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Our Mission

To heal and empower any person with substance abuse disorder in a safe, nurturing environment to assist them in becoming a respected, responsible, productive member of the community.

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Your one time or sustaining monthly donations help us help others. No amount is too small to make a big difference in someone’s life.

About Us

Co-founders John McManus

Medical Director Ruby Bayan, MD

In 2015, John McManus and Ruby Bayan, MD, an adult, child and addiction psychiatrist  shared a common vision to provide the best care needed for those suffering from addiction in our community.  With more than 50 years of experience between them in this field, they collaborated with other community stakeholders to bring their vision to life.
Waterfront Recovery Services is the first detox program in Humboldt County certified by the State of California Department of Health Care Services to provide Incidental Medical Services.

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Congressman Jerad Huffman tours Waterfront with aide John Driscoll, John McManus and Dr. Bayan. (right).

Co-founder John McManus and Medical Director Dr. Ruby Bayan meeting with political leaders and community partners. (below)

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My counselor couldn’t have done a better job. He always had time for me and gave me excellent care. I was given the same from detox staff all the way to the good food of the kitchen staff. Thank you!

Addressing the Needs of a Community in Crisis

Addiction Studies - Wellness Practices - Life Skills

Employment Opportunities - Transition Support

Waterfront Administrative Staff

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Jeremy Campbell

Executive Director

Jackie Coghill

Nurse Practitioner

Jamaica Bartz

Admissions Director

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Thank you Waterfront staff! I love you all and appreciate your care and encouragement. You have given me a good starting board for my recovery journey; I will miss all of you.

Alcohol Drug Care Services opened Waterfront Recovery Services in the fall of 2017 to provide medically supervised detox and addiction therapy. Our staff of medical professionals and counselors specializing in addiction issues work continuously to develop compassionate and effective programs for residents in an effort to treat the whole person.

 

Detox Counselors at Waterfront case manage for individual SUD (Substance Use Disorder) recovery and general health care. WRS also provides services for dual diagnosis clients with secondary mental health issues. 

 

Extra curricular exercise programs, yoga, art workshops, and a variety of spiritual practices scheduled on site bring inspiration and vitality to the process of putting lives back together.

Resumes, job interview skills, cooking classes, budgeting are some of the offerings our transitional housing staff make available.

Waterfront has a New Executive Director

We are excited to announce that Jeremy Campbell has been promoted to Executive Director of Alcohol Drug Care Services. Campbell has been a part of the Waterfront Recovery Services team for three years and recently stepped up to serve as Assistant to the Executive Director under Dr. Ruby Bayan, Medical Director and acting Executive Director. He has been an invaluable contributor to the organization as we navigated numerous major changes these last few years. We feel confident that Campbell’s leadership will keep us on the path of fulfilling our mission as we grow and continue to develop programs

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Spotlight continued

Staff Spotlight - Intake Coordinator Stacy Smith

Staff Spotlight - Stacy Smith

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Intake Coordinator

Photos: TOP - Stacy at entrance to Waterfront CENTER - Stacy tabling with co-worker Jamaica Bartz at street outreach event BOTTOM - Stacy with co-worker Kasee Duncan doing "self care."

Emancipated at 14, Stacy was a mother at 16. “I had to grow up fast.”  She was with her children’s father for 13 years but when substances entered the picture, “My life went downhill and I lost everything.” Still vividly able to remember that time in her life, Stacy understands how Waterfront clients may feel when they arrive. This is key to Stacy’s dedication to her work. She shares her story of getting clean “the hard way,” just staying in her room, isolated and desperate.

So when former WRS staffer, Nicki Vance, told Stacy about an opportunity to get training in an EDD program funded by the Opioid Crisis Grant, Stacy opted to train to work at Waterfront. She started in detox and continued her education to become a counselor. “It was meant for me to be here. My clean date that I celebrate is November 1, 2018,” a year to the day after Alcohol Drug Care Services opened Waterfront.

Coming to work at WRS was more than an employment opportunity, it became her community, her family. “I'm thankful that John [McManus] and Dr. Bayan gave me an opportunity and a chance to work here. It’s given me a new life. I don’t have family here in Eureka, so besides my 12 Step family, this is my family. This is my herd.”

And it was this herd that circled around Stacy when she got a call one afternoon during the pandemic telling her that her partner was on life support because of a fentanyl overdose. “I dropped to my knees.” Because of the pandemic and because she was “just the girlfriend,” she was only able to see him once before he passed. They had been together for almost two years, this felt solid, like the natural progression of her sobriety and professional growth.  “In two days it just . . . this place helped me stay clean. My story was here when I met him. Jackie [Coghill] and Dr. Bayan . . . I don't know what I’d do without Dr. Bayan. She's a blessing. She cares a lot for her chickadees,” she laughs. “The clients are not her only chickadees, the staff is too. It's just nice to be able to feel like you can go talk to, like, I have Jamaica [Bartz] and Dr. Bayan that no matter what the issue is, I can go to them and they will sit and listen.”

The shock of her partner passing made it hard to go back to counseling. Perhaps the hardest was  . . .  self doubt, wondering how she had missed it. She eased back into work and eventually landed in the admissions office, all the time supported by her WRS family of coworkers. She occasionally pulls shifts in other departments, sometimes SUD counseling or medications because she’s been trained and certified and has experience so she is able to help out where needed. “I’ve worked in every department except case management and the kitchen. I love this place. It’s cool. You know, like, if we're short staffed, I'm able to help in different departments.”

“I used to think the work started in detox but it’s really in the admissions office. It starts with that initial phone call and that screening. Recently, after COVID restrictions were lifted, WRS staff discussed walk-in screenings for locals again. Stacy enthusiastically offered to come in early to do them. She arrives at 8 in the morning does walk-in interviews from 8 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. “It’s first come, first served. We can only bring people with alcohol use disorder on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays but with Partnership, we work with seven different counties so the walk-in process helps us bring in more people within our community.”

She does between one and seven screenings a day. It all starts with a phone call where she asks what substance the caller wants to detox from. If there are mental health issues or the person is intoxicated, Stacey navigates that in the process. Scheduling can be tight and some screenings take longer than others so when people don’t show up, it can throw things off. She likes having that first interaction with people doing in-person screenings. “You get to see them in person, you get that connection with them right off the bat because sometimes on the phone, it’s hard to get that connection with somebody because you can’t see them, there’s no eye contact . . . A lot of our phone screenings are the people that can’t make it in and the people from out of town, from other counties.”

Stacy also helps out at the Women’s transitional houses, dropping in a few days a week to talk and encourage the women working to put their lives back together. This could mean helping them navigate employment or education goals or just sitting and talking about everyday issues. “I have to remember that this isn’t my personal recovery here. I do that outside of here. I just have to learn not to take stuff home.”

“You can't work here without doing some sort of self care. Self care is a big thing for me. You know, this job isn’t easy,” she laughs. When asked about the kind of self care she does, Stacy confides, “Nails done, toes done, rollercoasters, conventions to reach out to my family outside of here.” She lives with a roommate and helps care give for their aging mom. Part of that is the realization that living alone wasn’t healthy for her. But wait . . . was that rollercoasters on the list of things Stacy does for self care? Yes, she sometimes takes mental health days to ride rollercoasters … “I just got back from Six Flags,” she giggles. “That’s where I go for therapy, to scream and get it all out and I come back fresh, ready to start over.”

Stacy continues to work on her sobriety, attending 12 Step meetings regularly. As part of her self care she’s also working to rebuild her relationships with her kids and talks about the the need for patience in this process. “I’m doing the work,” she says softly.

"You know, you don't get into recovery to like, make a billion dollars, you get into recovery to help people. I've always loved helping people. I love this place. I’m here for awhile,” she laughs.

Medical Director Dr. Ruby Bayan on Community Voices

Waterfront Recovery Services provides a medical model for Substance Use Disorder designed by Dr. Bayan and Co-founder John McManus.

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. . . really pulled through for me in detox going above and beyond, helping me through a very tough time. I should be getting my daughter back very soon. Thank you so much.

Community Steps Up To Honor
John McManus and Support WRS
Sunday June 5th. Click here for info.

John McManus 1964 - 2022

indebted to this tenacious and compassionate man.

Family, friends and community collaborators came together at his memorial to celebrate the life of this powerhouse that ended too soon due to ALS. Speakers shared stories about McManus as loving father, smart, compassionate advocate, amazing musician and most of all, hilarious friend. Laughter marked most interactions with him and this occasion was no different. There was a general sense of appreciation that we had this wonderful man in our lives.

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It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the passing of Alcohol Drug Care Services’ Executive Director and Waterfront co-founder John McManus. He was a fearless, street-smart visionary who insisted on raising the bar for care in our community. McManus walked the walk and showed others the way. We will forever be

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