Self Help Movement, an alcohol and drug residential treatment facility at 2600 Southampton Road, last week hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate $10 million in renovations and expansion.
CEO Bob Dellavella welcomed Mayor Cherelle Parker, state Sens. Tina Tartaglione and Joe Picozzi and state Reps. Sean Dougherty, Ed Neilson, Jared Solomon and Jose Giral. Self Help founder Dr. Joseph Ruggiero was also on hand.
Dellavella thanked Tartaglione for securing $4 million for the project. U.S. Sen. John Fetterman and U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle contributed $1.5 million apiece. The state provided the remaining funds.
The project included renovations to two floors, the addition of more than 50 beds for long-term residential detox and mental health treatment and space for a mental health outpatient program and a Stabilization Treatment Assessment (STA) program.
A sign behind the officials read, “The Journey Begins Here.”
Dellavella said Self Help takes in people who are in the “depths of addiction,” with a goal of providing them a “full and lasting recovery.” He said everyone deserves a second chance, adding that Self Help assures nobody fights their addiction alone.
“Recovery is possible,” he said.
Picozzi said Tartaglione has been a champion on recovery issues for decades, thanking her for introducing him to Self Help and the Holmesburg-based Bridge Way School, which helps high schoolers on their journey of recovery from substance abuse. Picozzi thanked Parker for opening Riverview Wellness Village, a recovery housing program for substance abusers at 7801 State Road.
Tartaglione, 23 years in recovery, said recovery happens, not in isolation, but in communities like Self Help.
“Self Help saves lives,” she said.
Tartaglione thanked Parker for her focus on helping addicts begin recovery. She recalls being at a meeting the day before Kevin Bethel was named police commissioner and having him tell her, “Senator, I have my first order, and it’s Kensington.”
Parker described Self Help as a model for the Riverview Wellness Village and programs in other cities.
“Bob Dellavella, he is leading the way,” she said. ••
