Our Open House at the Haverford Counseling Center on July 22 brought in guests to hear our ideas and tour the facility. (While it’s true that Haverford has been open since last fall, we wanted to get “settled in” and connected to the local healthcare community of Philadelphia’s “Main Line” western suburbs before we enjoyed our ribbon-cutting.) The event was the centerpiece of an outreach program designed to introduce our services (and availability) to clinicians, local governments, educators, attorneys and other referral sources that are key to our success at reaching the public.

An important panel discussion examined two forms of stigma: the judgments that are made about people with addictions, and how people’s silence and fear create a wall between dependency and treatment. Breaking down these barriers is part of Livengrin’s mission, and simply getting the conversation out into the open is a major element of that.

The construction of new residences to replace dormitory-style rehab bedrooms is on schedule - as much as any such project can be, between dodging rainstorms and red tape.

Due for a fall opening, this is Livengrin’s largest single construction project in its forty-four year history. The gender-specific homes are being achieved with the Foundation’s Board-designated funds, financing through Fulton Bank, and a $500,000 state grant.

As of late July, construction workers retreated during the summer heat into the new homes to handle utilities, walls and doors. At the January groundbreaking (from left): Bensalem Councilman Ed Kisselback, Livengrin CEO Rick Pine, Board chairperson Dr. Eileen Bonner, Congressman Patrick Murphy, State Rep. Gene DiGirolamo and Mayor Joseph DiGirolamo.

Read about the entire process that led us to the construction project - combining strategic planning, patient services, marketing and finance - in an article from the professional magazine Behavioral Healthcare.

Present and past staff members autographed their best wishes to a truss that was laid in place atop the center of the three new buildings, for the benefit of future archeologists.

The completion of the homes will fulfill two goals in the current strategic plan. First, patients will begin their recovery in a comfortable domestic setting, which is already known to enhance the treatment process; they’ll leave the main building and its clinical and social activities and “go home” each night. The old bedrooms left behind (in the north wing of our original structure) then become available for transition to staff and meeting space, and to accommodate the expansion of patient services, such as crafts, exercise and spiritual needs.