Club Serenity holds ribbon-cutting, open house for drop-in center
$1.5 million in opioid settlement money helped fund center
CHARLEROI – Club Serenity celebrated the opening of its substance use disorder drop-in center with an open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony at its headquarters at 702 Fallowfield Ave. in Charleroi.
The $1.5 million in funding for the center was provided, in part, from opioid settlement funding appropriated to the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs by the General Assembly for the 2023-24 fiscal year.
“We are really excited about our open house for our substance use disorder drop-in. We’re very excited to be able to help people and to welcome people into our place, where we meet people where they’re at,” said Dr. Joey Pagano, executive director of Club Serenity.
The grant provides Club Serenity with an opportunity to significantly expand its recovery resources, designed to provide an accessible lifeline for people navigating addiction.
The nonprofit, which has grown significantly since it started in 1996, provides addiction recovery support, peer mentoring, and community resources for individuals and families dealing with substance use disorder.
Club Serenity’s grant was one of 12 totaling nearly $20 million that the DDAP awarded to Pennsylvania organizations to expand drop-in center services as part of a larger effort to expand access to recovery resources and harm reduction services across the state. Club Serenity serves residents of Washington, Fayette, Greene, and Westmoreland counties.
Among Thursday’s speakers was Mark St. Cyr, board president of Club Serenity, who started as a client in the program, which set him on the path to addiction recovery.
St. Cyr pointed out that Club Serenity’s motto is “One person, one family, one community at a time.”
“I was that one person,” said St. Cyr, who credited Club Serenity for helping with his recovery. “My whole lifestyle changed, and my relationship with my family and the relationship I have with my children changed.”
St. Cyr said his recovery from addiction enabled his family to stop worrying about him and, instead, to focus on school, work, and other interests.
“My children started doing really well in school. They both went to college, they got great jobs. My wife stopped stressing with friends at work, and she started bringing a positive aspect about what her husband was doing in recovery and how he was helping other people,” said St. Cyr.
Club Serenity operates sober living houses to support people transitioning out of formal treatment, hosts recovery meetings and provides fellowship to help people build healthy, substance-free lives.
He said the drop-in center operates on a philosophy of low-barrier support, welcoming people exactly as they are.
“At Club Serenity, we’re not here to judge anybody. We love everybody for where they’re at and where they’re coming from, and this organization is built around humility, unconditional love and respect; our primary purpose is to love our fellow human beings.”
Pagano said the Mon Valley has historically functioned as a medically underserved area that faces steep resource deficits, and believes Club Serenity fulfills a crucial role in filling that gap.
He said Club Serenity operates as a collaborative community hub, and thanked the local community partners and resource providers who help the nonprofit provide stability for its clients. He said the organization has seen as many as 40 drop-ins a day.
“My hope is that this program is still here, and programs like this will stay long after I’m gone and Mark’s not here,” said Pagano. “We’re going to keep the door open. Our primary purpose is to remove barriers so people can access treatment, and if you don’t need treatment, come and have a cup of coffee and a conversation with us, because we’re good at that. Club Serenity was never built on money, it was built on love and it was built on hope.”