3 days ago
FOX8 gets 1st look inside new sober living center in Asheboro: ‘Labor of love'
ASHEBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — Susan Hunt runs Keaton's Place in honor of her son, who died from a fentanyl overdose. It's a place for people who are addicted and their families to get resources 24/7.
Now, Hunt is ready to take the next step with a brand-new facility to help people in recovery.
'It still hasn't sunk in. We are ready to open. It has been a labor of love,' Hunt said.
It's a home on Fayetteville Street in Asheboro. Inside, everything is brand new, thanks to the generosity of the community. Hunt wanted to make sure that even though clients are coming from rehab, those men know they are not just former addicts. They are people who are worthy of a bright future.
'It was a big, huge open room, and we have added five bedrooms,' Hunt said. 'We are just trying to make people successful and get them back to the world they left before they started using drugs and alcohol.'
This is not a treatment facility. All the men who live in the facility will be sober. Some will be sober after treatment, and some while they wait for a bed to open to get treatment.
'A lot of times they have known each other on the street or heard about each other, and they say …. 'If you can do this, I know I can do it. It gives them hope,'' Hunt said.
Up to 15 men and a full-time house manager can live in the space, but it's more than just a place to sleep.
'We are recovering out loud. This is not going to be a quiet little house where everybody just sits on the front porch and smokes. This is not that. They are going to be out in the community, doing service work,' Hunt said.
It will be a revolving door for people to come, stay, get a job, obtain a license, enroll in classes, or take any other necessary steps to move forward.
Which is in the name Keaton's Next Step. It's a branch off of Hunt's original organization, Keaton's Place, in honor of her son.
'When you lose a child, I just wanted to curl up and die, so for this to be here is a miracle from God. It is the affirmation I am right where I am supposed to be,' Hunt said.
The applications for referrals are out now. Hunt expects men to move in on the exact day she lost her son six years ago.
'This is crazy … That is Keaton. He sends us signs all the time, and God has led us through this,' Hunt said.
A space like this is much needed. Hunt said she has already gotten calls from people as far as South Carolina, but the priority will go to Randolph County residents first.
The official grand opening will happen sometime in August.
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