Housing Project for Chronic Alcoholics Celebrates 10 Years

DULUTH, Minn. —

The courtyard at the New San Marco Apartments in Duluth is alive with smell of brats and burgers on the grill, and the sound of laughter and memories in the air.

But the celebration is a serious one.

“Probably the most gratifying thing I’ve ever done in my life is to see this facility developed, and get to know the people here,” said Gary Olson, CEO for the Center of Alcohol and Drug Treatment.

Olson has been working with treating chronic addiction for more than thirty years.

He says he has no doubt that this housing development has saved lives.

“People that don’t have housing that are chronic alcoholics die at an alarming rate,” Olson said.

This celebration is the tenth anniversary for New San Marco.

For the last ten years these apartments have seen nearly 300 residents, providing them with safe and affordable housing and access to services that can help them recover.

“It starts with the individual, obviously, and their immediate family, but the problem of untreated addiction affects the entire community,” Olson said.

Deb Holman, a street outreach worker for Chum, remembers when San Marco opened in 2007.

“If you look back to when San Marcos first opened, we took 30 chronic alcoholics right off the Lakewalk pretty much and moved them in here,” Holman said.

Deb knows some of these residents personally, and knows their lives are better off after moving to San Marco.

“It’s immeasurable the impact that it’s had,” she said. “It’s been a life saver for so many that have been through here. They would have died on the streets without this place.”

Recovery doesn’t happen overnight.

But those who have staked their careers in helping cure addiction all say that having somewhere stable to live is sometimes the first step.