coordinator Brittany Seavey takes a photograph Thursday of the sign as she begins the process of setting up a GoFundMe page to raise money for the Augusta Recovery Reentry Center, which is closing due to a lack of sustainable funding. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

No other entity currently offers such a comprehensive range of services or such a space where people can meet in Augusta for help in recovery or reentry.

The Maine Recovery Access Project plans to open its Access Center at 53 Water St., in the north end of downtown Augusta, in June, and will offer many of the same services. And a daytime warming and cooling center is being opened at 12 Spruce St. by United Community Living Center, offering a safe space for people who are homeless where organizers also plan to offer services including referrals to help with recovery.

In the meantime, ARCC, a key provider and space for people fighting addiction and stigma, appears to be lost. That leaves a gap in services at a time, organizers said, when demand for such services is greater than ever.

“We’ve had so many new people coming in,” said Brittany Seavey, the center’s peer recovery support professional and one of its two employees. “It’s like a big family, where they feel safe.”

Halsey and Seavey say they haven’t given up hope, but no funding is available to keep the center running.

ARCC opened in 2022 and was a program of the Maine Reentry Network, which provided financial and other support, using funds from the state Office of Behavioral Health.

Halsey said a lack of funding to address the growing need for the services they and others provide is an ongoing challenge. She said the only option to get the center open again would be establishing it as its own entity and raising funds. She estimated the annual cost of running the center at about $40,000, without staff salaries.

The center also hosts numerous meetings such as addiction support groups, which Halsey said she hopes will be able to find other spaces to meet in the Augusta area.

The closure was so sudden that the center’s two employees have not been able to notify all its members, many of whom do not have phones. As word spread on social media, numerous posters credited the center with helping them in their recoveries.

The center offered members harm reduction, access to Narcan via a MaineGeneral program, connections to detox and other treatment, and a place to connect with others going through similar trauma and difficulties.

“Connection is the biggest part of recovery,” Halsey said. “Both me and Brittany have lived experience, are in recovery and have been through the trauma and all the things. Our stories are different but we can relate. It’s something that was out of our hands. But we’re not giving up.”