‘It’s not forced help, it’s guided help’: New Addiction Recovery Center to Open in Norwich

NORWICH, N.Y. (WBNG) -- Located between a season food stand and the post office for the City of Norwich is an unmarked building. One that has sat vacant for some time. However, it will soon be home to an organization known as FORDO, which stands for ‘Friends of Recovery of Delaware and Otsego Counties’.

According to their website, the organization is a non for profit focusing on addiction recovery. Although many counties in the Southern Tier have seen a spike in drug usage, overdoses, and deaths relating to overdoses during the pandemic, Project Coordinator Deborah Roberts says the opening of this facility is timely.

“It was a plan all along I think to expand. Obviously, you always want to continue growing, but I think within the last year it’s really hit the ground running, and now we’re finally getting over there”.

According to Roberts the facility is not a rehabilitation or detox center, rather, a sober place for those on their journey to addiction recovery can go and find resources and guidance.

“They don’t have to be scared to walk through the door because it’s quite literally different than any other addiction service that they’ve received. A lot of times it’s just the process of getting somewhere. It could be super intimidating, you don’t really know what you’re expecting, you don’t really know that the people you talk to are going to understand you, or where you’re coming from. I think that I want people to know that pretty much every person who works at friends of recovery is a person who identifies as being in recovery themselves they’ve navigated that system and they know what it’s like”.

Neighboring buildings such as the City of Norwich Police Department are also resources for those struggling with addiction and substance abuse. Detective Sergeant Reuben Roach says he is looking forward to having another resource in the community. “The nice thing about the front of recovery being so close to us is that individuals who need those kind of services can come to us and we can take them there or we can make phone calls on their behalf”.

For more information regarding the organization, you can visit their website here.