Home Food News One year in, Hope Spot organizers eye new facility

One year in, Hope Spot organizers eye new facility

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XENIA — As Nathan Crago looks back on the first year of the Hope Spot, a community center in Xenia designed to help those recovering from an addiction or a mental disorder, as well as for families of those working through those issues, he sees a place that has changed lives.

“In my opinion, it’s been a great year,” said Crago, the facility’s board president. “I think we’ve had the opportunity to help a lot of people and change a lot of lives. We’ve done a lot of productive things over there. A lot of people have been utilizing the facility.”

According to Crago, the Hope Spot hosts 11 12-step meetings, morning and night, up from the handful of meetings that met there when it opened. Some of those meetings have 6-8 people, others closer to 20-30 individuals.

It’s a place that has helped a lot of people.

So many people, in fact, that the facility’s organizers are looking for a larger building that could host multiple meetings at one time.

“… We have a lot of plans for growth and expansion,” Crago said.

“It’s nice to see it paying off and doing what it was intended to do,” Crago said. “I’ve heard multiple people say that the Hope Spot saved their life, having the place to come when all the other doors were locked. The Hope Spot was the open door.”

The Hope Spot of Greene County, a community center in Xenia designed to help those recovering from an addiction or a mental disorder, as well as for families of those working through those issues, opened a year ago.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2016/07/web1_hope4.jpgThe Hope Spot of Greene County, a community center in Xenia designed to help those recovering from an addiction or a mental disorder, as well as for families of those working through those issues, opened a year ago. File photo

Nathan Crago, the Hope Spot’s board president, speaks at the facility’s opening in July 2015.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2016/07/web1_hope1.jpgNathan Crago, the Hope Spot’s board president, speaks at the facility’s opening in July 2015. File photo

The Hope Spot of Greene County, a community center in Xenia designed to help those recovering from an addiction or a mental disorder, as well as for families of those working through those issues, opened a year ago.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2016/07/web1_hope5.jpgThe Hope Spot of Greene County, a community center in Xenia designed to help those recovering from an addiction or a mental disorder, as well as for families of those working through those issues, opened a year ago. File photo

By Nathan Pilling

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Anniversary picnic

The Hope Spot will host a one-year anniversary picnic from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 6, at Shawnee Park in Xenia. Free food and drinks, face painting, an inflatable bounce house, activities for kids, prize raffles and more will be available.

Reach Nathan Pilling at 937-502-4498 or on Twitter @XDGNatePilling.