Orting's new Recovery Cafe is celebrating the grand opening of a haven for people struggling with addiction.
Located at 113 Varner Avenue SE, the cafe opened Saturday to serve a community of people in need.
And the need is great. In Pierce County, from 2012 to 2017, the number of opioid-related deaths rose to 423. It continues to be an overwhelming problem in Orting Valley.
Dennis Paschke is the Executive Director of Recovery Cafe Orting Valley.
"We are a little bit more isolated. It is a little bit harder to get to services, even for people who want to enter long-term recovery because of how remote we are," said Paschke.
Paschke, the Senior Pastor at United Methodist Church of Orting, understands transformation.
"I'm a second career pastor, but I started life as an electrical engineer, skyrocketing my way to the top of corporate America," he said.
Paschke says back then, he was living a double life, and it was eating away at him.
"It was my best-kept secret," said Paschke. "I recognized, I myself was an alcoholic. I was in need of recovery."
He made a change more than 15 years ago. He became a pastor, and eventually moved from Kansas to Orting, a city also in need of a transformation.
"In the Spring of 2017, there was a dramatic increase in the number of young people that overdosed," Paschke explained. "As a result of that, the whole issue surfaced of just how devastating addiction has been in this valley."
The despair descended upon Orting City Hall, where people showed up asking for help.
"It broke the heart of the community," he said.
Paschke remembers how Orting was at a crossroads.
"We either let this thing continue to be alive and devastate our community, this thing called addiction. Or we name it for what it is and we stake a claim, and say we are going to do everything we can to change the face of addiction in this valley," he said.
That reality led to Recovery Cafe. It is a concept that started in Seattle in 2004. Now there are locations around the country.
Donations helped make Recovery Cafe Orting Valley possible. Paschke says it will provide hope and healing. In addition to coffee, they will serve up connections to recovery coaches and training to deal with addiction. People who want to seek help from Recovery Cafe have to become a member, they must be clean and sober for at least 24 hours before entering, and they have to actively be involved in the recovery circle and training.
Paschke describes it as an opportunity to make a transformation, and that is something he is passionate about it.
"One of my greatest heart's desire is for people who are still struggling and suffering to recognize it doesn't have to be that way," said Paschke.
