Dover’s new Recovery Cafe opens to the public this Friday after hosting a soft open last week for community members to see the space.
Recovery cafes are community spaces that are safe and drug- and alcohol-free. Once the cafe in Dover opens, people will be able to visit up to three times as a guest.
From there, visitors must become members to spend time at the cafe. That means agreeing to three rules: they come into the facility drug- and alcohol-free, they contribute to the cafe somehow – such as cleaning up the lounge or taking the trash out – and they commit to attend one circle per week.
Cafe manager Aliyah Bass says the Dover area didn’t have an accessible, safe place for people who want to stay clean, but the cafe changes things.
“They wake up on a Friday, nowhere to go? We're open,” Bass said. “We're open, so we make it so they'll be covered all week long.”
Bass wants to make it clear – the Recovery Cafe is not a drop-in or treatment center – it’s a space and a resource for long-term support.
Members will be able to get help with things like scheduling doctor’s appointments and finding housing assistance. They’ll also be able to access activities like open mic nights, exercise classes and meditation sessions at the facility on East Division Street.
Highmark Health Options and Network Connect sponsor the cafe.
The cafe will be open from 4 to 9 p.m. Mondays and Fridays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends.
