with the affable Marchand. And though humble and kind, he struggles to recognize in himself qualities he readily spots in others. Still, he knows he’s lucky for the opportunity at Fresh Start and he doesn’t keep that to himself. “I feel like I’ve come a long way and it’s because of Symmetry,” he says. After spending half her life addicted to alcohol and drugs, Bridget Teeman, 39, has been sober now for 14 months. She’s worked hard to build back trust from her two daughters and her community. In a town as small as small as Burns and as a member of the smallest federally recognized tribe in Oregon — the Burns Paiute with 350 members — that feels especially personal. “You have to have confidence,” she says. “And you know, the customer, they have confidence in you too. You’re making their drink, something they want to enjoy. And knowing that helps a lot.” She adds, “I can’t change what people do in this town. I can’t change other people’s actions. But what I can change is how I react — how I control my own self and my own environment.” Funding from Measure 110 allows Fresh Start to staff a little “heavy” regardless of Jason Sanchez, a clinical supervisor at Symmetry who speaks openly about his own addiction and incarceration as a youth. For years Sanchez discussed starting a “recovery cafe” where people could share their struggles without judgment and connect with services. Siegner liked the idea and suggested adding job skills and housing components. But for years the idea remained just that. Until the passage of Measure 110. Siegner, Symmetry’s director, said after he approached the state with the idea, officials moved with a heartening urgency, and Symmetry became the first BHRN to receive funding (and it’s still the only one that’s attempted a multifaceted project like the cafe). But working with small-town governments and the state building department proved much more time-intensive, as did employee hiring and training. Leaders at Symmetry wanted hires to take seriously the opportunity, so they held a full application and interview process. That process included making a menu item from a recipe. One man with severe mental illness and a history of addiction spent nearly an hour making a Southwestern chicken wrap, concerned that every last detail be correct. They hired him. The cafe has three permanent full-time staff — a manager and two assistants. Below them are seven part-time workers, each a clinical placement from Symmetry Care. They’ll work 1,000 hours for the program before they transition to more permanent jobs and are replaced by new blood. A paycheck from a good job can do wonders for a person’s confidence, says Fresh Start manager Stacey Radinovich. “One of the guys who’s been with us since the beginning, since we were meeting as a group, his physical appearance from then to where he is now is just unbelievable,” she says. A month after opening and one employee still thanks his bosses each day. That man, Tim Marchand, 55, has worked lots of places in his life but, until a month ago, not in a restaurant. “I’ve never had a job like this or wanted a job like this. But I think I’m taking to it,” he says. “It’s pretty fast-paced, so it’s not like we’re ever looking for something to do.” Marchand has been his wife’s caretaker since she suffered a debilitating heart attack several years ago. But a drunk-driving arrest threw that in doubt as his wife threatened to leave him. “I’ve been met with a lot of trials, and I suppose I wasn’t able to attack them,” Marchand says. “I guess I leaned on alcohol a little bit too hard. I suppose it got out of hand.” Radinovich says coworkers enjoy working “The truth of the matter is Measure 110 took a broken system and threw it over a cliff.” ANDY MENDENHALL, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF CENTRAL CITY CONCERN Employee Tim Marchand at work in the kitchen 29
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