Women’s substance abuse treatment center is closer to reality in Albany

Over the 70-year history of the Anchorage, about 14,000 men have been admitted to the drug- and alcohol-recovery program. Now, the Christian-based center’s calling is to bring the same services to women at a separate residential center.

The Anchorage first opened in 1953, and briefly tried a co-ed system before returning to males-only. The desire to include women has been around for a decade or more, but that expansion is going to take money.

Part of the equation has been solved with the gift of a 70-acre site on Gillionville Road formerly known as the Fish Camp. The property has a pavilion area and an existing building that the Anchorage board envisions as the chapel for the women’s treatment center.

That gift is worth about $1 million, Anchorage board member Jeff Neal said. A couple of other generous donations have provided several hundred thousand dollars, but the estimated cost to build the residential facility and other structures is expected to be about $2 million.

“This has always been a Christian-type retreat,” Neal said while giving a tour of the property and buildings. “They wanted to keep it as a Christian mission, so they passed it on to us. It’s very serene out here. We’re just very excited about the place.”

Anchorage board member Jeff Neal, left, speaks with Tommy Harter, who has been residing at the residential substance-abuse center for two months for after-care following an initial treatment program. (Photo Courtesy of Alan Mauldin)

On Oct. 21 the Anchorage will host a Night of Hope event. Part fundraiser, part entertainment and part educational opportunity, the night will feature music, a speaker who will give her recovery story, a silent auction and food. The event will run from 5-8 p.m. at the 2908 Gillionville Road site.

“The hope is if we bring people out here, they’ll see the vision of what it can be,” Neal said. “We’ll be glad to take people on a tour, here and at the (men’s) Anchorage.”

Once the women’s Anchorage is opened, it will double the annual operational costs to about $800,000.

The Anchorage’s origins date back to the middle of the last century when a member of First United Methodist Church of Albany had a severe alcohol issue shortly after the end of World War II. The member received treatment in North Carolina when no centers were found available in Georgia, and that planted the idea that treatment services were needed closer to home.

Since its inception, the Anchorage has been supported by area churches which has allowed it to have a low cost. The initial four-month treatment period costs $40. After that, residents who wish to do so can stay on for $100 per week.

The original treatment center can handle up to about 56 men who are either in the initial treatment period or who stay in the after-treatment residential program. Plans are to treat up to 40 women at the Gillionville Road location, and if things fall into place, to break ground on construction in early 2024.

Neal says the need for treatment programs is just as great for women as for men and his vision is that after the women’s Anchorage is established, that services such as childcare be added. The impetus for adding women has been around for about a decade, but the means to make it a reality have not.

“For the longest time, the Anchorage struggled just to keep its head above water,” Neal said. “In recent years, the Anchorage found itself in a good financial situation. We thought instead of just sitting on our money, we should do this next. We feel God is leading us to do it. The need is great.”

The Anchorage operates with a small staff, two full-time and three part-time employees, and a lot of volunteer help. The hope is that women who are looking for volunteer mission work will respond and that churches seeking a mission project to fund will consider the treatment center worthy for contributions of time and money.

The Oct. 21 event will be a chance for interested individuals to hear from the Anchorage about its vision, the costs involved and the benefits of a women’s center, said Ken Rice, operations director at the Anchorage.

“We’re going to be showing the plans of what it’s going to look like and talking about how the community can be involved,” he said. “It’s going to take a community to run it, so we need the community to be involved.”