SIOGA Club Opens With Room to Grow
  Supporters including Tom Szczepaniak, left, Sheriff-elect Tom Bowler, board member Bob Waltermire and Salvie toured the facility and gathered in the large meeting room of the remodeled structure. Szczepaniak presented Malins with the club's old door. |
The glass-fronted door with the plain blue letters had seen tens of thousands walk through to find a supportive environment to help them in overcoming alcoholism, including Szczepaniak.
"I walked out of jail in '92 and had three boxes ... if it wasn't for the SIOGA Club and people like Doug [Malins] and other members of the program, I wouldn't be standing here today," said Szczepaniak on Wednesday at the formal opening of the new SIOGA Club on Linden Street. "I wouldn't have a business that's a godsend or a son or a family or anything like that. ... It saved my life."
The remodeled meeting room the owner of Variety Trucking was speaking in on Wednesday was a far cry from the small "smoke-filled room" with chairs from "every generation" that had marked the old meeting place on First Street.
But it took more than 12 steps to bring the SIOGA Club of Berkshire County back to life after the building it had been in burned down. The club that offered a gathering place for recovering alcoholics and substance abusers has been built literally from the ground up with support from the city, the community, businesses and the Berkshire County sheriff's department.
It's also expanded beyond that "smoke-filled room" to a spacious, completely remodeled 6,000 square-foot space where a raft of substance abuse, health and community support groups can congregate. It also has turned a vacant eyesore into an attractive and up-to-date center that can serve as a focal point in the West Side neighborhood as well as the community. But it's been a long road; just a year ago, the project was broke and work at a standstill.
It wouldn't have come as far as it has without Douglas Malins. The softspoken club president has been the driver of the club's recovery and the one who's been able to bring so many disparate groups and individuals together.
"I'm a small cog in a very big wheel," said Malins last month during a tour of the completed first floor. "It's my board of directors and the volunteers who helped make this happen."
But it was Malins' persistence — and his pocketbook — that brought it together. "His personality really made this happen," said board member Bob Waltermire, who had been involved with AA for 32 years. He added there is a real need for space for a wide spectrum of support organizations.
A deal with the city to knock down a vacant house (courtesy of Szczepaniak) gained parking space; businesses donated materials and sometimes labor; state and local grants; the Richmond Congregational Church sends $100 each month, religiously; the Berkshire County sheriff's department sent inmates to work on the former three-story residence.
"We have at least 1,000 man-hours in this place," said John Salvie of the Berkshire County sheriff's office, who's been leading teams from the House of Corrections to remodel the building over the past three years. The effort has not only aided the club's goals but has offered opportunities for inmates to gain skills, he said. "Every single board, every single nail has been replaced."
Sheriff Carmen C. Massimiano has been a strong supporter of the club from the first because "we know it will pay rich dividends."
 Szczepaniak hands out square chips from the club's old glass door as remembrances. He came across the door when his business, Variety Trucking, demolished the burned building on First Street. |
Community awareness has been the club's goal since setting its sights on Linden Street. SIOGA, which stands for "Sobriety Is Our Greatest Asset," had its roots in Alcoholics Anonymous; it now wants to become an umbrella for related organizations dealing with various health and substance issues.
The club's soft opening last month began with a first meeting of a sobriety group; between 700 and 800 people have passed through its doors since, with 100 in the biggest meeting. Sioga hopes to make the building self-sustaining by charging rent to hold meetings — or certain events such as baby showers or bazaars — and completing the second floor with its planned offices for consultants or agencies. While the meeting rooms and bathrooms are complete downstairs, the kitchen still needs work.
Support groups that have been scattered across the county are already responding and five or six more have indicated interest in scheduling space in the new year and at least one professional is serious about leasing office space when it becomes available. Now that it's open and providing services, it should be easier to apply for grants to complete the second floor with its required elevator, said Malins.
"This is a community center ... it's going to be open to so many people and more importantly, it's going to be a resource for people in need," said Mayor James M. Ruberto. "This is a marvel in the community investment that came in ... that speaks to the tone and tenor of this community and it really speak to the commitment that Doug made to see this thing through."
On Wednesday, in that fresh new conference room with more than 50 supporters circled round, Szczepaniak handed out "chips" of the old glass front door he'd saved, including the name that he framed and presented to Malins.
The location had changed but not the tradition, he said. "That's where you go when there's nowhere else to go."
To find out more about the SIOGA Club or to schedule meeting space, contact the club at 413-443-9231, Malins at 413-281-7407 or siogaclub@albany.twcbc.com. The club hopes to have a website up soon.
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