Community partners and volunteers from Montgomery County have been working to create and launch the First Door Initiative.
First Door is a coordinated effort to assist and connect individuals and families to community resources. This initiative is in-person and allows individuals to speak to someone face-to-face to receive the help they need. Resources and assistance include housing and utilities, food and other basic needs, behavior/mental health support, financial guidance, recovery support, jobs and skills development, spiritual guidance, health services, childcare resources and assistance with applications, forms and other documents.
First Door will be available 4-6 p.m. Mondays at the Montgomery County Youth Service Bureau, 808 W. Pike St. The program begins July 8 and will be available until Sept. 30. Spanish translators and childcare will be available.
Organizers know that if an individual’s basic needs, such as food, water, shelter, healthcare, etc., are not met, the individual cannot be healthy and able to face each day’s challenges. When these basic needs are not met, it can be intimidating, difficult or even scary to reach out and ask for help. It can also be difficult to know where and how to ask for help. This is why several community partners have joined together to create First Door.
This initiative is especially important to Drug Free Montgomery County because its staff members know that a substance use disorder is exceptionally difficult to treat if the individual’s basic needs are not met. Drug Free Montgomery County efforts help address the lack of an individual’s basic needs being met. This ranges from prevention and education to treatment and intervention.
The mission of Drug Free Montgomery County is to work together as a community to address substance use, alcohol use and tobacco use. First Door will help individuals get connected to services and resources that not only can help them meet their basic needs, but also help them receive the treatment and support they need.
For more information about First Door, contact Karen Branch by email at admin@mcysb.org or call 765-362-0694, ext. 105. Many resources can be found on the Drug Free Montgomery County’s website at www.drugfreemoco.org. Drug Free Montgomery County is a program of the Youth Service Bureau. The YSB is a United Way in Montgomery County partner agency and is also supported by the Montgomery County Community Foundation.
