MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Vin Baker celebrated a big win off the court on Tuesday, March 12.
The former Bucks player opened a drug center on Milwaukee’s north side — one that community leaders said was needed.
“For us to be able to open our doors today, it’s great, it’s great,” said Paulita Payton-Murphy, executive director of Vin Baker Recovery.
Murphy and his team opened the doors to Vin Baker Recovery, a center for up to 800 people on Milwaukee’s north side Tuesday morning.
“Any of the individuals and patients that come into our clinic could potentially be our neighbor, so we have a vested interest,” Payton-Murphy said.
The center is the brainchild of former Milwaukee Bucks player Vin Baker.
Baker, who is currently on a road trip with the Bucks, has spoken openly about his own struggles with addiction.
“It gives hope. There was a point in my life and in my addiction where I had lost it,” Baker said at a 2022 charity event.
The facility will provide counseling, as well as state-approved medical treatment, by providing patients with medications like methadone, suboxone and vivitrol — what medical experts consider a form of harm reduction.
“You no longer feel any effect or any benefit from the sensation of methadone, it just allows your body to heal, it lets your body calm down,” said Dr. Teddy Thompson, medical director of Vin Baker Recovery.
Center leaders said the facility is the first step toward a better future.
“You may not be ready to stop using or stop everything they’re doing, but we can put a plan in place to provide harm reduction services. Let’s keep you alive at the same time , let’s get ready,” Payton-Murphy said.
The center will be open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The center will distribute supervised medications seven days a week, Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.
The location of the facility is 4757 N. 76th Street in Milwaukee.
For more information about the center, click the link here.
