ST CATHARINE, Ky. — St. Catharine’s College campus near Springfield, Kentucky closed in 2016. It sat empty until the end of 2020 when the Crown Recovery Center opened.
Now, it’s home to 425 people who are seeking treatment for addiction, with the capacity to welcome another 300 clients.
The Crown Recovery Center is an Addiction Recovery Care program. ARC focuses on a "crisis to career" approach. The program lasts up to a year, but anything over 90 days provides a high chance for success.
The college setting provided a ready-to-use setting, with classrooms and dorms already there.
“I like to think there’s still a lot of education going on here,” Chief Operating Officer Michael Burba said.
The clients are learning life skills, specific skills for their chosen career path, and there are 43 clients currently seeking their GED.
The treatment is not only beneficial to them.
“What people need to understand is if you help the one guy here, then that’s helping dozens of people,” Burba said. “You’re helping aunts, uncles, moms, dads, brothers, sisters, employers.”
Zachary Lynn is a former client of an ARC program and the current store manager at the Crown Recovery Center. Lynn completed the program and started working as an intern in November 2020, when the center opened.
“I transitioned from intern to staff back in March and it's just been opportunity after opportunity since then,” Lynn said.
He said he found his calling while in ARC. He is reenrolling in school and will be studying something he became passionate about, related to his current work.
“I’m going back to Lindsey Wilson, getting ready to start school on the 30th for business administration,” Lynn said.
Lynn wants to stay with ARC to give back to the program that gave so much to him.
“I want to help somebody else the way I was helped,” Lynn said.
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.