Passenger Recovery in Hamtramck creates spaces for musical substance use recovery
The center uses music to help musicians find a path toward recovery.
Passenger Recovery's Program Director Bryan Wolf (left) and Director Chris Tait hope to create a safe space to help those struggling with substance abuse through the use of music and art.
Passenger Recovery Community Center is one of metro Detroit’s new substance abuse recovery support spaces.
It’s free for people in Detroit, Hamtramck and people strolling through town. The center uses music and works with musicians toward recovery.
Listen: Passenger Recovery in Hamtramck creates spaces for musical substance use recovery
Chris Tait, director at Passenger Recovery, said the facility started as a nonprofit in 2016 operating out of his home.
“My experience, as somebody who’s been doing that for 20 years, was that it was very difficult to find any kind of support — especially in early recovery,” Tait said. “In the Midwest, the drives are longer between gigs, free time is in short supply.”
Tait spread the news about his organization’s services with local promotors.
“We were there to take people to sports groups or get coffee or laundry or whatever was going to remove them from potentially toxic surroundings,” Tait explained.
In 2022, Passenger Recovery gained accreditation through Faces and Voices of Recovery, a national organization. The building opened its doors as a community center in Hamtramck last February, located at the former nuns quarters across from St Ladislaus Chapel on Caniff St.
The center is within close proximity to Detroit and Ferndale, and can provide services quickly to people who find themselves needing assistance.
“Those are kind of the two big areas for entertainment. We could get to either one in less than 10 minutes to help somebody,” states Tait.
“It’s about reaching out and just again, gently and carefully making people aware of the fact that we’re here, that we’re very non-judgmental, that it’s a discreet safe place and that our services are free,” Passenger Recovery Director of Programming Bryan Wolf emphasized.
Creating a comfortable space is important to Wolf.
“We’re trying to lower barriers to make it easier for people to get through whatever issues they may be dealing with — whether its housing, food, clothing, legal issues, DUIs — it can be any number of things,” said Wolf.
While the services Passenger Recovery offers are not in multiple languages, Tait said they use the app Genie to help translate and are looking for staff and volunteers to serve those roles in Hamtramck — a multilingual city.
Passenger Recovery is financially supported by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and the Michigan Nonprofit Association but is looking for additional funding opportunities to continue to provide free services to the community.
“We’re hoping that some consciousness of that starts developing within the [Michigan] Legislature, and at the same time, there are federal opportunities, but also private grant opportunities that we’re going to start looking at…because our current grant only runs to the end of September,” Tait explained.
Tait revealed his organization is also working on connecting with local immigrant communities.
“It’s a pretty incredible community with regards to we may not get along, but we respect each other,” Tait said.
Wolf believes music is the foundation to build those connections.
“To bind people through a common listening experience, to form a connection, to form a real sort of binding element — any kind of community listening together can be fantastic.”
The Passenger Recovery Community Center is located at 2697 Caniff St in Hamtramck.
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