RAPID CITY, S.D. (KELO) — South Dakota communities continue to face different drug and alcohol abuse issues. The good news is, there are people working to fix these.

The idea to create a Medication Assisted Treatment, or MAT clinic, in Rapid City started with this group made up of a physician’s assistant, a social worker, a couple nurses and Dr. Steven Tamang.

“We realized there was really no MAT clinic in this area or really West River and so we started on a very small scale and it really caught a lot of momentum because a lot of people sought the services,” Dr. Tamang said.

This caught the attention of the state and ultimately the City of Rapid City.

“Businesses that have problems with drug addiction within will be able to go to Doctor Tamang and Project Recovery and seek assistance in trying to cure those problems. They are societal problems and we need to address them,” Haverly said.

The Project Recovery team is now working to provide telemedicine, where patients can receive treatment remotely.

“Any area in the state that doesn’t have MAT services, we can provide those through telemedicine. We are making that our biggest objective outside of caring for Rapid City,” Tamang said.

“This Project Recovery hit every level of economic development that you can probably think of,” Haverly said.

The Project Recovery building is located on Flormann Street in Rapid City. If you or anyone you know is looking for substance abuse treatment, we’re including the contact information for Project Recovery.