Next Step called ‘beacon of hope’

ASHEBORO — Keaton would be proud to know the organization bearing his name is taking the next step.

Keaton’s Place held an open house on June 12 at 1407 S. Fayetteville St., Asheboro — the location of a new transition house for men seeking to defeat addiction.

It’s called Next Step: A Men’s Recovery Residence.

Susan Hayes, manager of Angel’s House for women with addictions, was on hand to lead a tour of Next Step. She said the two-story house has 13 beds with room for a couple more.

Hayes said that when the home is open, it will house men who are waiting to get into rehab and others who have completed rehabilitation and are working to reintegrate into society. That process includes finding jobs, going back to school and finding other “resources they need to flourish in life.”

There will be structure in the home, with duties and chores for the men. That will include cleaning, cooking, mowing the yard, taking care of the chickens, planting the garden — whatever is needed to be done. It will be structured living but will also include sports, games and outside activities.

An important requirement will be attendance at AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) and NA (Narcotics Anonymous) meetings.

Chip Womick, director of services, said the house was built as a single-family home. Later, an addition was built for office space. He said once they bought the place, some of the main renovations were to add walls. But a skilled hand did the decorating.

People entering Next Step during the open house were amazed at what they saw. The renovations were first-class with furnishings and appliances that will make living there a pleasure.

Keaton’s Place is now accepting applications from potential residents. Special consideration will be given to veterans and men from Randolph County. 

Each applicant will be given 10 pages of guidelines to read and must sign on the dotted line. Those guidelines include curfews, meeting attendance and routine drug screenings with zero tolerance for drugs on the property. And all residents must be willing to let the manager know if they see drugs.

“Accountability is key,” Womick said. “At this level of recovery, they need to do things for themselves. And we help them.”

Womick emphasized that Next Step is not a prison. Each man will be free to leave. On the other hand, there may be inmates from the local correctional facility.

“We will bring some from prison if they qualify,” he said.

Caring Services, an agency in High Point, will send representatives to offer outpatient classes, “more tools for the real world,” Womick said.

Besides taking applications for residents, Womick said they are “looking for employees” not only for Next Step but also to drive residents to and from work and to appointments.

He and Keaton’s Place founder Susan Hunt have been working on the project for three years. They even visited a recovery house in Minnesota and spent three days seeing how things are done.

“We’re replicating what they’re doing but pick and choose what we want,” he said. “There’s a lot of planning and thinking.”

Hunt, Keaton’s mother who founded the organization after he overdosed, said the results of their work is “unbelievable, after nine months to renovate the house. We’re so blessed that the community has come around us and supported us. This will be a big asset to the community, helping people be worthy of another chance in life.”

Womick said Keaton’s Place was incorporated in March 2021 by Hunt and Angel Schwarz. At that time, he interviewed Hunt for a story in Randolph Hub.

He said she was so busy working a job and owning a cake business that she needed help with Keaton’s Place. That hit home with him and he started working for her in January 2022.

At that time, the primary focus was helping people with addictions find treatment and driving them to cities where there are beds available. Womick said the county gave them $40,000 to buy a new van. But instead, they bought two used vans and rented space in the former Wachovia Bank building to hold AA and NA meetings.

Driving clients all over the state, Womick said they have racked up 119,000 miles ferrying more than 1,000 people. They have also taken over management of Angel’s House, a transition home for women.

“We spent months to get the money but were able to purchase the house and do the renovations,” he said. “This will be the next step.

“Opportunities presented themselves and the community has supported Keaton’s Place. It’s because addiction affects everyone. We’re continually looking for different ways to get people on the right path and help them stay there.”

The Next Step house manager is Angel Amoros. He said he became acquainted with Keaton’s Place through a friend.

“I had experience with men in recovery,” he said. “They gave me the vision and we’ll see what happens.

“I was an active addict and had very low points in my life,” Amoros said. “I sought treatment, then stayed on after completion and learned the administrative part of a recovery facility.

“I want to help the men, give them hope with my experience. I look forward to this home to help men become productive members of the community. 

“We want to be a beacon of hope. This will be the house on the hill.”