Sponsored
If cost is standing between you and a safe place to live in early recovery, community-funded nonprofits are often the part of the safety net people overlook.
In Iredell County, North Carolina, donors just added $52,566 to one of them, expanding recovery housing in North Carolina for people who cannot pay private sober living rates.
The money came from the fourth annual Binks Memorial Fun Boat Run for Addiction Awareness on Lake Norman. The event raised $76,112.84 in total.
After expenses and a reserve for next year’s event, organizers Kurt Binkley and Chad Shutter presented Restoration Road Ministries founder Rob Harris with $52,566.42.
Who the Money Serves
Restoration Road Ministries runs what Harris calls transformational recovery houses. The organization has opened Travis’ House for men in 2025 and Jillian’s House for women in 2026.
Frank’s House and additional apartments are scheduled to open this fall, extending services to women with children and to families.
Beyond housing, the nonprofit provides recovery support, transportation and mentoring across Iredell County. It operates with more than 30 volunteers, two part-time employees and a board.
The organization grew out of loss on both sides. Binkley founded Binks Addiction Awareness after his 23-year-old son Travis died of an overdose in 2019, at a time when his family found few recovery resources available.
Harris lost his niece, a mother of two who had earned three college degrees, to mental health and addiction issues.
How Nonprofit Recovery Housing Fits the Safety Net
Nonprofit and faith-based organizations frequently fill gaps that licensed treatment programs are not built to cover.
Housing, rides to appointments and one-to-one mentoring rarely appear as billable services, yet they determine whether someone can hold onto progress after discharge.
Harris frames the difference in continuity. He described the partnership as helping the organization build a continuum running from detox and inpatient recovery through reintegration with family and children, and said the aim is to meet people where they are rather than leave them on their own after leaving a treatment center.
He also described the model as individualized. “Every person is unique in background, addiction, mental health, economic situation, family dysfunction, and brokenness,” he said. The organization works with residents for as long as they are moving forward, without a fixed timeline.
How to Access Affordable Recovery Support
Community nonprofits like this one are usually not listed alongside licensed facilities, so they take a little more searching. A few practical steps:
- Call 211 for North Carolina community resource referrals, including housing and recovery support
- Contact the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 for free, confidential treatment referrals in any state
- Ask any program directly whether it accepts Medicaid insurance, offers a sliding scale, or has scholarship beds
- Check whether local recovery community organizations run peer support and transportation services at no charge
What Comes Next
Binkley wants a larger venue next year, a three-day format, and more sponsors, boat manufacturers and recovery nonprofits taking part. The event has doubled its fundraising every year since it began.
Rehabs.org lists free and low-cost treatment options nationwide, including programs that accept Medicaid and Medicare. Search by state to compare what is available near you or call
800-914-7089
(
Sponsored)
to speak with a treatment advisor.
More Articles Like This
