POSTED ON OCTOBER 21, 2019
House of Grace partnering to bring medical services on-site.
By Tara Jones - tjones@limanews.com
LIMA — Those in the House of Grace Men’s Recovery Program will now have access to medical needs on-site thanks to a partnership with Health Partners of Western Ohio.
House of Grace is an outreach and recovery program for men dealing with drug and other substance abuse.
“It’s not just a matter of treating the addiction, but the program is designed to treat the health issues that many of these men have developed because of their abuse,” explained the Rev. Ronald Fails, who helped organize the program.
The program has partnered with Health Partners for years, but now services are being brought to the men.“We have been working together for some time, helping the gentlemen that come from the House of Grace,” said Shekeree Washington, center director for Health Partners. “We decided there were so many, it would be best if we could come here.”
According to Becky Magrum, program director for House of Grace, the plan is to have a full team of health professionals on-site two times a month to help with basic screenings, administer flu shots and refill prescriptions.
“It is a complete team of not only a nurse practitioner, but we have an LPN, medical assistant, we have behavioral health here, a center receptionist, everyone on the team including our outreach coordinator to support the House of Grace,” Washington said.
Therapists from the Recovery Achievement Center are on-site two days a week.
“The goal is to have all of that covered where the guys can’t say ‘I can’t get to therapy,’ therapy is here, and ‘I can’t get to the doctor,’ the doctor is here,” Magrum explained.
“We have basically created an organization that has all the resources that is needed to help people not only get their physical needs met, but the spiritual, mental and medical,” Fails said. “It really is a dream that has come true for us because we’ve believed if you’re going to help a person, you have to deal with the whole person and this is an opportunity for us to do that.”
Reach Tara Jones at 567-242-0511
"It's Like Family" - Lima News Archive
LIMA - Sometimes, people just need a hand up.
That is the mission behind the House of Grace men’s outreach and recovery program on Harding Highway, a residence for men in need of a safe, structured environment where they can learn life skills and receive both training and spiritual enrichment.
“We came in here about four-and-a-half years ago,” program director Becky Magrum said, speaking of herself and co-director Novarro Wood. “We wanted to do a program for guys getting out of prison.”
House of Grace was intially started by the Rev. Ronald Fails as a children’s shelter, but when that program shut down, there were questions as to what to do with the property. Magrum and Wood’s desire to start a men’s ministry, coupled with Fails’ available facility, was the perfect marriage. “They were an answer to prayer,” Fails said.
“Ron didn’t know us from Adam,” Magrum said. “He opened the doors for us to be able to come in here and run the program.”
The program has grown to include administrator Charlene Smith-Echols and include having someone on site 24 hours a day to help a small number of men get their lives back together.
“We deal with people with addictions and work with Coleman [Behavioral Services],” Magrum said. “We work with the prisons as well.”
“We deal with men who have an unexpected life change,” Smith-Echols said. “Perhaps they have had a divorce and had to give up the house and need a place to stay.”
Magrum and Wood help the residents with anything from financial education to aiding with employment, all in a home atmosphere.
“It really is like a family here,” Wood said. “To a lot of the guys, Becky is ‘Mom.’”
House of Grace receives no state funding, which Magrum said helps keep the work faith based. However, that leaves them relying on private donations, including a recent $5,000 donation from St. Rita’s Medical Center to help with house renovations.
“I talked with Bob Baxter about it, and he said, ‘Great, how can we help?’” Magrum said.
Resident Ricky Johnson has lived at House of Grace for about a month and is grateful to have made the decision to go there.
“It’s the best choice I’ve made,” he said. “It’s been a great transition. The atmosphere is excellent for me. It was a blessing in disguise. It is a great structure for me.”
