Governor Janet T. Mills Cuts the Ribbon Celebrating the Upcomig Opening of a Detox Facility on Andover Street, Portland. Tom Doherty, Executive Director of Milestone is at Far Right in the Above Photo.  (Photo Contributed by the Governor’s Office)

Governor Janet Mills (D) this morning celebrated the upcoming opening of Milestone Recovery’s expanded substance use disorder treatment program in Portland at its new facility on Andover Street.

The new facility expected to open later this month, will nearly double the number of beds in the Portland non-profits Medically Monotored Withdawal (detox) progam for subsance use disorder, greatly expanding access for uninsured and underinsured Maine people to treatment for opioids, alcohol and other addictive substances.  This new facility will expand the number of treatments beds in the program from 16 to 30 beds.

The $3.1 mlillion expansion was made possible by a combination of state, federal, local and philanthropic funding, including $2.1 million through the Mills Administration.  Since taking office, the Mills Administration has invested $6 milion to increase the number of licensed beds for medically supervised withdrawal and substance use treatment services across Maine.

“We’re thrilled to have taken this major step in easing access to substance use treatament for our most vulnerable Mainers,” said Tom Doherty, Executive Director of Milestone.  “It takes a lot of courage for someone to ask for help overcoming a substance use disorder and its heartbreaking when we have to tell them no because there’s no space in the program.  This step will let us say yes more often.”  He has served as Executive Director of Milestone Recovery since April 2022.

“This new facility will ope the door to critical treatment that can set Maine people struggling with substance use disorder on the path to life-long recovery,” said Governor Janet T. Mills.  “My Administration will continue to do all we can to stop drugs from reaching Maine, to prevent substance use disoder to begin with, to treat it where we can’t prevent it, to set people on a life-long path to recovery – and above all else, to save lives.”

For more information on Milestone Recovery, please visit its website:  www.milestonerecovery.org or call 207 – 775-4790.