Center for Addiction Treatment

Center for Addiction Treatment was first to focus on disease 50 years ago

Center for Addiction Treatment (CAT), which opened its doors as our community’s first addiction treatment center in 1970, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.  While 2020 is a year unlike any other, facing a global pandemic in the midst of our local drug epidemic, there is cause to celebrate the thousands of lives saved by CAT and our entire recovery community. 

CAT began its 50 year history in this community in June of 1970 as the Center for Comprehensive Alcoholism Treatment (CCAT). The agency offered a unique viewpoint on addiction at the time – the organization’s founders firmly believed addiction was a disease to be treated, not a moral failing to be punished. Over the years, the issues of addiction treatment and mental health have come a long way toward overcoming stigma to create a positive community of hope for those in recovery. 

CAT started as a half-way house, then opened its detox unit several years later. By 1990, the local nonprofit was providing detox to more than 1,000 patients annually. Currently, the licensed, medical staff offers the only community-based, medically-monitored detox in the region and is one of our community’s most-respected comprehensive addiction treatment agencies. 

Ryan: There is HOPE - YouTube