CLEVELAND, Ohio—Tim Gerber is a case manager at Stella Maris detox and recovery facility— but he’s also a former client. 

  • A Cleveland non-profit drug treatment facility is tripling in size to accommodate demand
  • Because of the opioid epidemic, Stella Maris has a detox waitlist of 120 people every day
  • The facility takes in everyone who needs help, regardless of their ability to pay for it

“It started at like 13 or 14 with prescription medications, and it ended at 22 with Heroin and Methamphetamine, and it was a long road of misery,” said Gerber.

While in his first detox at a facility in Akron, Gerber received news that would turn his life upside down. 

“I got news from my sister that my mom died on the couch of an overdose which… it shell shocked me, and um... I didn’t know what to do. I wanna say I was at that detox to just get off for a little bit and come back and party, but the party house, to me, just burned down,” said Gerber. 

That night, Gerber overdosed for the first time. His aunt, who lived in Cleveland, brought him to Stella Maris to get help.

What he found there was so much more than a detox, he found hope. 

“That was something that was bizarre to me. How are you happy without being high? Or under the influence of something because I was living my life so long thinking I needed something to be high on in order to be happy,” said Gerber. 

Gerber is now sober and in recovery. He helps others do what he did. 

“If you do want help, it’s there. And it’s at like an arm’s reach. It’s a phone call away,” said Gerber. 

Because of the opioid epidemic, Stella Maris has a detox waitlist of about 120 people every single day. 

“People are dying because when the window of opportunity comes along, and somebody reaches out for help...when you can’t get them in immediately, you lose them,” said Carole Negus, director of nursing Stella Maris. 

Carole Negus is the director of nursing at Stella Maris.

They’re currently in the process of building a 13,000 square foot addition to help even more people on the road to recovery. 

“The goal is to treat more people and help as many people as we can because we’re trying to save lives here,” Negus said. 

Stella Maris is a non-profit organization, and while they receive some state funding, they rely heavily on donors. 

Stella Maris takes in everyone who needs help, regardless of their ability to pay for it. 

For more information, you can visit their website.