New business seeks to break addiction chains

ABOVE: Recovery in Motion Clinical Services Director Jenna Blanchard, Operations Director Zach Blanchard, Finance Director Jesse Raguse, and Intake and Building Director Carol Simpson are looking to bring substance use treatment services to Fairmont by late 2024.

FAIRMONT – Recovery in Motion is a new group in Fairmont that aims to help addicts on the road to recovery.

It aims to achieve this through multiple programs. A men’s residential treatment program will have 26 beds available for men aged 18 and older. Finance Director Jesse Raguse said there will be several facets to this program.

“They’ll attend in-house and community-based support groups each week,” he said. “They’ll have access to mental health professionals to address any mental health needs they have. We believe in overall wellness as an imperative part of the recovery journey. [This] incorporates physical, spiritual, emotional, mental, intellectual, social, environmental and financial wellness.”

Residents will have access to a lounge area and workout room to socialize and work on themselves. A donated clothing section will have any items an incoming resident may need.

A 20-week outpatient service will also be available for men and women. It starts with 12 hours per week for the first eight weeks and works down to three hours per week for the final six weeks. The program includes group sessions, comprehensive assessments, treatment referrals and peer support services.

Raguse said he and the other founding members of Recovery in Motion all worked together at a treatment facility, some after having beaten addictions themselves.

Operations Director Zach Blanchard said starting their own place started as a conversation between him and Raguse.

“Jesse came up to me and was like, ‘Hey, I want to start some sober houses,’” Blanchard said. “At first I was like, ‘Yeah, okay, whatever.’ Then he brought it up again, and I was like, ‘Okay, let me talk to my wife.’ I talked to her about it, and it started small. We were going to do an [intensive outpatient] and it continuously grew.”

Originally from the Fergus Falls area, the original plan was to set up shop in Alexandria. Blanchard said after their original plan fell through, his wife and Clinical Services Director Jenna Blanchard started looking for places online. A building at 1100 Indus St. in Fairmont, which used to house a youth detention facility, caught their eye.

Zach Blanchard said they did plenty of research before deciding to make the move, and found this area needs the services they provide.

“There isn’t anything like us within 100 [or so] miles,” he said.”

While they are currently fully licensed by Minnesota DHS, Jenna Blanchard said Recovery in Motion won’t be open until Dec. 2024 or Jan. 2025, when the insurance details should be hammered out. Raguse said the response from the community has been very positive to their initial arrival.

“They’ve helped us along the way,” he said. “Every step that we have taken, they’ve reached out to us. We’ve reached out to them. We’re building very good, good relationships with the city here.”

“Anytime we tell anybody who we are, what we’re doing, the response is always the same,” Jenna Blanchard said. “This area needs this service.”

After they get up and running, Jenna Blanchard said plans include having a separate building dedicated to the outpatient program and a 24/7 online assessment by July 2025.

Recovery in Motion will be hosting an open house in November. For more information, visit https://recoveryinmotionmn.com/