The first and only methadone clinic in Middlesex County opened on Thursday.
Roots Center for Advanced Recovery in Middletown, now one of 11 sites in Connecticut, helps people who suffer from addiction. It's also addressing another major problem: access to treatment.
"It's been a long haul for the last 20 or so years," William Kehoe, of Middletown, said.
Kehoe said he has dealt with addiction his whole life. Getting his medication is an additional challenge, as he travels to Hartford and New Britain for care.
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But now, there is a recovery center right in his community.
"I live only five, ten minutes away now. It will be a major change in my life," Kehoe said.
CEO Steven Zuckerman said access to treatment is everything, especially for patients who need treatment multiple times a week.
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"When a patient has to travel six times a week, it becomes too arduous, and they drop out. When our patients drop out in an opioid epidemic, they die," Zuckerman said.
He said 185 patients from Middlesex County are traveling to other sites around the state to get their care.
Zuckerman said he has been fighting this battle for years, trying to make it easier for patients in Middlesex County to access care. However, for a while, previous planning and zoning laws banned the use of methadone clinics.
"People just don't know about the extent of this crisis, and the fact that it exists here in this community," Middletown Mayor Ben Florsheim said.
Florsheim said he tackled this issue early on in his administration, allowing methadone clinics to operate in the city.
As he heads into his second four-year term, there is now a physical site, helping people who need critical care.
Next week, the clinic will meet with the Department of Public Health, and the DEA next week. Then after, they'll start to see patients.
