A longtime community philanthropist and a recent fundraiser have further bolstered the resources of the Tri-Cities’ first in-patient mental health and substance abuse treatment facility. 

The Benton County Recovery Coalition, the organization behind the push to establish the Columbia Valley Center for Recovery, recently announced that it raised $175,000 at its Unite for Recovery breakfast fundraiser in recent weeks.  

Additionally, community leader Sue Frost has donated $250,000 to the facility, which is currently under construction at the former Kennewick General Hospital in downtown Kennewick. 

Those donations follow a $250,000 donation to the recovery center from Columbia Center Rotary Charity announced in recent weeks. That money will be specifically used to support the Family Room, a reconnection space to facilitate healing and support recovery at the center, as well as family services. 

“The incredible support shown at our Unite for Recovery breakfast, combined with the generous donations from Sue Frost and the Columbia Rotary Charity Fund, will help us bring essential recovery services to our community,” said Michele Gerber, the coalition’s president, in a statement. “These funds directly support the Columbia Valley Center for Recovery, bringing us closer to our vision of comprehensive care in our community.” 

Work on the recovery center, which will occupy a renovated portion of the former hospital and has a price tag of $42.5 million, began earlier this year and is expected to wrap up at the end of 2025 or early 2026.