Staff Report

FT LAUDERDALE, Fla – The Broward Addiction Recovery Center (BARC) will soon have a new home with space to accommodate more people in a state of the art facility designed to provide the best care available for people in need of alcohol and drug addiction treatment.

Broward Commissioners, BARC staff and community leaders officially broke ground at the new BARC property located at 325 SW 28th St. in Fort Lauderdale on June 29. The planned fifty bed facility is designed to provide enhanced patient privacy in a spacious modern medical setting conducive to rehabilitation and recovery and is scheduled for completion in 2018.

“Today we celebrate much more than just a new building. We celebrate the people we help, the lives that we save and that makes us a stronger community and a better Broward. Substance abuse and mental illness is a disease and it’s everyone’s problem. Programs aimed at intervention, treatment and prevention benefit our community as a whole,” said Commissioner Lois Wexler.

“For more than four decades, BARC has provided outstanding service, partnering with community organizations and agencies to bring help to those suffering from drug and alcohol abuse. Last year, BARC provided service to more than three-thousand people and is a vital part of Broward’s commitment to human services and a strong social safety net,” said Commissioner Tim Ryan.

“This new facility is patient oriented and will offer a safe and warm environment where people can comfortably work to turn their lives around and recover from what we know is a chronic disease. This is the future,” said BARC Director Paul Faulk.

BARC is administered through Broward County’s Human Services Department and offers a comprehensive range of services for residents affected by substance abuse and/or co-occurring disorders. The current facility has been operating out of an old church building for the past forty years with limited space and aging equipment. Plans for a new facility have been in the works for more than seventeen years.

“This new facility is proof that perseverance, dedication and commitment will overcome all difficulty,” said BARC Substance Abuse Advisory Board President Rocky Rodriguez.

“There’s always going to be a drug that presents a challenge. But, BARC is here to help everyone, regardless of circumstance,” said BARC Substance Abuse Advisory Board Vice President Donald Maines.

The Broward County Board of County Com- missioners awarded a $20 million construction contract to build the new Broward Addiction Recovery Center facility last year. The future 2-story, 49,000-square-foot building is designed to meet “LEED Gold” certification standards set by the U.S. Green Building Council. It is anticipated that the new BARC Central will serve more than 4,500 clients each year and is scheduled for completion in 2018.