THE SANCTUARY

AT IMPACT LIFE FARM

ABOUT THE FARM

The Sanctuary at Impact Life Farm is located in Seaford, Delaware and will be an agriculturally based recovery program with permanent recovery housing, workforce development (agriculturally-based entrepreneurship as well as entrepreneurship in other fields), case management, spiritual support, therapeutic arts, and other forms of recovery support. It will be a safe place and a one-stop shop for people in recovery to come post-residential treatment or post-incarceration/supervision. It will be a place where those in a vulnerable post-treatment state can solidify their recovery, their life skills and get the help they need to re-enter life confidently, with a plan, a community, and training behind them. At the Sanctuary, our aim will be to help participants move forward to full recovery, a life of sobriety, a feeling of community, and self-reliance.

A WORD FROM OUR CEO

THE MISSION

In general, IMPACT Life’s mission is to build a solid foundation of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) recovery through unique recovery residences, peer support, workforce development services, cultural and spiritual experiences, opportunities for leadership, and service work projects for Delaware residents seeking much-needed recovery and reentry help. IMPACT Life was established and awarded 501c3 status in 2020. I am a veteran of recovery and reentry with 26 years of behavioral health experience helping people, and my goal in starting IMPACT Life was to creatively address the gaps I see in even the best recovery programs locally and nationally. For those with SUD who are justice-involved, reentry help through recovery housing and wraparound programs is a priority. IMPACT Life currently runs SUD recovery housing and associated programs in partnership with atTAck addiction.

A SERENE SETTING

THE PROPERTY

The place where all this will happen is a property with a 5-bedroom, 2.5 bath house where 13 female recovery residents can live, with a 600 square foot garage and a pole barn that can be used for workforce development and other programs, plus 17.05 acres of land for farming, gardening, fishing/aquaponics, and therapeutic animal husbandry. Part of that land can be leased to regenerative farmers for income generation as well. We’ve been very fortunate to get a grant from the Delaware State Housing Authority to purchase this amazing property.

You can see original photos of the property at https://www.landwatch.com/sussex-county-county-delaware-farms-and-ranches-for-sale/pid/411828447.

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SELF-SUSTAINING

THE PROGRAM

The program itself will be financially self-sustaining after a startup period; there is currently no program like the IMPACT Recovery Farm in the state of Delaware. The recovery house will be for women only; the outbuildings on the property will be used for co-ed workforce development programs that serve all IMPACT Life program participants (from other recovery residences and our community Clubhouse program) and the larger Sussex community as well.

In our model, the wraparound services at the recovery residences are very important and the farm will give us space to expand our workforce development program, including a shift to therapeutic arts like culinary arts and recovery farming. It will give us an opportunity to become a community hub for our SUD population, their loved ones, and the community at large. Programming will include parenting classes, tutoring, therapeutic group meetings, and lots of partnering opportunities with other non-profits who offer excellent life skills, financial literacy, recovery, legal help, arts, and other programs. We want to partner with other agencies who can use the space and offer services to create a true community resource in Sussex in addition to recovery housing and workforce development.

OUR MODEL

THE METHOD

This proposed recovery residence builds on the IMPACT Life team’s years of SUD treatment experience. IMPACT Life is concurrently building new program areas including a clubhouse approach funded by a grant from Highmark Blueprints that will be the only program in the state offering a one-stop Clubhouse in New Castle County with comprehensive peer support, workforce development, harm reduction, case management, and community-based services. At the Sussex County IMPACT Recovery Farm, workforce development experts and other staff from the Clubhouse would provide the same workforce development and employment services, peer support, and case management wraparound services (linkage to food, Medicaid and other benefits, linkage to healthcare and behavioral health services, linkage to housing for those who need rapid rehousing or to prevent homelessness and more).

RELATING TO OUR CLIENTS

THE STAFF

The program is staffed with individuals who have gone through the recovery process themselves and who are active in the recovery community. They understand what clients go through emotionally to regain their independence and maintain their sobriety and are trained and credentialed in multiple practice areas that meet NARR IV standards. Their ultimate goal is to provide individuals with the confidence and a solid foundation to fully re-enter their community successfully; seek out their own ongoing support groups and other needed resources to remain sober and healthy. The program will also be staffed with a farm educator, and this is definitely an area where we can use your help. As a justice-involved person who has lived through addiction and now grateful to be in recovery, I know first-hand the benefits of working to heal and sustain oneself and how that might be done in a deep, powerful way at the Sanctuary at Impact Life Farm.

GALLERY