GREENFIELD — With less than two weeks to go until this year’s Firebird 5k footrace, the organizers say they need more runners to raise enough funds to help establish a sober house in Greenfield.
The race, held annually for the past three years as a fundraiser to help fight the ongoing addiction crisis that’s ravaging communities across New England, has about 45 runners signed up right now, organizer Devon DeKorver.
Money raised through this year’s race is planned to be used to purchase a piece of property in Greenfield through the Quincy-based nonprofit Sage Housing, which will be turned into a dedicated sober house — a place where those recovering from addiction can live for up to a year as they step down from a traditional detox program, DeKorver said.
“It’s a sort of three-quarters-way house, where residents still have some requirements — they have to attend meetings and do chores, meet with a case manager — but they’re given enough time to start to rebuild a life,” she said, referring to the term “halfway house.”
Franklin County suffers from a general lack of long-term treatment or sober-living options, which many experts say are key to maintaining recovery from substance abuse. A short-term detox center is in the works for the former Lunt Silversmith property and is expected to open this summer.
But DeKorver said less foot traffic on race day will make realizing that sober housing goal a bit harder.
“We know a lot of people typically sign up on the day of the race, but we’re still seeing significantly lower numbers,” she said. “The runners are the most important part of the event — we can’t do it without their support.”
Some of the previous races’ funds have been used to fuel the RECOVER Project’s Rides to Recovery program, which offers gas cards to help people get themselves or someone else to treatment programs or other support services, DeKorver said, among other recovery initiatives.
The race will be held on June 4 at Highland Pond. It starts at 10 a.m.
Registration closes on June 3 at 5 p.m. To register, visit the race’s official Facebook page at facebook.com/firebird5k or go to runreg.com/firebird5k.
You can reach Tom Relihan at: trelihan@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 264
On Twitter: @RecorderTom