Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress officials are preparing for a potential rush of people seeking help as they get ready to reopen the ASAP Hub to walk-in clients in the next couple of weeks.
The Hub, located in the Doug Otto Center at 1531 13th St., has been closed to walk-in clients since Gov. Eric Holcomb’s statewide stay-at-home order went into effect in March due to the spread of COVID-19 across the state.
Currently, ASAP is planning to reopen the Hub with limited staff and begin seeing walk-in clients while observing social distancing and other public health guidelines on June 15, said ASAP Executive Director Doug Leonard.
ASAP has continued to operate in a limited capacity during the stay-at-home order, with people seeking help for substance abuse disorder, as well as their families, have been able call ASAP or contact the organization through its website.
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However, Leonard is concerned that many current and potential clients have not had a way to connect with ASAP or other services via telephone or attend online recovery meetings because they do not have a telephone or a way to connect to the internet.
“I fear that many of our clients that we would see walk-in may not have a telephone or a way to connect with video, so we think that those people who would have normally come in are probably still out there on the streets or at their homes,” Leonard said. “We’re opening with limited staff on June 15 and we kind of expect a rush of people who realize we’re open because they’re probably in great need.”
ASAP has acquired personal protective equipment, including masks, sanitizer and a thermometer, to reduce the risk that staff and clients could become infected with the coronavirus, Leonard said.
In addition, ASAP staff will be limiting the number of clients that can be inside the hub at one time and will screen clients for symptoms and potential exposure to COVID-19 before allowing them into the Hub.
People will be able to wait outside the Hub until it is their turn to enter, Leonard said.
“We’re installing a door bell so we can keep the door locked and have some control over how many people come in and when it’s their turn,” Leonard said. “…It’s going to be limited, but we’ll be open. We’re starting with limited staff because we don’t know how many people we’ll be able to take care of, but as the volume increases we’ll be increasing the staff.”
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Visit www.asapbc.org or call 812-418-8705 for more information about ASAP.
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