GREAT FALLS - There is a new addiction recovery service in Great Falls.
"We're here for a reason. Our clients are here for a reason," said Illumination Recovery co-owner Heather Harpring.
Harpring and fellow co-owner Theo Hanson are determined.
"It's been 13-hour days, 14-hour days to make sure we're putting all the pieces together," Harpring said about the process of getting the business open.
In March, they began working to open an addiction recovery service, and in June, Illumination Recovery opened.
"We really want to honor and respect where we came from," said Hanson.
The business, while new, is also somewhat of a continuation of Seeking Recovery, the addiction recovery service they worked for until tragedy struck.
On March 17, 2023, the owner of Seeking Recovery, Joann Malone, was murdered in her home in Great Falls.
The suspect, Joann's husband, fled and was spotted in Valier, eventually taking his own life during a standoff with law enforcement.
"When the tragedy occurred and she was murdered, the business dissolved because she was the sole proprietor," Harpring said.
Immediately after the murder, Harpring and Hanson began helping Seeking Recovery clients grieve and letting them know there would be no lapse in service.
"We worked for free from, basically, March 21st, that Monday, up until June 22nd. (That's) when we were able to turn in our application to actually get reimbursed for services, from Medicaid in particular," Hanson explained.
"The community has been a big support for us, a huge support, guiding us when we didn't know," said Harpring.
The new business not only continues to provide important service, it also serves as a way to honor and remember Malone.
"She was an amazing example of a passionate counselor, a businesswoman who was not driven by profits but by the mission of her company and we really want to just embody that," said Hanson.
Illumination Recovery is at 600 Central Avenue in Suite 408. Click here to visit the website.
