“What we’re doing here is bigger than us and more than just selling trees,” says TROSA graduate Todd about the Triangle holiday tradition that also serves as the organization’s largest public fundraiser. “It’s helping people who will need TROSA’s treatment program in the future. … It’s saving lives.”
Founded over 30 years ago, Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers, Inc. is a licensed, award-winning, evidence-based treatment program dedicated to providing quality care and services for individuals with substance use disorders.
It was in 1994, at the request of Durham civic leaders who recognized that they were missing an essential treatment option in their city, that Kevin McDonald used his lived experience in long-term treatment to create a unique program that diverged in several ways from the traditional model of treatment. Through his own recovery, Kevin had learned the importance of community and giving people the time and opportunities to change their lives. His goal in founding TROSA was to prepare individuals for a full life of recovery beyond the residential campus setting.
TROSA graduate Todd shows off the fresh Fraser fir trees sourced from the mountains of Western North Carolina.
As a result, over the past three decades TROSA has been recognized as a uniquely successful treatment program. While growing TROSA — which in 2023 expanded its care to serve more individuals in need by opening a campus in Winston-Salem — Kevin emphasized the importance of health services, life skills and vocational training, community-building, education advancement and professional credentials, mental health resources, and continuing care for program graduates.
TROSA graduate David
TROSA provides these vital services — as well as housing, meals, clothing, and all essential daily needs; counseling and classes; and mentorship — every day, and does so at no cost to its 300 residents, who also do not need insurance to qualify.
As a long-term treatment program, TROSA provides the time, tools, and opportunities for residents to set and achieve goals for long-term recovery. The program is peer driven, and 76% of its staff are in recovery themselves, with most graduating from its multi-year treatment program. TROSA’s cornerstones are evidence-based therapies, vocational and life skills training, and education opportunities. Services are provided by licensed and certified treatment professionals, program graduates, peer leaders, and trained peer support specialists, and residents actively learn and practice recovery skills daily through group and team activities, classes and counseling, and living and learning in a community with others.
TROSA’s entire campus plays a role in helping residents help one another, and community assignments that allow residents to learn and practice daily skills are an important therapeutic element of its residential program. Wide-ranging assignments include medical, admissions, food service, and graduate services departments, as well as in TROSA’s public-facing social enterprises: TROSA Moving & Storage, TROSA Thrift Stores, TROSA Lawn Care, and seasonal TROSA Tree Lots.
Current expenses amount to approximately $50,000 a year per resident. As a nonprofit, TROSA relies on generous public and private support, which includes donations, grants, and the wider community backing its social enterprises such as TROSA Tree Lots.
TROSA graduate and Tree Lot Manager Darrell
When people buy their Christmas tree, wreath, or festive decorations at a TROSA Lot, their purchases and donations help support the mission of providing comprehensive, evidence-based care at no cost to those who are served. They are helping to rebuild lives and strengthen communities by supporting the reintegration of people who have been marginalized.
TROSA graduate Bobby holds a wreath available for purchase.
For over 20 years, staff and residents have traveled to the mountains of Western North Carolina to collect fresh Fraser fir trees; TROSA remains proud and grateful for the continued supply of trees from its Western NC neighbors. This year, the plan is to have six TROSA Tree Lots — including the return of the Park West Village Tree Lot in Morrisville — throughout the Triangle region.
So, as you plan your holiday decorating and seek out festive activities, be sure to include a family trip to a TROSA Tree Lot, constructed expressly for the purpose of becoming an integral part of your family and community traditions. There, you can choose your own tree, wreath, or garland under twinkling holiday lights while building memories with those you love and simultaneously supporting your neighbors who are working hard to rebuild their lives.
“The TROSA Tree Lots are truly special,” says Kristin Pearson, who helps coordinate external engagement and communications at TROSA. “They provide a service for the greater Triangle community, serve as a fun and festive way to celebrate the season, and also involve all of TROSA’s campus and residents. … Each department plays a role in ensuring a successful fundraising event.”
In addition to festive trees and garland, wreaths and other seasonal decorations are
available for purchase from TROSA graduates like Adrian.
According to TROSA graduate Demetrius, “The fact that families and businesses choose to support TROSA Tree Lots year after year because they believe in what we do is eye-opening. It’s special.”
“With all that goes on in life, before coming to a place like TROSA, you start to think that nobody cares about you. But starting treatment at TROSA and participating in the Tree Lots opened my eyes to the care that does exist in the world.”
For more information on TROSA Tree Lots — including exact Tree Lot locations, open dates, hours, and updates — visit trosatreelots.org and faceboook.com/TROSAInc.
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