Donations let recovery center grow

Catholic Charities Campus for Hope broke ground Tuesday for a new addiction recovery wing that will allow the agency to increase both the number and type of clients it serves.

The wing will add residential space for 16 or more people to the Campus for Hope, north of downtown Omaha at 1490 N. 16th St. The current capacity is 93 clients. Demand exceeds supply. There usually is a two- to three-week wait to get in, and it has stretched as long as eight weeks in recent years, said Mike Phillips, Campus for Hope director.

Some of the money for the current five buildings came from tax credits and other low income-housing subsidies. So clients have to meet strict income guidelines to stay there. The staff sometimes has to turn away people who need services and want to go to Campus for Hope but don't meet the income guidelines, Phillips said.

The new wing won't have those restrictions. The $1.2 million cost of the new wing came entirely from private donations.

The lead donor, Omahan Bob Soener, threw dirt in the groundbreaking along with Omaha Archbishop George J. Lucas, Mayor Jim Suttle and Catholic Charities leaders.

Soener, a longtime volunteer at the campus, conceived the idea several years ago, said Jean Sassatelli, senior director of behavioral services for Catholic Charities.

Soener, 85, praised the center's short- and long-term recovery work with alcoholics and drug addicts. He has seen their faces when they enter their first meeting, and then just two weeks later, when they begin to understand what they can do in recovery.

“What a difference,” Soener said. “What a wonderful program.”

The wing should be completed and in use by September 2010, Phillips said. It also will include meeting rooms and office space.

Contact the writer:

444-1057, christopher.burbach@owh.com

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