PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Cara Rothe has been sober for 16 years. She’s now on the advisory board of the Recovery Cafe Roseway and said she would have loved to have something like this when she began her journey to sobriety.
The Recovery Cafe Roseway is set up just like most cafes with many caffeine options, plenty of tables and sitting space. But it’s no ordinary coffee shop.
“People who are going through some sort of crisis need to see that they are worthy of a nice space to be in,” Rothe told KOIN 6 News.
It’s housed inside the Calvary Presbyterian Church, 3516 NE 71st Avenue, and had its soft opening recently, joining a network of 57 Recovery Cafes across the US and Canada.
Joan Miller, the co-founder of the Recovery Cafe Roseway, has a long connection to the concept. Her old roommate founded the original Recovery Cafe in Seattle in 2004.
Miller said they wanted the Portland space to be welcoming. The Roseway is in the basement of the church — now a refurbished and comfortable space.
“The Recovery Cafe is simply meant to be a community of support and belonging for people who identify as being in recovery from anything,” Miller said.
Rothe joined the advisory board and helped spur the dramatic change.
“I think the Recovery Cafe is such a critical piece to help Portlanders to heal and for all of us to come together and be part of something that is part of the solution,” Rothe said.
The Recovery Cafe Roseway asks people who come in to make 3 commitments:
- Be drug and alcohol free for 24 hours
- Attend a weekly recovery circle
- Eventually give back to the community and cafe through service
The opposite of addiction, Miller said, is connection.
“This is not the answer to everything. but this is something we can do,” she said. “Our community can come together and provide and use what’s been entrusted to our care to serve the greater community.”
At this time the Recovery Cafe Roseway is only open Tuesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. They hope to add separate times for adolescents in the near future.