The Riverview Wellness Village, a new city-operated rehabilitation facility, will begin accepting patients the week of January 21 in Northeast Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

The former personal-care home will have 340 treatment beds for people in recovery from drug addiction in its initial phase and exists next to the city’s jail complex.

Mayor Cherelle Parker believes the facility, the first of its kind to be operated by Philadelphia’s government, will help end open-air drug markets across the city, including Kensington. Her administration estimates that once construction is complete, it will be able to house more than 600 people at a time.

“We will be a model for the nation about how you deal with this issue,” Parker said.

Patients can arrive after completing short-term, inpatient drug treatment elsewhere, and can live at the village for up to a year, The Inquirer said.

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