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Agency Celebrates New Facility, Expanded Service
Former school will provide up to 20 rooms for men re-entering the workforce
By Jason Togyer
The Tube City Almanac
January 07, 2025
Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Keenon Mikell, chief operating officer, and Keith Giles, chief executive officer, relax in the new community room at First Step Recovery Homes’ Olive Street facility. (Tube City Almanac photo)
A new housing facility in a former Downtown elementary school will provide safe, temporary homes to up to 40 men who are in the process of re-entering the workforce after drug or alcohol treatment.
Last month, First Step Recovery Homes held an open house inside its new facility at 416 Olive St. The building, constructed in the 1950s as St. Mary German Catholic School, was most recently used by FamilyLinks.
Keith Giles, chief executive officer of First Step, said the facility — which had been set up for the needs of children and young adults — needed extensive remodeling before it could begin accepting its first residents. Nine people were staying at Olive Street in December.
This former elementary school on Olive Street is now part of First Step Recovery Homes. It can house up to 40 men who are exiting drug or alcohol treatment programs. (Tube City Almanac photo)
Founded 33 years ago in McKeesport, First Step is a charitable agency that provides temporary housing, workforce development, counseling and mentoring to men who are exiting drug and alcohol recovery programs and looking to re-enter society. The agency, which also has housing facilities on Penny Street and Locust Street, as well as a health and wellness center on Market Street, has a nine-person board of directors.
“Some of the people who come to us might have had six, seven, eight months clean, and relapsed, and are referred to us because they want to get back on track,” Giles said. “Some of them are pretty beat up (emotionally) by the time they get to us.”
Many, though not all, of the people referred to First Step are from the Mon Valley area, he said.
In addition to the 40 beds available at the new Olive Street facility, First Step also has 17 beds available at Penny Street.
First Step has a target of no more than 30 men at the Olive Street facility, said Giles. He said the agency has three full-time employees and two part-time case workers at Olive Street, and is looking for another case manager.
Full-time workers stay at each facility throughout the day and overnight, Giles said: “Someone is always here, 24 hours per day.”
The remodeled school includes nine bedrooms on the first floor, along with a community meeting room, and 11 bedrooms on the second floor, with laundry facilities for tenants on each floor.
A commercial kitchen and dining room are available on the ground floor, along with a game and recreation center.
First Step partners with Primary Care Health Services to provide medical and dental care for residents, who may stay in the agency’s housing for up to five months, Giles said. Formerly, residents could remain for 18 months.
Funding for the remodeling project included grants from the Staunton Farm Foundation, Jefferson Regional Foundation, the Howard E. and Nell E. Miller Charitable Foundation and the G.C. Murphy Co. Foundation.
Shown celebrating at a recent open house are board members Richard Giles, board chair Frank Francis, COO Keenon Mikell, administrator Nichelle Rose, support staff Keith Rosser, and CEO Keith Giles. (Tube City Almanac photo)
First Step is currently leasing the facility from FamilyLinks. Whale’s Tail Inc., a program for homeless and at-risk children, purchased the vacant school in 1992, and then merged with the South Hills-based Parent & Child Guidance Center to form FamilyLinks in 2001.
Giles said First Step is working to raise the necessary funds to purchase the building outright from FamilyLinks.
Funding for First Step’s recovery programs is currently provided through the Allegheny County Office of Behavioral Health.
Giles said that operating funds are currently provided on a lump-sum basis, but that OBH is moving to a fee-for-service payment system, which may prove challenging. “Or, it could be good for us,” he said. “It’s too soon to tell.”
It’s a big step for an organization that has weathered more than its share of challenges, including a fire two years ago and occasional opposition from past and present city officials.
One such dispute, when First Step wanted to grow from six to 10 beds back in 1997, landed both sides in court and wound up with a settlement being paid to First Step.
Giles said the opening of the new Olive Street facility shows the value of faith and persistence. “Never give up on your dreams,” he said. “Keep pushing and follow the vision.”
Jason Togyer is volunteer executive director of Tube City Community Media Inc. and editor of Tube City Almanac.
Originally published January 07, 2025.
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