On Friday April 29 at 3pm, A.F. Whitsitt Center had a ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the completion of it’s 2 year long pavilion project.
In spring 2014, Andrew Pons, Director of A.F. Whitsitt Center, and Melissa Stuebing, primary counselor for Kent County Crisis Beds, began fundraising to build a new pavilion after the old one was destroyed by winter storms.
That fall, volunteers from the community helped to clear away the wreckage of the old pavilion to make room for the new.
“The pavilion was a place of peace for the patients. We would meditate with patients outside in the morning, have group counseling sessions outside and also use it for recreational activities. It is so important to have outdoor space for patients to get time outside the walls of the facility and back into nature again.” says Melissa Stuebing.
“The new pavilion will be used to enhance the experience of patients in residential treatment by providing an outside space for individual and group sessions as well as for meditation and recreation. This is just one of the many initiatives to make services at A.F. Whitsitt more holistic, enjoyable and effective”, says Andrew Pons.
“Addiction affects more than just the addict, it affects the whole community. We all know at least one neighbor, co-worker, classmate, church member or friend that has been affected personally by addiction. It doesn’t discriminate. These are the people in our community that we are striving to help”, says Melissa Stuebing.
Contributors to the pavilion project include Town of Chestertown, Hope Fellowship, Rotary Club of Chestertown, Eastern Shore Alano Club, Bayside HOYAS, Gillespie and Son as well as individual donors and volunteers.