MOUNT VERNON — With the opening of its supported living home, Riverside Recovery Services broke new ground in Knox County for women recovering from substance abuse.
The 10-bed home located on Wooster Road had several residents placed before its official opening on Dec. 18. As of Dec. 28, four beds were full, and two more women were expected to move in by Dec. 30. The home is the first of its kind in the county, for males or females, and it’s not surprising that the beds are filling quickly.
“The females here, that was something that came about in talking with [Probation Officer] Lisa Lyons and [Common Pleas] Judge Richard Wetzel,” said Amy Smart, executive director of Riverside Recovery Services. “They both said [treatment for] females was a need here.”
The women come to the “Wooster Road Home,” as Smart refers to it, from various sources.
“Probation officers refer them, and our intake coordinator at our Lawrence County site is working on filling our beds,” she said. “New Visions [at Knox Community Hospital] refers to us as well, and they can come to us self-referred. Some are assessed through our outpatient office as well.”
The home is considered supported or sober living, not a residential facility.
“It’s more like a transitional house where they also get treatment,” explained Bobbi Milbrandt, clinical director for Riverside’s Mount Vernon services. “It’s intensive outpatient treatment with supported living. If it was residential, we couldn’t help them get out to Narcotics Anonymous or Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. If it was residential, they would be required to stay here all the time and would not be able to go out and look for a job.”
Smart said individuals going through a supported living program have better success at kicking their substance abuse habits and staying sober than those undergoing only outpatient treatment.
“It’s more structured, they’re more attentive,” she said of the supported living arrangement. “A lot of these women are homeless. When they are homeless, it is a daily struggle just to survive.”
“Or maybe the supported living house is safer,” added Milbrandt. “Maybe their house has other drug users in it.”
In addition to Smart and Milbrandt, seven other staff members work at the home.
“The house is staffed 24/7,” said Smart. “We have midnight staff monitors, and case managers throughout the day.”
Most of the residents are single moms. Their children are allowed to visit once every month after the women have completed a 30-day orientation phase.
“That gives them the opportunity to start rebuilding relationships with their kids,” explained Smart. “Eventually, the children will be able to spend a Friday or Saturday night. At some point, the women will be able to go home on passes. It’s a structured environment, but at the same time, they’re learning coping skills all around.”
“Our court-ordered women are here for at least six months. The girls can stay here up to six months, or longer if they need to. We’re going to try and get them back into the world and help them become productive members of society,” said Milbrandt. “We’ll help them get disability benefits in place and arrange low-income housing. We hold group sessions and individual sessions every day, and take them out to NA and AA meetings.
“We drug screen them randomly,” she continued. “We teach the girls about coping skills; we try to work on relapse-preventive stuff. Teaching life skills; we do a lot of that. The women that come to us are adults, but a lot of them have never taken care of a household.”
“Grocery shopping,” added Smart. “The things that it takes to live life sober.”
Unlike homes in other communities, Smart said she has not experienced the NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard) syndrome in connection with the Wooster Road Home or the outpatient office on East Chestnut Street.
“We had NIMBY in Lawrence County, but we are excited that we’ve not had those issues here. It’s very exciting for us to see Knox County has been very welcoming and supportive of this program, and our outpatient office as well,” she said. “We have not had any issue with the neighbors. Everybody has been very welcoming and very supportive that we are here.”
Smart added that organizations such as Children Services and TouchePoint have been in touch with her. “Whispering Hills [Care Center] has reached out to us as well,” she said.
There have been challenges, however.
“We have found that some women have never lived with other women before,” said Smart. “That’s an adjustment for the staff and the women.”
“But it teaches the residents to have patience and tolerance on issues,” said Milbrandt.
The home features two bedrooms upstairs with three and five beds, a sitting room and a full bath. Downstairs includes a bedroom with two beds, a common area, dining room, kitchen and an office for the case manager. Laundry facilities are in the basement.
Smart said the women, most of whom are on Medicaid, receive help through a clothing closet and food pantry at Riverside’s outpatient office. Anyone wishing to donate clothing, towels or linens can call 740-326-9255 for more information.
Smart, who now has 11 years of sober living, doesn’t plan to stop with the women’s home.
“I’m sure that possibly in the spring there will be a men’s house as well, but we wanted to give ourselves time to adjust to this one before we ventured into another one,” she said.
