By Carly Shaia

Special to The Farmville Herald

The first step can be the hardest on the journey to recovery from mental trauma or substance abuse. One may be afraid of family or friends finding out about a secret long kept, or are afraid of judgment from the surrounding community and co-workers.

The word “rehab” has an unfortunate sting to it that turns many people away from seeking help.

Crossroads Community Services Board serves as a facility for mental health, intellectual disabilities and substance abuse rehabilitation.

Alongside its mission, a new source of healing has arrived at the facility — The Healing Hut.

A small house on the facility’s grounds, the Healing Hut is less intimidating than a clinic facility, with a small kitchen and two bedrooms to serve as a meeting place, a place to use provided technology and a place for a new form of therapy.

The therapy is advocated through peer support, matching people with similar experiences through individual and group meetings.

“All of us have been on the other side of the table; we are living proof that you can recover,” said Matt Conyers, a patient and peer support volunteer at Healing Hut.

“You can come here whether you are in recovery … or wherever you are at in your journey,” said Lisa Peade, a certified peer recovery specialist at Crossroads.

The Healing Hut is working to be open five days a week along with expanding its group programs.

“With a therapist, you get an hour a week at best,” explained Thomas Glowicki, a patient and leader of the art therapy group. “They (the therapists) know what it is like (to have depression).”

As opposed to seeing a clinical physician for a short period of time, a person can come to the Healing Hut for hours at a time. “It’s open and it’s free,” said Glowicki.

Currently, the facility is open to all patients and nonpatient community members on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Along with open hours the support groups meet on Wednesdays, and a new art therapy group session starting on March 8.

“Here you can just come and talk to somebody who cares about what you’re going through,” Peade said.

The Healing Hut is meant to be a bridge between Crossroads and the next stages in life, and as a gathering place for community members in need. “The major thing people can do here is get support,” said Peade. The Hut is a place to start recovery, continue recovery, or find support in those who have similar stories. “We want to be the link between point A and point B,” explained Conyers. Some people aren’t always looking for guidance, but just someone to talk to when walking into the Healing Hut. “We’ve all come from a place in being in their position,” said Conyers.

One key to being a volunteer with the facility is to be “a good listener,” said volunteer and patient Dawne Stirling. The small house is meant to be a humble environment and a no judgment zone. “It’s a place to find some connections,” said Stirling.

There is no physical or mental evaluation needed to come into the facility. “We come in as a friend so that you’re not so lonely,” said Conyers.