Fit to Recover and USARA to hold grand opening for combined Provo location

PROVO, Utah (ABC4) — Fit to Recover and Utah Support Advocates for Recovery Awareness (USARA) have teamed up to open a location together in Provo, offering a wide range of support to those in their recovery journey.

Fit to Recover is a gym that works to provide a safe environment for those in recovery from substance abuse disorders, hosting classes and activities that emphasize wellness and connection.

USARA also focuses on helping individuals recover from the effects of substance use disorder. The nonprofit offers free resources, such as coaching and support services by trained staff who are in long-term recovery themselves.

With the same goal in mind, the two will be celebrating the grand opening of their new, and first-of-its-kind, combined Utah location in Provo at 184 W 400 N on Friday, March 21.

The open house and ribbon cutting will go from 12 p.m. – 2 p.m., with a further celebration at 5-7:30 p.m., complete with cornhole, a DJ, and a photo booth.

Fit to Recover has been open in Provo since the end of December, but now the building will include a space for one of its partners, USARA, creating an opportunity to expand services.

“We have support groups at our buildings. We offer free-of-charge coaching to anyone who’s in recovery,” Ryan Hymas, the program manager for USARA Utah County, said. “One of our main goals is widening the doors of what recovery looks like for the community. We believe in different pathways to recovery, so we like to offer a plethora of different options.”

Along with USARA’s support groups, the organization works to point individuals in the direction of other resources they may need, such as housing, treatment, and more.

One aspect of recovery that both Hymas and Alex Jeffs-McRae, the program director of Fit To Recover Utah County, said they’ve witnessed is consistent in people succeeding in fighting addiction is community and connection.

“To try to build that community both with us and with Fit to Recover, we see a ton of success — people getting involved in their community, going out and doing service projects with Fit to Recover, coming to the groups over here, people getting involved, those are the folks that you see starting to thrive and succeed in their recovery,” he said.

Jeffs-McRae, added to that, saying community and Fit to Recover helped in her personal recovery and provided an opportunity for her to grow within the community.

“Ian, the co-founder, he was teaching the classes and he was just like, ‘I see something in you, keep coming back,’ she said. “That’s the biggest part that is important in this, is just showing up for yourself. That’s 50% of the battle, so that’s literally what I did. I showed up. I kept coming to classes. At 90 days sober, I was hired on as their first internal outreach full-time employee in Utah County.”

Nine months later, Jeffs-McRae became the program director in Utah County where the gym had an Orem location since 2022.

“It brought me out of my shell and that’s what I love seeing in the people who come through our door, is seeing that light turn on because I relate to that a lot,” she said.

The two are looking forward to Friday’s grand opening, which marks the first time USARA and Fit to Recover will have a dedicated location together.

“Our whole job, as I view it, is to help the individual that comes in the doors with whatever it is that they need help with. We’re here to support — and it’s their space,” Hymas said.