RUMFORD – The River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition has grown in the past three years, the time it has been housed in the Business Resource Center on River Street.

Now, the coalition office, along with the associated offices of One Maine, a project aimed at reducing drug and alcohol use among teens, Project NOW, focused on eliminating tobacco use, and the River Valley Arts Initiative must find new homes.

The building that houses the Business Resource Center has been sold, and the new owner, Larry Costa of Worldwide Language Resources, needs the basement space to expand his business.

Patricia Duguay, coordinator of the coalition, said Costa has been “terrific.” He’s not going to turn the coalition out, she said.

The deadline for moving is the end of March. The coalition has been busy looking for appropriate, low-cost space. Costa has offered his 34 River St. office, which is where his business is located now. Duguay said she is also looking into other potential sites.

“We’re exploring our options,” she said. “We won’t be homeless.”

The coalition was established in 1997, when Duguay conducted the organization’s early work from her kitchen table. From there, the coalition set up shop in several sites, including the University of Maine System building in Mexico and the Greater Rumford Community Center as it sought a home.

In the three years since the coalition moved into the Business Resource Center, projects have increased. Now, the coalition’s several offices and projects employ three people full-time and three part-time.

The state’s receipt of tobacco settlement money several years ago helped spur the growth of the coalition, which is devoted to finding ways to improve the health of area people by reducing the use of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs, encouraging healthier eating and encouraging frequent exercise.

eadams@sunjournal.com

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