In March 2024, the Winston-Salem community celebrated the long-awaited opening of an expanded residential substance use treatment center operated by Addiction Recovery Care Association, Inc., better known as ARCA. ARCA is a licensed, nonprofit agency that offers cost-effective treatment services in the Piedmont Triad and surrounding regions. Licensed by the state of North Carolina for the treatment of chemical dependency, ARCA is also nationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF).

“We serve a great community who has been waiting for us to open this new facility,” says Thom Elmore, who has led the organization as chief executive officer since 2013. “Opioid use has been rising, alcohol and methamphetamine use is increasing, so the demand is great, the need is there, and we are glad to be in a position with this new facility to better serve our community.”

The 87,000-square-foot facility is located on Shattalon Drive in north Winston-Salem near Wake Forest University and easily accessed by public transportation. It features a total of 99 beds – 24 detox beds and 75 treatment beds. The new facility will allow the nonprofit, founded in 1969, to continue its 55-year history of providing hope to clients and their families as they recover from substance use.

 “We had been operating for years out of a much older facility that consisted of five separate buildings with 60 beds and about 30,000 square feet,” explains Darrell Boyles, who recently began his 11^th year working at ARCA. Darrell is currently the chief operations officer. “We began looking for ways to expand in 2016 because the demand for our services was very high. This building became available; it used to be a nursing home, so the layout was perfect, but it needed quite a bit of work. We began our first capital campaign with the slogan Hope Begins Here.”

The project’s timing in 2020-21 brought numerous challenges associated with COVID-19, including construction and supply chain delays and a significant increase in construction costs over original estimates. Despite the support of community fundraising efforts and generous gifts, progress was slow going. “We knew funding was coming, but we didn’t have it yet, so there was a gap there,” explains Darrell. “We were introduced to David Black, commercial banker at TowneBank and later Triad president Scott Baker, who were up for the challenge. They took the time to get to know our organization and understand our needs. We were pleased to be able to partner with them. We completely renovated the building from top to bottom with new electrical, new heating and air, a new roof, new finishes and fixtures, and TowneBank played a part in that.”   

ARCA’s mission is to provide detox and residential treatment services to individuals 18+ while educating families, employers, and the community regarding substance use disorders and advocating for those who seek recovery. “We believe that everybody deserves the right to change, and we also believe in being the giver of second chances,” says Thom. 

Addiction and the reasons behind it are often complex. Some clients find themselves back in detox and treatment multiple times. “Detox is when a client is in active addiction, and they come to us to get help, break the cycle and become drug or alcohol free. It is a medical stabilization that allows the substances to be purged from their system,” explains Darrell. “The detox process takes 3-7 days, but then we encourage them to stay for residential treatment once they complete detox. The statistics suggest that the longer a person stays in treatment, the more successful they are in ongoing recovery.” ARCA’s highly skilled staff utilizes evidence-based practices to create an atmosphere of holistic care. They use the successful 12-step programs and clients attend meetings every night of the week. 

Another key component ARCA services is the family program which meets twice a week. Counselors conduct sessions with family members and clients. “This program provides an excellent opportunity to educate families that what is happening with the client is not necessarily their fault,” explains Thom. “The family program empowers family members and other loved ones by showing them that while they can be supportive, the responsibility of change still lies with the client. It helps the entire family to heal.”

Most ARCA clients are referred from hospital emergency rooms or other detox facilities, but potential clients may also simply call and go through a pre-screen process. To learn more about ARCA, visit ARCANC.org or call 1-877-615-ARCA (2722).