A Scarborough-based nonprofit is seeking permission to open a second substance abuse treatment clinic for women in Portland’s East Deering neighborhood.

Crossroads for Women, a behavioral health group, wants to open an eight-bed residential treatment home in a 3,100-square-foot, single family home at 735 Washington Ave. It would offer the same services as the Back Cove Women’s residential program the group operates on Forest Avenue, a 10-bed facility that opened in 2014.

The move comes as Maine is seeing record numbers of deaths from opioid abuse, but treatment options are limited.

Crossroads CEO Shannon Trainor said she hopes to have the new center opened early next year. She said the Back Cove facility is full and has two people on its waiting list.

However, the group first needs a conditional use approval from the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals, which will take up the proposal Thursday. A conditional use is considered an allowed use in the residential zone, provided that certain requirements are met.

The single-family home must be renovated to meet the more stringent Life Safety codes for a group home, including sprinklers and a fire alarm system.

“Right after the holidays, you really see an uptick (in demand) and I want to be ready to meet that need,” Trainor said. “There are a lack of treatment beds, particular for women. When people have to wait for treatment they often die.”

Neither city officials nor the East Deering Neighborhood Association have heard feedback from neighbors about the proposal.

On Monday, Maine Attorney General Janet Mills announced that 286 Mainers had died of drug overdoses through Sept. 30 – a figure that exceeds state drug overdose deaths for all of 2015.

About 25,000 to 30,000 Mainers have sought treatment but been unable to access it, according to a survey by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Treatment services in Maine have dwindled, largely because of losses in state funding. Last year, Mercy Hospital closed its substance abuse recovery center in Westbrook, which served 250 clients. And Spectrum Health Systems closed its outpatient facility in Sanford, affecting 100 patients.

Unlike treatment providers that have closed, Trainor said, Crossroads for Women does not rely on state funding. Women using its residential services – typically for 45 days or less before they are referred to a sober house or an extended care facility – rely on private insurance or pay around $15,000 out-of-pocket for treatment.

Trainor said Crossroads also raises funds privately to provide scholarships to women who cannot afford its programs. Last year, the group provided scholarships to more than 100 clients, she said, and recently raised $30,000 for the upcoming year.

Treatment at the facility will range from individual and group counseling sessions to wellness programs, such as yoga and equine therapy, Trainor said. The facility will be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week by licensed professionals, and be licensed by the state.

Trainor said Crossroads focuses on treating women because men and women dealing with substance abuse, whether it’s alcohol or opiates, face different challenges and sometimes progress can only be made in a smaller, gender-specific environment.

“It’s different for a professional women who is a mother and an alcoholic,” she said. “There’s more shame and stigma that men don’t get.”

Three neighbors of the Forest Avenue facility wrote the zoning board in support of the program. Trainor said she and her top staffers visited neighbors of the proposed Washington Avenue location to explain their plans and to give away cookie platters.

“People were very supportive,” she said. “I think they’re seeing what’s happening in their communities.”