June 2025 - Jay Greene of 3WTKR News visited Avenues Recovery Center at Norfolk to get an inside peek at the recovery center now changing lives in the Ocean View area for over one year.
This June, Avenues Recovery Center at Norfolk marked its first anniversary, celebrating a remarkable milestone in its mission to support individuals battling addiction and mental health challenges. When Avenues opened in June of 2024, it welcomed just one resident. Fast-forward to today, and the center is actively treating nearly 70 individuals at any given time, and has helped over 300 people complete its residential treatment program.
The facility treats not just addiction, but also co-occurring mental health issues. As executive director Kelly Craven puts it, “Addiction is a chronic, progressive, and relapsing disease - and we genuinely don’t give up on any of our clients.”
Therapist Crystal Rodgers, a staff member since early in the center’s operation, added: “Addiction thrives in silence, and conversely, recovery thrives in connection. Seeing clients begin to hope and dream again - that’s what makes it worth it.” She also shared the deep belief held by every Avenues staff member: “It’s not a moral failing… Addiction is a treatable disease. People recover every day.”
The center assists clients from across Virginia – including Hampton Roads, Richmond, and Northern Virginia - by offering a full continuum of care, including housing and outpatient options that ease the transition post-residential rehab.
Rodgers highlighted the complex hurdles many clients face when entering addiction treatment: trauma, strained relationships, and economic instability, often without steady housing or medical support. On that theme, Craven shared that a large reason behind the rapid growth of Avenues at Norfolk was the lack of infrastructure for post-treatment support. “Finding housing and post-care support is a huge barrier,” Craven noted, highlighting that insufficient step-down services drove the facility’s development and growth.
Avenues addresses these challenges head-on by partnering with community organizations to ensure clients have exactly what they need on discharge day, and long into the future.
Avenues at Norfolk’s impact resonates through its successful alumni:
- One graduate, now a full year sober, has returned to work there as a behavioral health technician.
- Another alum, boasting nearly 300 days sober, is employed at a different treatment center—and returned to attend Avenues’ one-year anniversary celebration.
The facility now maintains an active network of over 180 alumni who participate in weekly meetings and support groups. Craven’s final message underlines the Avenues Recovery network’s core philosophy: “We meet them where they are… And we don’t let go”.