Jill Schramm/MDN Peer support specialist Steven Morris, housing coordinator Stephen Smith, care coordinator Bre Cox and addiction counselor Racia Toben stand in a portion of the new F5 Project space at its offices at 1938 South Broadway.

The F5 Project celebrated its new location in Minot with an open house Thursday, giving partners in the addiction and mental health community as well as the public an opportunity to learn more about the nonprofit organization’s services.

Paige Hartert Gomez, regional director with the F5 Project, said almost everyone knows someone struggling with issues around addiction, incarceration, mental health or homelessness. Finding resources isn’t always easy, though.

“I think it’s really important that we can all band together. There are so many different resources out there, but the resources are kind of hidden and there’s not always open communication between all of us that are going toward the same common goal,” she said. “Our goal with the open house is we really want to start reaching out and making those community connections.”

The F5 Project helps people coming out of prison, jail, detoxification or homeless shelters integrate into their communities by working on mental health, addiction and housing issues and restoring families.

Racia Toben, an addiction counselor and nurse with the F5 Project, said Minot has become more accepting of felons looking to be restored into the community but there is room to continue moving in that direction.

“I hope that we can continue to show Minot that these people are worth a second chance,” she said.

The F5 Project opened a reentry home in Minot last August that can accommodate up to nine people. Minot is one of eight cities across North Dakota with an F5 Project presence.

“F5 is well known for its lived experience,” said Scott College, chief operations officer. Staff are often drawn from people who have conquered their own struggles and can relate to their clients’ challenges.

“We just want to walk beside people. We don’t want to tell them what to do. We are here to direct them,” College said.

The F5 Project can be a cheerleader and support clients in small successes that most people take for granted but that are life-changing for them, he added.

CEO Adam Martin, Fargo, founded the F5 Project in 2016, choosing to name the organization for the F5 function on a keyboard because it reminded him of his own five felonies and also is the refresh key.

“This is like an incubator for change, grace and opportunity. And so, it’s a safe place for people to go when they want to change their lives,” Martin said at Thursday’s open house, which featured a ribbon cutting with Minot Area Chamber EDC ambassadors.

The F5 Project moved earlier this year into its new headquarters at 1938 S. Broadway, which is just across the street from its previous location.