Local crisis intervention center now open 24 hours a day

ST JOSEPH, Mich. – Carol’s Hope, a crisis intervention center in St Joseph, is now open 24 hours a day.

The center has been in operation since December 2018 with limited hours.

At any time, anyone who is seeking treatment or wanting to talk about substance abuse can walk through the center's doors located at 4032 South M-139. 

Carol’s Hope is totally run by trained recovery coaches who have suffered with substance abuse disorder themselves.

“They can just walk in the door and talk to somebody, talk to somebody who’s been there and know that recovery is possible,” said peer support coach Jeffery Bishop.

Bishop says a DUI car crash and jail time caused him to change.

“I don’t think that I had a really clear perspective on the way that alcohol functioned on my life until after I got sober,” he said. 

Employees understand that taking the first steps to recovery can be confusing and overwhelming, so the facility provides education not just for people suffering with addiction, but their loved ones as well.

Carol’s Hope will help guide a way to recovery based on an individual’s needs.

The facility also hosts a number of 12-step groups like Alcoholics Anonymous and Families Against Narcotics.

After operating on limited hours, Carol’s Hope realized there was urgency for peer support coaches to be available during brief windows of opportunity when people are able and willing to get help.

“Unfortunately, if somebody takes action in that time frame and does something like calls a treatment facility and makes an appointment to show up in a couple of weeks, in that intervening two weeks, they can decide that they don’t want help or they don’t need help. Or, especially in the case of opiate addicts, they can have an overdose and die in that time. Which is why we felt that it was vital to be open 100 percent of the time,” Bishop said. 

Carol’s Hope is free of charge for all adults. The center is funded by grants and donations. 

The center has NARCAN kits on hand to give out to anyone who is addicted to opiates or knows someone who is. Employees will also teach people symptoms of an overdose and how to administer the nasal spray.

You can call Carol’s hope with questions at 269-556-1527.

In the month of April, the center supported and placed 13 individuals on their path to recovery.