A nonprofit clinic focused on addiction services and mental health care is seeking to open a facility on Boston Post Road. APT Foundation, established in 1970 by members of the Yale School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry, provides a range of addiction services, mental health care, and vocational training for residents in need of treatment for substance use disorders.

President and CEO of APT Lynn Madden said the facility will cater to residents across the shoreline and is part of a long-range effort by the organization to bring treatment to the communities where it is needed.

“In the last decade or so, APT Foundation has been engaged in a strategic planning process, whereby we have tried to expand our operations outside the city of New Haven in conjunction with where our patients actually live. It is better for anyone seeking care, of any kind, closer to where they live,” Madden said. “It makes those people, as patients, more successful, it disrupts their lives less, and it reduces the burden of the cost of transportation. We’ve been moving our operations, based on our own census data, to different communities while maintaining a presence in New Haven.”

According to Madden, in 2013, APT opened an affiliate facility in North Haven, and in 2016 opened another in West Haven. A site further east on the shoreline was in development for several years, but was delayed by the pandemic, Madden said.

“Our mission is very straightforward; it is to support people who live with substance use or have mental health disorders. That is what we do. And we do that without regard to a person’s ability to pay, which is very important, as many people who struggle with mental health issues or substance use issues really are struggling in other ways in their lives,” said Madden. “So, making treatment access easy to do means they will start to get better, and they will start to take care of themselves.”

The clinic will be situated at 415, 417, and 395 Boston Post Road, going up the hill heading east. The facility will provide mental health services and addiction treatment, in addition to delivering primary care services and vocational services.

“People all over the U.S., and particularly in Connecticut, are struggling with addiction issues. There were more than 1,400 people who died last year in Connecticut from overdoses. People in treatment tend to not die. They have a much, much lower mortality rate. Providing services that are easy to get into and that provide evidence-based care helps people stay alive and allows them to become more productive in their community,” said Madden. “It really works; there are reams of data that show these treatments work. People who have substance use issues are from all walks of life. They are everyone. The demographic runs across the board.”

According to Madden, the clinic will be focused on local residents.

“The people who will use this treatment facility already live here on the shoreline. You know these people already-they are the people you come in contact with every day,” said Madden.

First Selectmen Matt Hoey said he is proud that Guilford will be able to be the setting for locals who are in need of these specialized services.

“There are approximately 300 clients of the foundation that have zip codes from Branford to New London, so these are people already in our community, and they are family members; they are people we all know. Addiction does not spare any class, race, social status, et cetera,” said Hoey. “These are people from our own community that are driving to New Haven or North Haven to receive treatment. These treatments are what allow people to live normal, productive lives. This facility needs to go somewhere, and Guilford is a welcoming community. There are any number of AA meetings taking place on any given day in the town of Guilford, and no one seems to have a problem with those.”

Michael Freda, First Selectman of North Haven, where APT has had a clinic since 2013, said that his community has observed firsthand how it benefits the town.

“What the APT foundation has done here in North Haven, it has helped people not only gain control of their lives, coming off of some of these insidious substance use disorders that they have been afflicted with, but helped them live a productive life. When you see an addict who had no hope, and is now utilizing the APT Foundation, it’s a life changer for people.” Freda said. “In my opinion, the APT Foundation has helped save people’s lives. The APT Foundation has proven that they have an outstanding treatment to restore people back to a productive life and save lives.”

“We are like many communities; we have a problem here in our town. And the people who had a problem were going way beyond the boundaries of North Haven to seek treatment, so we are able to help the people who live in town get the help they need rather than traveling for that treatment,” Freda added. “Until you have seen children or family members with addiction...until you have seen the pain, the agony, the disruption of the family dynamic that is caused by...addiction, you see it differently when you’ve gone through it. So, to have available treatment for our community is, again, something that simply saves lives.”

The project still needs to pass through several departmental phases in order to achieve approval, but both Madden and Hoey said they are hopeful that the clinic will be able to open in a matter of months, rather than a longer span.

“To the extent that we can get more communities to care about what is happening and to provide help relief for the people who live there, we all win,” Madden said.