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Life after treatment for drug and alcohol abuse can be challenging, especially in family situations. But a proposed treatment and living facility in Northeast Portland could ease the transition for women in recovery who have children.

The 61,500-square-foot facility, which would be built on Northeast Beech Street between Mallory and Garfield avenues on a site formerly used by a school and a church, would be a partnership between and nonprofit .

The three-story facility’s east wing would hold the headquarters of LifeWorks Northwest’s Project Network, a six-month program that provides substance-abuse treatment for women with children. The west wing would hold 32 units of alcohol-free and drug-free affordable housing where patients could potentially live after treatment.

The project is in early permitting stages; if it were to move forward, construction could begin in early 2013.

It would be the first facility in Portland to combine a treatment center with permanent, dry housing, according to Betty Krejci, development director for LifeWorks Northwest.

鈥淭his really means we can serve our clients beyond just the treatment phase and help them go on to live their lives clean and sober,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think it’s a new way of thinking about how people choose to live.鈥�

Home Forward has teamed with nonprofits before to create housing that dovetails with programs for people in need, like the Martha Washington building or the Bud Clark Commons. However, this would be the first one with a full recovery center included. And it would be the first one with all alcohol-free and drug-free units.

The facility would provide an atmosphere of support, Krejci said, where patients could live with their families and be less susceptible to relapse.

鈥淚f they don’t have housing or place to go that is going to support them in living their life of recovery, then it becomes challenging 鈥� they can stumble into old triggers and relationships,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here is an extreme lack of post-treatment permanent housing in Portland. It requires more oversight and funding.鈥�

The east wing would include group therapy rooms, restrooms and a laundry on the first floor. Sixteen units of temporary housing for the program 鈥� four three-bedroom units and 12 two-bedroom units 鈥� would occupy the other two floors. Children living with their mothers would be able to attend a large day care facility in the wing.

The facility would be an upgrade from the program’s outdated North Mississippi Avenue facility, which is overcrowded, according to Mike Andrews, director of development and community revitalization for Home Forward.

鈥淭he treatment side of this program will provide much more quality space and dignified private space for women who are in recovery and are being reunited with their kids,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s much superior to what they have now.鈥�

Patients released from treatment would be eligible to live in one of the 32 affordable housing units in the other wing. Once there, they would continue outpatient services at a LifeWorks Northwest facility two blocks away on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

However, the affordable housing units 鈥� named the Beech Street Apartments 鈥� would not be reserved for Project Network patients; participants (including men) in a variety of treatment programs across Portland also would be eligible. And because of fair housing policies, Home Forward could not give preference to Project Network patients.

鈥�(The apartments) will provide dry and large rooms for everyone,鈥� Andrews said. 鈥淲e can say if you come out of local programs in recovery, this is housing that might be right for you.鈥�

The apartments would not be operated like a treatment center, Andrews said. All tenants, including previous Project Network patients, would be subject to the guidelines that Home Forward puts in place for all its buildings.

However, ex-patients would still be able to seek out guidance in the other wing. One of the main goals of the facility is to establish a community of support, said Mary Monnat, president of LifeWorks Northwest.

鈥淭oo often our families end a successful treatment episode with nowhere to go and return to a less-than-healthy environment,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n our new facility, ongoing support will be right on site and will keep families united and stable in their recovery.鈥�