Keenyn Wald, director of Alcohol and Drug Services at Community Counseling Center in Columbus, believes it takes more than quitting “cold-turkey” to overcome addiction.
“I just really want to help people who have a problem,” he said, speaking at Columbus Exchange Club’s weekly meeting. “Removing a substance from people is something we’ve tried for forever and ever. What I’ve seen that actually works is education and treatment.”
Wald spoke to Exchange members about three of CCC’s drug and alcohol addiction treatment centers: Pines and Cady Hill, both located in downtown Columbus, and the recently-acquired Recovery House in New Hope, which Wald also oversees.
Pines and Cady Hill are gender-segregated in-patient addiction treatment facilities in downtown Columbus with 30- and 90-day programs for treatment and recovery. Recovery House is a 90-day residential program of drug and alcohol addiction treatment specifically for women, along with a transitional housing program. As of now, all three facilities are completely full, Wald said.
“We never want to turn anyone away who needs help,” he said. “Even if we’re at capacity, we try to find a way to make it work. People that come to us typically don’t have that many options, so we don’t want them to feel like they’ve lost their last hope of treatment.”
Wald and his staff take an approach to addiction treatment that doesn’t solely focus on substance abuse. Instead of merely looking at a patient’s addiction, they also look at underlying mental health issues that could be a contributing factor. This “co-occurring” or “dual diagnosis” treatment method enables CCC staff to help patients from a more holistic standpoint.
“We also look at factors that could contribute to (addiction),” Wald said. “For example, if someone begins drinking or using drugs to cope with a tragedy in life and just never stops, that’s when addiction begins. So the bulk of it is teaching people what life looks like when you take drugs away. I treat everyone who walks into our building for treatment as if they have a co-occurring mental health issue.”
Most people who receive treatment at Pines, Cady Hill or Recovery House are referred there or come of their own accord. A small portion of patients are court-ordered as part of a sentence, Wald said.
Thirty-day treatment at Pines and Cady Hill is charged on a sliding fee scale that is not to exceed $4,500, which is far lower than most comparable in-patient treatment centers in the state, which can cost anywhere from $12,000 to $18,000. The bulk of Recovery House’s money comes from grants, though clients may pay up to $1,300. It costs Recovery House roughly $6,000 to house a client for 90 days.
“We do get some money from the state,” Wald said. “But, frankly, it’s not even enough to cover a salary for one person. We get most of our funding through donations. And some people do pay for their own treatment.”
Wald said that a “success rate” for facilities like CCC’s is very subjective.
“People may exit the program, but that doesn’t mean they won’t relapse,” he said. “We want to erase that stigma and that shame, but the fact is that the honest success rate of any treatment center is going to be dismal.”
Nevertheless, Wald believes that anyone who seeks treatment for an addiction should be able to access it.
“A big part of recovery is genuinely wanting to stay with it,” he said. “My belief is that anyone can get treatment and everyone should have a shot.”
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