Harbor Hall’s renovations continue and we have completed the dining room, the food pantry, the night techs office and two of the upstairs bathrooms. The pantry includes a quarry tile for the floor and it should last for many years. The bathrooms are completely tiled, with a drain system that waterproofs the bath area and keeps any water from going through to the lower level. All of the shower doors are frosted glass for privacy and the privy doors are a dense hard plastic, which will not rust like metal and will hold up well in a high moisture area. The rooms are being painted earth tones and the blinds are a wood slat so they don’t look institutional. The dorm furniture is arriving soon and we will start renovating the bedrooms as soon as the closets arrive. As mentioned in a previous post, we picked closets that are heavy duty laminate and the furniture is usually found in dorms at various university campuses. The drawers are metal and everything is designed so that they can be cleaned and sanitized between residents. There are going to be different color schemes in the resident rooms and each resident will have a comfortable, padded headboard so that they can read in bed and there will be an individual privacy light above each bed for that purpose. We anticipate completing a couple of bedrooms at a time so as to disrupt care as little as possible.

The main reason we are renovating is because we are a mission driven organization and the residents are our mission. They are partners in their recovery and we want them to feel comfortable in their surroundings. Many of our residents enter treatment with low self esteem and we want each of them to know that they are valued and that they will be treated with dignity and respect from the minute they walk through our doors. When residents are admitted in to a decent environment, their self esteem improves, as they know they are valued and it shows in everything that we provide. Similar to students at university, our residents are learning valuable recovery skills and are learning to develop a life centered around sobriety. We focus on practical techniques that are evidenced based and applicable to each resident that walks through our doors.

I will continue to add more pictures and posts as the renovations evolve.

The other important event in November is the Thanksgiving Holiday. It’s hard to keep a positive attitude while being in treatment during the holidays. Many times our residents  feel guilt and shame over past behavioral incidents that occurred while actively engaged in the disease. Memories may haunt them of holidays that were previously disastrous. In all reality, many of the resident’s family members may feel relief that their loved one is in treatment because they at least know that they are safe and alive. We work very hard to make sure that the holidays are special, even while going through treatment. Harbor Hall takes steps to make this a family day for every resident, no matter their circumstances. Every resident is allowed to have visitors from their approved list, including those who have just entered the program. We serve a traditional Thanksgiving Day Dinner and guests also bring a feast of food. We orchestrate a huge sit down meal with all of the residents and their guests and it turns out to be a very special day for everyone. It’s hard to remain negative with all of the effort that goes in to making sure that the holidays are treated as an overall commitment and celebration towards a new way of living.

We at Harbor Hall wish everyone and their families the best during the holiday season. We are particularly thankful for all of the hard work and dedication exhibited by our staff and Board of Directors of Harbor Hall, Inc and Harbor Hall Foundation. This dedication is demonstrated to the residents daily as it is our calling, our passion and our mission.

May we remain thankful for the gifts that we receive and continue to be mindful of the needs of others.