SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane County has approved a $600,000 grant for Maddie’s Place, allowing the non-profit to expand its addiction resources.
Maddie’s Place is a non-profit recovery nursery that treats infants born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS), a condition where newborns suffer withdrawal from substances they were exposed to in the womb, like alcohol, nicotine, or opioids.
“We’re only one of five clinics like this across the country,” said Shaun Cross, president and CEO of Maddie’s Place. “We’re the only one on the West Coast.”
Cross has been working to develop Maddie’s Place for the past seven years. He says NAS is the ripple effect of drug addiction, which is amplified by the surging amount of fentanyl in Spokane.
“Fentanyl is 1/20th the cost of heroin and 50 times as strong,” said Cross. “And it’s just everywhere. You can only imagine what it does to an infant that weighs four or five pounds.”
Maddie’s Place offers specialized care for these infants, along with an abundance of resources for families.
A crucial resource is the temporary housing they offer for parents to be able to stay with their baby.
That’s contingent on the parent(s) achieving, and maintaining sobriety.
Maddie’s Place is a second chance for families like David Aga’s, who has been battling drug addiction and incarceration most of his life.
“The first time I used heroin was at 14,” said Aga, who later said he was a drug addict by the time he was 17.
It led to a lengthy battle with substance abuse, but his life changed when he had his daughter, Debra.
That’s when he sought help from Maddie’s Place.
“I was terrified,” he admitted, anxious about the judgment he’d face from staff upon arrival.
His fears were quickly put to rest; rather than being condemned, he was welcomed with open arms.
“I walked in and became part of a family,” he said. “That’s something that I’ve been wanting to be a part of for a long time, [to] have normal people in my life. And so I just clung to that.”
Aga has been sober for 15 months now. He’s a part of the staff at Maddie’s Place, working as a visitation coordinator for the non-profit.
This $600,000 grant will help Maddie’s Place acquire 0.92 acres of property that lies adjacent to their building; effectively doubling its size and resources.
Maddie’s Place is also partnering with Mt. Spokane Pediatrics to provide specialized care for the children.
