Escambia County, FL
11/06/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/06/2025 13:54
Escambia County, Waterfront Mission Celebrate LifeBuilder Recovery Homes
Escambia County and Waterfront Mission celebrated a ribbon-cutting ceremony this week for Waterfront's newest LifeBuilder Recovery Program houses, representinga tangible commitment to addressing the local opioid crisis and providing safe, structured housing for individuals in recovery.
Escambia County awarded Waterfront Mission $338,878 in Opioid Abatement Funds to purchase the two homes, which will house up to eight men in Waterfront Mission's LifeBuilder Recovery Program.
"This is just one example of the positive impact Escambia County is making through the allocation of our Opioid Abatement Funds," Escambia County Administrator Wes Moreno said. "Organizations like Waterfront are doing incredible work and meeting critical needs in our community, and Escambia County is proud to support their efforts."
The funds were awarded by the Opioid Abatement Funding Advisory Board as part of a $50 billion settlement against opioid manufactures. These settlement funds will be distributed over the next 15 years to local municipalities to help combat the opioid crisis.
Waterfront's new LifeBuilder Recovery Program houses will support the journey from crisis to recovery by offering a stable residential environment, coupled with access to peer-support and life-skills training while men transition to their own permanent residence. With the addition of these two homes, Waterfront now has capacity for 35 men in their six transition houses.
"The longer a person is in recovery, the greater chances they have at being successful outside of recovery," said Clay Romano, President and CEO of Waterfront Mission. "And so we've always been looking at ways to expand our service through our addiction recovery program since we started. We have just constantly looked for opportunities to make this more valuable to the men that come through our program, and this is just another step in making that happen."
Romano said Waterfront originally planned to construct a new home with the Opioid Abatement Funds, but ended up purchasing the two homes instead due to high construction costs. This left some remaining funding for renovations, including a brand new back deck that was constructed by Waterfront Mission Maintenance Manager David Pattie. Romano also gave credit to Lexi Osburn, Waterfront's PR and Development Associate, for her instrumental role in securing the funding, including writing the grant application and presenting to the Opioid Abatement Funding Advisory Board.
Mike Kelly, Director of Recovery Programs for Waterfront, said the homes are incredibly important because they will provide an opportunity for these men to take the next step in their recovery while living in a stable environment.
"So this phase, they're able to get a job, they work, they have a nice place to stay," Kelly said. "Not only that, if they want to further their education, they can do that as well. We're thankful as to how God has blessed us, we're thankful for the grant that's been given to us, and so we're so grateful that the community can share this moment with us to say hey look, we're all excited about what's happening at Waterfront, and more so what's happening with the guys that are going to be in this house."
For more information about Waterfront Rescue Mission, visit waterfrontmission.org.
To learn more about the Opioid Abatement Advisory Board, visit MyEscambia.com.
Waterfront Director of Recovery Programs Mike Kelly, Waterfront President and CEO Clay Romano, Escambia County Governmental Liaison Liz Kissel, and Escambia County Administrator Wes Moreno cut the ribbon on one of Waterfront's new LifeBuilder Recovery Program houses on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
Waterfront President and CEO Clay Romano speaks at the ribbon-cutting for Waterfront's LifeBuilder Recovery Program houses on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
Waterfront Director of Recovery Programs Mike Kelly speaks at the ribbon-cutting for Waterfront's LifeBuilder Recovery Program houses on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
Escambia County, FL published this content on November 06, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on November 06, 2025 at 19:54 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]