Funding issues for recovery homes

EASTON, Md.- Two recovery houses in Easton are feeling the pressure after the state of Maryland changed the way they get their funding.

For starters, counties now have to go through the state.

“So when John Doe walks into the health department and then says I need some help the county says OK, will send request for assistance to the state and then the state will respond approval or decline,” Tabitha Groce, Director of Foundations Recovery House, said.

Second, the providers now need to get additional certification to house residents.

“Four days after I received my M Core certification through a third party I learned that now it’s going to be an MDRN requirement by January 1,” Groce, said.

The problem is recovery homes felt like they were blindsided because they said they weren’t formally notified until the day the new rule took effect.

“This sort of just all came out of nowhere and got implemented and we were left hanging not knowing what was going on,” Jeremy Savin, Director of Humble House, said.

Now, providers like Tabitha Groce, said they’re stuck in limbo waiting to see if they’ll get certified.

“MDRN certification was not something I knew about prior to mid-December, put my application in as soon as possible as soon as they came about and since then it’s been pending,” Groce said.

While providers wait for their certification, residents are left wondering if they’ll be without a home.

“There’s a lot of frustration, underlying concern, whether their homes are stable, whether they will be able to maintain their residency because it’s not free living, they don’t have grants,” Groce said.

These two recovery homes told me they are going to remain hopeful about the change.

Plus, the owners of these homes are looking at other ways to get funding.

Foundations Recovery House has a fundraiser up on Facebook right now. You can donate at https://www.facebook.com/donate/177779250182397/2486043931660970/