It started as a controversial proposal to provide chronic inebriate housing back in 2008.

 

But River Crest, a 40-unit Group Residential Housing Facility for homeless chronic alcoholics, has served its clients and the community as well since it opened its doors  in July of 2010.

 

The facility, located in Sherburne County on Lincoln Ave, SE in East St. Cloud, provides housing and supportive services to Sherburne, Stearns, Benton and Wright counties.

 

Maureen Wilkus with Sherburne County Health & Human Services gave an update to the county board last week about the facility. She said even before the project was started there was a lot of discussion about why the county should provide housing for that population.

 

“I’ve worked with a lot of chronic inebriates, and nobody  chooses that lifestyle. It’s a painful and lonely existence,” she said.

 

“What River Crest provides is a safe place to live as well as reducing county costs for detox, placement and police intervention.”

 

Individuals who reside there have been through multiple chemical dependency programs and multiple detox stays. Many are veterans and homeless.

 

Over the last several  years, 166 individuals have been admitted to the program where they receive lodging, meals and medical assistance. The average length of stay is 3.5 years, but some residents have been there since it opened in 2010.

 

Wilkus said seven individuals have left the program to obtain sobriety, “All seven are still sober, and this year, five residents left the program and entered chemical dependency treatment,” she said. “So there is hope for some of the people who go through the program.”

 

River Crest works with the police department and detox to identify residents of the program and keep them from being admitted to detox again.

 

“They work with the nurse on staff to manage their medications,” she said. “Detox stays have gone from 140 days a year to approximately seven days a year.”

 

Wilkus said they have received several adult protection reports on residents from River Crest. All have been investigated and none have been substantiated to date.

 

“I think River Crest is doing a pretty good job. We haven’t had many reports from the community that they’re unhappy with the program,” she said. “And I think the residents of the program feel a sense of community.”

Commissioner Felix Schmiesing, who toured the Glenwood facility in Minneapolis with Wilkus and then-HHS Director Ken Ebel, said there was quite a community response when the project was first proposed.

 

“A lot of the residents in the area were very concerned,” he said. “It was a pretty difficult decision to come to the board.”

 

Wilkus said those concerns about disrupting the community never materialized.

 

“The fear was there was going to be a lot of police calls around the building,” she said. “But that just hasn’t been the case.”

 

Center City Housing, the umbrella organization for River Crest, is currently in the process of opening a 60-bed facility in Bemidji. They’re also renovating 150 units in downtown Duluth and will be adding 50 beds in the Lincoln Park - Garfied Square area in Duluth that will deal with chronic inebriates as well as opiate users.

 

“Many communities have seen a real advantage to having programs like this,” said Wilkus.

 

Schmiesing said he drives by River Crest every once in a while to see if there’s any chaos going on around it. 

 

“I haven’t heard from any resident who has had a problem with it,” he said.

 

“It’s one of those successes for us.”