Addiction Services nets $50,000 grant
Foulds Foundation donates for new detox center
SPECIAL TO FLORIDA WEEKLY news@florida-weekly.com
The Claiborne and Ned Foulds Foundation has awarded a $50,000 grant to Southwest Florida Addiction Services in support of its capital campaign to build a new Detoxification Center and Outpatient Treatment Facility.
The grant will be used to help equip the facility's new kitchen, which will be named in honor of Claiborne and Ned Foulds.
"We are very grateful to the Advisory Board of the Foulds Foundation for recognizing the importance of providing treatment for residents with the chronic disease of addiction, which impacts one in five people in our community," said SWFAS CEO Kevin B. Lewis.
SWFAS now has raised more than $5.3 million toward the $9.5 million cost of the new facility. Other major gifts have been received from the Lee County Commission, State Housing Initiatives Program, U. S. Department of Health & Human Services, Southwest Florida Community Foundation, Lee Memorial Health System, and Gannett Foundation.
"There isn't a day that passes that we aren't forced to turn away people in need of immediate detoxification because there are no beds available," Lewis said. "Each day the headlines tell the stories of tragedies associated with untreated substance use disorders, and these consequences will continue until we can respond to this unmet need."
While the population at risk has nearly tripled in the past 20 years, Lewis said the number of detox beds has decreased from 28 beds in 1984 to 25 beds in 2007, due to the lack of resources to treat this chronic disease.
"Families need a place to turn to in times of crisis," Lewis said. "The Board of Directors is acutely aware of this need and is committed to raising the money needed to build a new facility."
The new 40-bed Detoxification Center will be built on land on Evans Avenue donated by the City of Fort Myers under a long-term lease. The four-acre parcel formerly was the home of the Fort Myers Recreation Center adjacent to Southwest Regional Medical Center.
The planned 44,000 square foot facility also will include room for outpatient counseling and prevention offices now located on McGregor Boulevard as well as administrative staff.
The SWFAS Board of Directors and Capital Campaign Cabinet currently are requesting funding from local individuals, businesses, and foundations to help with the project.
SWFAS hopes to break ground later this year with completion one year later.
SWFAS is the largest and oldest comprehensive substance abuse treatment and prevention program in Southwest Florida, serving 6,000 people per year from ages 9 to 90. SWFAS offers outpatient and residential programs for both adults and youngsters from eight locations in Southwest Florida. Fees are charged on a sliding scale, based on family income. In many cases, private insurance is accepted. SWFAS is a United Way agency.
The Claiborne and Ned Foulds Foundation was established in 1981 by the late Ned and Claiborne Foster Foulds, who moved to Fort Myers in 1958. Ned Foulds was a graduate of Harvard University and retired as a Junior Executive of the Airtemp Division of the Chrysler Corporation. Mrs. Foulds was a Broadway star during the 1930s known under her maiden name of Claiborne Foster and starred in more than 20 plays.
In recognition of their achievements, Mr. and Mrs. Foulds left their estate in trust to be administered by Bank of America, N.A., as a 50l(c)(3) Foundation in perpetuity to benefit charitable causes.
For more information about the SWFAS capital campaign or to make a gift to SWFAS, call Lewis at 278-7595, ext. 700.
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