We are also interested in your stories and anecdotal information as it relates to your personal experiences in the chemical dependency field through the years.
6 comments:
Anonymous
said...
The chemical dependency field is full of rich and entertaining stories. For myself, I was fortunate enough to be a part of the creation of drug court in Seattle. After Florida started theirs, Seattle decided to create one. I was working at CACASAC at their clinical supervisor. The agency partnered with the other community recovery centers to create drug court. CACASAC would be the lead agency. Betty Rogers, Joan Norton and myself headed for Portland to see how they ran drug court. When we got back from Oregan,we put together a plan. CACASAC would pick up the drug court folks after court and transport them in a van to the agency. Since we were going to have the clients for several hours, Joan would stop at Union Gospel Mission and pick up sandwiches that they donated to us. Once they got to the agency, we had staff that assessed the clients. We also offered acupuncture for the drug court clients. It was especially great because staff also got to participate in acupuncture. The feeling at the time was the staff shouldn't be more stressed than the client. Once the client was assessed they were transfered to the appropriate level of care. Often this would be outpatient, and once again the client would be vanned to their treatment destination. Looking back, a lot of quality work provided the foundation for the drug court work today.
In 1979 I became a member of the original Board of Directors of the newly formed Alcohol 24 Hour Helpline. At the time, I was working for Pat Stromberg at SECAC (the handy little acronym for the old Southeast Community Alcohol Center in Kent) I am writing this in 2007 and I'm still actively involved with the Helpline. In all my years of working in the field, the CD History Project is, by far, the most interesting and exciting work I've been engaged in. If you're reading this piece, I hope you take time to browse through the timelines. You'll be surprized at what you see. I guarantee it!
From a card table and a phone line, who would think we would still be here and enjoying our work. This history project started out as an idea to capture the flavor of the chemical dependency field in its early years. After a meeting with colleagues, we decideed it needed a web presence. It has become a wonderful project with much memorabilia being found which will all be scanned and archived for posterity. This history is very rich and I hope you will enjoy our effort as well as contribute to make it even richer.
The past 25 years have flown by. Has it really been that many years? I remember years ago sitting around a Seattle based AA meeting talking to a couple women about recovery and thinking that it would be wonderful if I could do this sort of thing for a living and "poof" a genie appeared and granted my wish and the next thing I know I am sitting behind a desk with a pile of paperwork in front of me and guess what? My wish had come true which is evidence that you have to be careful of what you wish for. So here I am a bunch of years later and I am still trying to get through the paperwork. In the beginning I thought working with the client was my calling, but now I know my experience is working with the paperwork. I don't know if I have "saved" anyone, but I have killed a few trees explaining to the state and insurance companies in triplicate why I am recommending a certain treatment course. Has it been worth it? Well depends on who you ask. If you ask anyone of my three sons, there answer would be "No" because as they have said many times. I work too hard for the pay I receive. They may be right as the son that works for Home Depot pulls in more money a week than I do. However, money isn't everythink or is it? I think I have lived the American Dream - a house with a mortgage, a car with payments for five years and now a loan to buy gas for it so I can get to the treatment places to save the souls that the genie paired me up with so many years ago. On the up side I have met some wonderful collegues, gone to some fantastic places and seen some great things - some of which have been legal and some of which have been a little shady. I think of that afternoon when I met the genie and hope to run in to him again and whould would I say? Thank you genie for the life you gave me and next time think about minding your own business.
6 comments:
The chemical dependency field is full of rich and entertaining stories.
For myself, I was fortunate enough to be a part of the creation of drug court in Seattle. After Florida started theirs, Seattle decided to create one. I was working at CACASAC at their clinical supervisor. The agency partnered with the other community recovery centers to create drug court. CACASAC would be the lead agency. Betty Rogers, Joan Norton and myself headed for Portland to see how they ran drug court. When we got back from Oregan,we put together a plan. CACASAC would pick up the drug court folks after court and transport them in a van to the agency. Since we were going to have the clients for several hours, Joan would stop at Union Gospel Mission and pick up sandwiches that they donated to us.
Once they got to the agency, we had staff that assessed the clients. We also offered acupuncture for the drug court clients. It was especially great because staff also got to participate in acupuncture. The feeling at the time was the staff shouldn't be more stressed than the client. Once the client was assessed they were transfered to the appropriate level of care. Often this would be outpatient, and once again the client would be vanned to their treatment destination. Looking back, a lot of quality work provided the foundation for the drug court work today.
In 1979 I became a member of the original Board of Directors of the newly formed Alcohol 24 Hour Helpline. At the time, I was working for Pat Stromberg at SECAC (the handy little acronym for the old Southeast Community Alcohol Center in Kent) I am writing this in 2007 and I'm still actively involved with the Helpline. In all my years of working in the field, the CD History Project is, by far, the most interesting and exciting work I've been engaged in. If you're reading this piece, I hope you take time to browse through the timelines. You'll be surprized at what you see. I guarantee it!
From a card table and a phone line, who would think we would still be here and enjoying our work. This history project started out as an idea to capture the flavor of the chemical dependency field in its early years. After a meeting with colleagues, we decideed it needed a web presence. It has become a wonderful project with much memorabilia being found which will all be scanned and archived for posterity. This history is very rich and I hope you will enjoy our effort as well as contribute to make it even richer.
The past 25 years have flown by. Has it really been that many years? I remember years ago sitting around a Seattle based AA meeting talking to a couple women about recovery and thinking that it would be wonderful if I could do this sort of thing for a living and "poof" a genie appeared and granted my wish and the next thing I know I am sitting behind a desk with a pile of paperwork in front of me and guess what? My wish had come true which is evidence that you have to be careful of what you wish for. So here I am a bunch of years later and I am still trying to get through the paperwork. In the beginning I thought working with the client was my calling, but now I know my experience is working with the paperwork. I don't know if I have "saved" anyone, but I have killed a few trees explaining to the state and insurance companies in triplicate why I am recommending a certain treatment course. Has it been worth it? Well depends on who you ask. If you ask anyone of my three sons, there answer would be "No" because as they have said many times. I work too hard for the pay I receive. They may be right as the son that works for Home Depot pulls in more money a week than I do. However, money isn't everythink or is it? I think I have lived the American Dream - a house with a mortgage, a car with payments for five years and now a loan to buy gas for it so I can get to the treatment places to save the souls that the genie paired me up with so many years ago. On the up side I have met some wonderful collegues, gone to some fantastic places and seen some great things - some of which have been legal and some of which have been a little shady. I think of that afternoon when I met the genie and hope to run in to him again and whould would I say? Thank you genie for the life you gave me and next time think about minding your own business.
It is remarkable, a useful idea
Hello. And Bye.
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