Plans for giving the local addiction community a new recovery headquarters have changed.
Do Something Inc.’s Launch House will now relocate next door, as its current spot on West Gould Street has been demolished.
In February, it was announced that the Launch House Recovery Engagement Center would get a new headquarters at 161 E. Gould St. It was to be called the Carol Lynn House, and Launch House was going to be able to operate in the state-of-the-art building for free.
Earlier this month, Ted Seastrom announced that plans to create the Carol Lynn House will no longer happen and that the Launch House was moving next door to 153 E. Gould St. Seastrom purchased 153 and 161 E. Gould St. under his property management company, Possum Trot Properties LLC. He is gifting 153 E. Gould to Do Something Inc.
Do Something Inc. created the Launch House as a space in the community where anyone could go to find help overcoming addiction, for themselves or a loved one. The not-for-profit Do Something was created by Michelle and Cory Joy following the loss of their oldest son to a heroin overdose in 2017. The Launch House idea grew out of that movement.
Melissa Tatman does intakes for Launch House, meeting people there who are seeking help. She gets them connected with resources like treatment centers or helps them get to necessary appointments.
Now those meetings will now happen next door.
The now-empty lot at 161 E. Gould St. will be kept by Possum Trot Properties LLC as an investment property for resale or development.
For several months, Do Something Inc. had been trying to raise the money necessary to buy and renovate 161 E. Gould St., but COVID-19 prevented fundraising from happening. The group continued to rent the building while it was for sale. Seastrom later purchased that property along with the one next door as an investment for his company. He did not realize that Launch House was operating out of the building until he pulled up to tour the property with the real estate agent, he said earlier this year.
After speaking with Tatman, Cory Joy and Do Something Inc. board member Lisa Hall, Seastrom decided to work with Do Something Inc. to give the Launch House a permanent home. Seastrom had planned for the new Carol Lynn House to be used by Launch House and other community groups who were committed to bettering life here in Brown County.
But the design of the facility moved forward and further away from the requirements Launch House needed. No other group had expressed interest in using the space, either, so the Carol Lynn House plans were shelved.
In the next few weeks, 153 E. Gould St. will be transferred officially to Do Something Inc. Getting this larger building for free allows for the Launch House to create more opportunities for those battling substance use disorder.
“The gifting of this house advances Do Something way ahead of schedule as to when we would have been able to purchase a building,” Hall said.
“We look forward to opening up to the community as soon as possible.”
Launch House provides free education to the community about substance use disorder; life skills classes; social events for those in recovery and their families as a way to make new connections; and overall just a safe, sober spot for anyone who is in recovery.
“Read a book, attend a meeting, grab a cup of coffee and surround yourself with a new social circle that is healthy for you and your new lifestyle,” their website states.
Launch House also is available to host peer support meetings like Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Al-Anon, Nar-Anon, Alateen and Celebrate Recovery meetings, according to the website.
Volunteers are needed to teach life skills classes, like on cooking or finances.
The Launch House also offers harm reduction services, like free Narcan and fentanyl test strips to anyone who is not ready to enter recovery yet.
{span}“Our entire board of directors is overwhelmed by the gift of the house given by Ted Seastrom. The issue of addiction has touched many families in this community and he wants the work and hope of recovery to continue,” Hall said.
{span}”This kind of benevolence encourages breakthrough in an issue that, at times, has seemed bleak for Brown and surrounding counties.”
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More information on Do Something, call 812-308-3188.
Visit their new website at <a href="http://www.dosomethingnashville.org">www.dosomethingnashville.org</a> to sign up to volunteer and learn more about services offered.
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