History
The history of Recovery Resources starts in two humble storefronts, by two caring and dedicated individuals. Martha (Marty) Baker, the wife of prominent Cleveland businessman Dick Baker, struggled with an addiction to alcohol, but was able to recover thanks to Alcoholics Anonymous. When members from the National Council on Alcoholism tried to start an alcoholism treatment agency in Cleveland, Marty rose to the occasion. She contacted her husband’s business associates to raise $90,000 for the new center, and in 1977, Alcoholism Services of Cleveland, Inc. began operations in a small storefront dress shop on Huron Road. Eventually, as the center expanded, it changed its name to Recovery Resources to recognize that addictions to multiple forms of drugs, including alcohol, were impacting the people of the Cleveland area.
Around the same time, Mel Edmonds, a steel worker, found himself out of work due to a disability. He engaged in various community programs designed to help the disabled, but found they did not meet his needs. Motivated by his experiences, he rented a small storefront on Fulton Road in Ohio City and started providing drop-in counseling at a kitchen table to anyone who would walk by. Gradually, with help from others, he was able to secure grant money to expand, and Neighborhood Counseling Services was on its way to becoming a premier provider of mental health services in the community.
The two great agencies that Marty Baker and Mel Edmonds founded merged in 2000 to become the current Recovery Resources, a place where mental illness and addiction can be treated under one roof, and the lives of clients with these illnesses can be restored.
