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.
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 medically managed detox program in Humboldt County certified by the State of California Department of Health Care Services to provide Incidental Medical Services.
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)
Addressing the Needs of a Community in Crisis
Addiction Studies - Wellness Practices - Life Skills
Employment Opportunities - Transition Support
​
Waterfront Administrative Staff
Jamaica Bartz
Executive Director
Rebecca Camilli
Chief Operations Officer
Dr. Landon Whittington
Medical Director
Jackie Coghill
Nurse Practitioner
Estelle Mitchell
Administrative Assistant
Office Manager
Stacy Smith
Director of Admissions
Josh Padilla
Clinical Director
Stephanie Sanchez - WRS Kitchen & Women's House
STAFF PROFILE
Stephanie in the WRS kitchen and at the Women's House.
Sanchez says that in addition to learning all that it takes to work in the kitchen, she’s learned how to communicate with people in positive ways that contribute to the sense of community in the kitchen.“It’s basically that you know everyone is in recovery here and so it gives me an opportunity to continue my recovery, shows me how to live and work and in the case of the Waterfront kitchen, celebrate in healthy ways — straight. Yeah that’s awesome. Jessica and Jesse really listen to our conversations and how we talk to each other so when they give me feedback, that helps me know that what I’m doing on an everyday basis is really helping me. That’s what I like about Waterfront, they’re always giving you compliments, encouragement and they can always see the change in someone. They never have anything negative to say.”
After graduating from the WRS 90 day program, Sanchez kept busy. “I was working with the Jefferson Center Project with Heidi Benzonelli and her team. They bought a building down by the Shanty [in Old Town] that they’re making it into a hostel. It’s called Sky Horse. I got the opportunity to work with them for a couple years to learn some type of trade.” Here again, Sanchez talks about having the opportunity to work on her communication skills “and not to get offended by corrective criticism in a good way, to help me become the person I’m becoming now.”
In previous jobs, Sanchez says, “I always showed up and tried, but I never really felt like I belonged anywhere. Now I have a different mindset. My bosses are a lot like Heidi, very encouraging, very . . . she was just phenomenal. I still have a really good relationship with her. She gave me the opportunity, right out of Waterfront, to go to the cohort project with the Jefferson Project. She’s one of my one of my people that I go to if I’m struggling or if I just need to talk or a hug, I go to her.”
While training with Heidi, Sanchez says,“I lived at the Waterfront women’s home and I basically went to do my training with the cohort every morning, Monday through Thursday. I’ve been living there close to three years so you know I really have taken advantage of what Waterfront has to offer. A lot of people tend to not trust the process of what Waterfront has to offer. Dr. Bayan worked with me and I’ve continued with whatever routine or whatever treatment plan she had. I trusted that she knew what she was doing with my life. I have more than three years of sobriety.”
Before coming to work in the Waterfront kitchen with Jesse and Jessica, Sanchez had never cooked for large groups of people. “I could cook for one or two people so learning how to cook for 30 or 50 people has been a really good
​
Executive Director, Jamaica Bartz
Nurse Practitioner, Jackie Coghill
Director of Admissions, Stacy Smith
Case Management/Admin Assistant, Estelle Mitchell
Intake Coordinator, Kasee Duncan
SUD Counselor, Joel Grosh
Kitchen Manager, Jesse Pearson
Front Office, Michael Wentworth
SUD Counselor Michele Shively
Kitchen Co-Manager, Jessica Pearson
Admissions Assistant, Michele Asbury
​
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.
"
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.
"
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!
"
. . . 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.
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.
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
Community Steps Up To Honor
John McManus and Support WRS
Sunday June 5th. Click here for info.
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.
Waterfront Recovery Services Board of Directors
Dennis Leonardi - Board President
Lea Nagy - Secretary
Jacob Rosen - Vice President
Stuart Altschuler
Dylan Feierabend - Treasurer
Shannon Chavez, MD
STAFF PROFILE Sanchez Continued
experience. I’m learning how to use different seasonings, and learning how to serve it at the right time . . . all that it takes to run a kitchen.” She’s learned about proper sanitation practices and temperatures as well as working as a team with coworkers. “They trust me with the whole kitchen on Saturdays. No one‘s never given me an opportunity to flourish or to grow. Jesse and Jessica have really instilled a lot of confidence in me by the way they love each other and the way they communicate with each other and the way they communicate with us — makes it more like I want to go to work instead of I gotta go to work. When they come in in the morning, they’re all like, good morning family! They’re good managers and good bosses. I’ve never had anybody like that before in my life. It’s amazing.
She goes on to say, “We also try to accommodate people. If they don’t like pork or whatever we try to work with them so that they can be comfortable and be felt like they’re loved because everyone just wants attention and love when you’re in recovery. I’m still learning and so when the clients say the food was awesome and I have no leftovers, then that really means that I actually put it in with love. You have to do it in layers. It’s like every layer is as a love or a hug from the cooks. So I feel very accomplished when I’m at the end of the day, like I’m a partner and a team player. We work together. We plan it out, we dish it out . . . you’re gonna do this, I’ll do that and can you help me here? It’s taught me how to rely on another person instead of trying to do it by myself.”
​
Sanchez still lives at the WRS women’s house. But now as the house manager. “Not in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine I would be a house Manager taking care of other women. Before, I was a very angry person. I wasn’t very nice. So this too has really helped me learn how to be more positive, how to approach people, how to love people where they’re at and
basically just to see the progress in myself is phenomenal. I still do my recovery. I get to come to work at Waterfront and I still get to be help other women who are in the house change their lives by just being an example of what trusting Waterfront has to offer.”
Looking back, Sanchez talks about coming through the door of Waterfront, “I was broken. I was I was a mess. I was tired of being tired and so I basically left my old self at the front door and I haven’t picked that old Stephanie up.” She’s learned new ways to be in the world and new ways to communicate with compassion and authenticity. Her role is to “make sure that the women feel safe in the house, that they’re doing their chores — each one has a chore for the week. I randomly drug testing every week and basically just be there to give, to guide them and be a friend.” Some of the women in the house are attending college, others are working. One of them is working to get her son back. And another just got a job at Waterfront.
She credits Waterfront leadership for modeling healthy ways of dealing with day to day issues. “Jamaica, Becka, Stacy and Kassee are the people who really fed into my life when I was a client. Those are the people that I kind of watch to see how they handle things. Basically, being able to be a functioning member of society again in a healthy way instead of taking advantage of the community. It’s like for once, I feel loved, I love myself and I belong.
When asked what she would say to someone thinking about coming to Waterfront, Stephanie says, “Just give it a chance, like at first you’re unsure but just give it a chance. Time heals all wounds and time will get you sobriety. Freedom from your addiction as long as you try and as long as you can slow your life down and slow your mind down and just chill for a minute. Take advantage of the three months that you’re able to stay, take advantage of that healing process and don’t rush to try to get out to the outside world cause it’s always there.