By Patrick Adrian
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
NEWPORT — A long-running center serving people in recovery from alcoholism and addiction faces financial hardship amid the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic and a recent hike in their property rent, driving board members to reach out for additional community support.
“We definitely need to generate more [financial] support,” said Millie’s Place board member Tim Sievers. “We would love to stay here. It’s a great facility.”
For nearly 20 years, Millie’s Place has provided a safe haven for recovering alcoholics and other addicts. Located in the Newport Shopping Plaza on John Stark Highway, the nonprofit sober club offers daily Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings and a meeting space for other 12-step groups; recovery information and referrals; and a multi-functional space for people in recovery to congregate, whether to meet with one’s 12-step sponsor, connect socially with other people in recovery or in need of substance-free place to unwind.
“Often people new in sobriety have a lot of time on their hands due to the loss of health, family, and jobs,” said Chris Glazer, board president of Millie’s Place, in a mission statement. “The club offers a warm, friendly environment where members can socialize, attend meetings, play pool, card and other games, watch TV, use the free WiFi, and meet with their sponsors and fellow members in recovery.”
The club currently has 60 members, though anyone in the public may freely attend the 12-step meetings, which are separately affiliated with the recovery organizations that provide them, such as Alcoholics Anonymous.
Millie’s Place is funded through its membership fees, which cost $5 per month and allow individuals full access to the center and its offerings and private donations.
But a recent change in the plaza’s ownership has resulted in a 42 percent rent increase for Millie’s Place, from $700 per month to $1,000 per month.
The previous landlord had “intentionally kept the rent low so that Millie’s Place could stay here,” Glazer explained.
Additionally, there has been a decline in membership dues, as well as donations from people attending the 12-step meetings, during the pandemic.
“So we are looking for more people [to become members] and more financial contributions,” said Sievers. “We want to get healthier.”
Attracting more private donations, including from the community, is a key hope of the Millie’s Place board, who said the center has had to exhaust its reserves to weather the pandemic and rent increase.
Prior to the pandemic Millie’s Place typically received about $400 per month in donations from the recovery meetings, though meeting attendance dropped sharply during much of the pandemic.
That was also before the rent increased by 42 percent.
Millie’s Place also receives an annual donation of $2,000 from United Way, the board members said.
The board said it considered increasing the club membership fee but worried it would be counter-productive to the club’s mission to provide a center that is affordable and accessible to anyone seeking recovery.
“We don’t want the membership fee to be prohibitive to anybody or a roadblock,” Sievers said. “We would rather have people here and not any money versus making it a requirement.”
Millie’s Place is only one of two sober clubs in the state of New Hampshire, according to Sievers.
What distinguishes Millie’s Place from other facilities that provide low-rent spaces for recovery meetings, such as churches, is Millie’s Place social component, a critical piece of the recovery process, according to the board.
Glazer, who is also a recovering alcoholic with 12 years of sobriety, credited his introduction to Millie’s Place at the onset of his recovery for “saving his life.”
“Many people feel comfortable here, as opposed to walking into a church, because they know they can come to a meeting here every night,” Glazer said. “So they become comfortable with this place and it becomes a home away from home.”
Millie’s Place also provides a built-in environment for the “after-meeting”, a term frequently used by people in recovery to describe the conversations or gatherings that take place after the 12-step meeting, whether outside the facility or sometimes at a restaurant or cafe.
“Sometimes that [after-meeting] is more important than the meeting itself, because that is usually when you talk to newcomers,” Glazer said.
Board members noted that those after-meeting gatherings often allow newcomers to connect and for recovery members to share their current situations with one another.
“We all need a place where we can fit into, ‘’ said board member Jonathan Purick.
The pandemic has been particularly trying on people in recovery or seeking help to arrest their active substance use, the board members said. The board has seen a notable increase in newcomers attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings at Millie’s Place, which board members believe can be attributable in part to the extensive isolation that people had to endure because of the pandemic.
“We always tell people to not isolate and stay away from alcohol,” Glazer said in a lighthearted but truthful observation. “And at the beginning of the pandemic [the message] became to isolate and wash your hands with alcohol as much as possible.
Newcomers in particular benefit greatly from a consistent resource like Millie’s Place, where recovery-seekers can find a daily Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and a reliable source of social connection.
Individuals or organizations who are interested in making a donation to Millie’s Place may contact the board at (603) 863-5126 and ask for a donation form. Donations may also be mailed or dropped off at Millie’s Place, 54 John Stark Highway, Newport Shopping Plaza, Newport, NH 03773. All donations are tax-deductible. The board requests donors to indicate whether they would like a receipt for tax purposes.
reporter @eagletimes.com
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