In an emotional ceremony 55 years in the making, ACCESS leadership and elected officials gathered in Dearborn on Wednesday to cut the ribbon on the ambitious, transformative ACCESS Recovery Center (ARC).
Set to open to the public in phases in early 2027, the three-story center is designed to create a comprehensive destination for recovery, healing and long-term wellness.
The almost 53,000-square-foot facility represents a new model of care, bringing together the full continuum of behavioral health, substance use disorder treatment, residential recovery and wraparound support services under one roof – making it easier for people to access the care they need, when they need it.
“We were losing too many community members, young and old, to opioid addiction. We turned this heartbreak into action,” said Maha Freij, president and CEO of ACCESS, the nation’s largest and most comprehensive Arab American nonprofit.
“Education, prevention and outreach were needed in addition to a residential center that could change the lives of those on their recovery journey. Not a temporary solution, but an integrated model of care that brings together substance use disorder treatment with a wraparound model of ACCESS services that help people fully rebuild their lives. Today, that vision is standing behind us.”
Built around the promise of “No Wrong Door” – compassionate, coordinated care without judgment, individuals and families can find a holistic range of support under one roof. ARC is designed to bring together outpatient behavioral health and urgent care services, withdrawal management, crisis stabilization, residential treatment, education and community connection, and an onsite pantry through our partnership with Forgotten Harvest – making it easier for people to access the care they need, when they need it.
“Regardless of the cause that welcomes you through these doors, we want to ensure a pathway of recovery for you each and every single day alongside your family in this neighborhood, in this great city, in this great region,” said Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud.
The center will serve residents of all backgrounds from across Southeast Michigan, but is uniquely positioned to cater to those who may face additional stigma and cultural barriers to seeking treatment.
“We have a lot of stigma in the community about this disease,” said Freij.
“We’ve been working very hard on education and prevention and reaching out and advocating through our policymakers and our schools – we don’t work by ourselves. We work with the schools, we work with the court system, the criminal justice system, we work with the police departments of Dearborn and Dearborn Heights… We have embedded case managers from ACCESS in the police department as we speak. And our faith-based organizations are essential, our teachers are essential, our principals are essential, because it takes a community to ensure that the community as a whole deals with this very, very awful disease.”
In a surprise announcement during Wednesday’s ceremony, ACCESS unveiled plans for a community garden on the ARC property, named in honor of Freij, who is set to retire Oct. 1 after 35 years of service with ACCESS.
“The Maha Freij Community Garden, Dar Al-Sakina, which means ‘house of tranquility,’ will be a place for gathering, peace, reflection and renewal, and a place that will always grow, like Maha taught us,” said Hourani-Harajli.
View photos from the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Learn more at ACCESSRecoveryMI.com.
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ABOUT ACCESS
Founded in 1971 in Dearborn, Michigan, ACCESS is the most comprehensive Arab American nonprofit organization in the nation, reaching millions across all backgrounds through its programs, services and institutions. Our mission is to advance the health, economic, social, and cultural well-being of communities regionally and nationwide.
We drive lasting impact through ACCESS and our national institutions: the Arab American National Museum (AANM), the Center for Arab American Philanthropy (CAAP), the Center for Arab Narratives (CAN), and the National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC).
