CONGRESSMAN BOUCHER ANNOUNCES $50,000 FOR NEW BEGINNINGS IN LEE COUNTY

Federal Grant Will Purchase New Van and Furnish Expansion at the Drug Treatment Facility

            (Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Representative Rick Boucher announced today that, at his urging, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, through its Rural Development Agency, is providing a federal grant in the amount of $50,000 to New Beginnings in Lee County for the purchase of a new patient transport van and furnishings for an expansion of its drug treatment facility.

“New Beginnings opened its federally funded drug treatment facility in Lee County in 2005, and has become a great asset to our region, offering residential rehabilitation programs for individuals with alcohol and drug dependence problems. The provision of federal funds announced today will help further the work at New Beginnings by providing a new van for patient transportation and helping to furnish the facility’s expansion,” Boucher said.

            New Beginnings opened a 40-bed residential alcohol and drug treatment facility in 2005 with the assistance of two federal grants obtained at Congressman Boucher’s urging totaling $425,000. The center provides long-term, in-patient treatment of at least 90 days and has the capacity to provide treatment to 16 women and 24 men at a time.

            The facility is located in a former nursing home in the Town of Dryden. A building next door to the current facility has been donated to New Beginnings to provide additional space for the facility’s administrative functions as well as a private location for the intake of patients and meetings between patients and their families. The federal funds announced today will provide furnishings for the new space.

            Additionally, the federal funds announced today will be used to purchase an additional 12-passenger patient transport van. New Beginnings currently has one 12-passenger van, but another is needed in order to transport more residents to meetings and activities that occur outside the facility.

            “New Beginnings enables individuals in our region with alcohol and drug dependence problems to have a second chance at a healthy lifestyle. The federal funds announced today will enhance the treatment provided at the facility, and I am pleased that the Rural Development Agency has made this worthwhile investment," Boucher said.

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