MADISON, Wis. — A Madison startup is working to link those seeking addiction or mental health treatment to life-saving rehabilitation centers.
Recovery.com, which started as Rehab Path, is a website that connects people to treatment options.
Seeking treatment is a very personal journey for those struggling with addiction or mental illness. Cliff McDonald said he knows that firsthand. He’s the Chief Growth Officer for the company. He’s also a recovering alcoholic who has been sober for five years.
“I like to say that I had it under control for a long time,” McDonald said. “But the disease is progressive and for those of us who do have it, and I absolutely do, eventually it gets to a point where your life really becomes unmanageable.”
He acknowledged his path to recovery was not easy. That’s why he works to try to make it easier for others.
“Substance use disorder, if untreated, is fatal,” he said. “So many people historically haven’t been able to get access to the highest level of care.”
He said his goal is to change that.
“When you see someone transformed, and you see them put in the work, and you watch them live a life in recovery and start to flourish, and just live their best lives, I really think there’s no greater joy than helping people to achieve that,” he said.
Finding the right alcohol, drug or mental health rehabilitation program that also has openings and is affordable can be a daunting task.
Recovery.com gives you available options based on location, cost, insurance, treatment methods, levels of care, and medical conditions.
Ben Camp, one of the co-founders of Recovery.com, estimates that roughly 300 people per month are finding treatment through the website. But he says this is just the beginning.
“If you think of how many people there are in the U.S. and globally, that need treatment and are out there looking for it on the internet, that’s just a drop in the bucket of the impact we would like to have,” Camp said. “We’re working to help make the internet better in a small way by helping people in need when they turn to the internet to find trusted resources.”