Lifeline Connections to showcase new program

Lifeline Connections will celebrate the opening of its new residential treatment program for pregnant and parenting women in Vancouver. The public is invited to attend and tour the Women’s Recovery Center, where the program is housed, 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday at 2924 Falk Road, Vancouver.

There will be a short ceremony with speakers including Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle, Clark County Council Chair Marc Boldt, U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, and Jared Sanford, Lifeline’s CEO.

“We’ve been looking forward to opening this program for a long time,” Sanford said in a news release. “We’re excited to offer this important new treatment option for local women.”

At any given time, the center will treat 16 women and their young children. During the six-month program, women will be treated for substance use and mental health disorders, be taught parenting and family management skills and get help with housing and employment. Their children will attend a licensed therapeutic child care center.

This will be Lifeline’s first women-only treatment facility in Vancouver.

“Gender-specific treatment has proven highly effective in helping both women and men build stronger, healthier lives,” Sanford said.

Lifeline purchased the 6,856-square-foot building in May for $1.4 million from Janus Youth Programs and has spent the last few months remodeling it in preparation for incoming patients.

Major funders for the center were Molina Healthcare of Washington, the Community Foundation for Southwest Washington and a Community Development Block Grant from the city of Vancouver and Clark County. In-kind support included the Rotary Club of Greater Clark County and Kaiser Permanente’s surplus warehouse.

Women interested in receiving services at the Women’s Recovery Center can call 360-397-8246, ext. 7580, or email admissions@lifelineconnections.org.