Programs help tame addictions

MIKE WELLS * photos@semissourian.com

John Gary, right, executive director of the Gibson Recovery Center in Cape Girardeau, prepares an assessment for a client. The center offers residential and outpatient treatment for alcohol and drug abuse. By Mike Wells ~ Southeast Missourian

In addition to alcoholism, other thriving drug addictions, including methamphetamine and crack cocaine, plague Southeast Missouri.

It appears to be a growing problem. In 2002, nearly 39,000 Missourians entered substance abuse treatment programs compared to 25,512 in 1995, according to the Missouri Department of Mental Health.

But a variety of public and private agencies and support groups offer help to those battling addictions and their loved ones in Southeast Missouri.

Support group meetings are published each Sunday in the Southeast Missourian. According to "Bill," a member of Alcoholics Anonymous in Cape Girardeau, there are three groups that gather almost nightly in Cape Girardeau and one group that meets three times a week in Jackson.

The all-volunteer group recently sent a public awareness mailing to professionals in the area, he said. "It was filled with information on what's going on in town and pamphlets concerning alcoholism," he said.

AA is totally unsupported financially except by those that are in AA, he said. "We are totally self-supporting and take no outside contributions."

The locations for the Cape Girardeau meetings are only released to hotline callers to protect the privacy of other members.

"Our primary purpose and goal is to maintain everybody's anonymity," Bill said.

Cape Girardeau's Gibson Recovery Center on Linden Street is a not-for-profit provider of treatment for adults suffering from alcohol and drug addictions. It was organized 23 years ago under the name of the Southeast Missouri Halfway House.

The center, which has state contracts with the Department of Mental Health's Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, provides a 30-day residential treatment program for men and outpatient services for both men and women. It has branch offices offering outpatient clinics in Perryville, Sikeston, Marble Hill and Dexter.

Women and children can receive residential drug and alcohol treatment at the Family Counseling Center on South Sprigg Street.

The Gibson Recover Center serves about 473 residential clients annually, said executive director John Gary. It serves 471 outpatient clients monthly.

"We provide a safe and therapeutic environment, counseling, group therapy and group education," Gary said. "An assessment is performed for clients which drives individualized treatment plans."

Statewide, 26,963 people used outpatient treatment services in 2002, and 6,779 took part in residential treatment programs, according to the Department of Mental Health. Another 5,172 took part in detoxification treatments.

During treatment, family and life issues are addressed with clients to help them discover and conquer the reasons for their substance abuse, he said.

Clients only pay what they can afford based on a sliding scale. The center recently received a $453,000 grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health to develop additional psychiatric services for uninsured or underinsured clients.

"The Gibson Center is dedicated to providing services to a client regardless of their ability to pay or the tough financial times, and we'll continue to do so," Gary said.

The center recently earned a three-year accreditation from the Department of Mental Health.

"What we do here, we do at the lowest cost," Gary said. "And yet, yet we have to maintain high standards to secure those dollars."

mwells@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160

Treatment centers

Counseling Services: 334-7300

Family Counseling Center: 651-4177

Friends of Faith: 334-9550

Gibson Recovery Center: 334-5513

Personal Solutions: 335-0570

Teen Challenge: 335-6508

Support meetings

Alcoholics Anonymous -- Cape Girardeau: 651-6969, call for time and place

Alcoholics Anonymous -- Jackson: 8 p.m. Tuesday, 110A S. High in Jackson

Narcotics Anonymous: 8 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 10 a.m. Sunday, 1636 Independence, Suite B

Mid-day Al-Anon: 12 p.m. Wednesday, St. Andrew Lutheran Church

Alateen: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Regional Library in Perryville

River City Al-Anon: 8 p.m. Thursday, 1219 N. Kingshighway