Council & Recovery News

The Council leads the addicted from shame to recovery

Posted: Monday, December 26, 2011 The Intelligencer 

The Council leads the addicted from shame to recovery By Gary Weckselblatt Staff Writer Calkins Media, Inc.

For some, miracles are a rare occurrence. But not for Beverly Haberle.

"I see miracles every single day," said Haberle, executive director of The Council of Southeast Pennsylvania. 

Haberle has led the growing organization, formerly known as the Bucks County Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, for 32 years. She calls addiction "a very shame-based illness that families cover up and hope it goes away."

A private, nonprofit, the council provides a wide range of services to reduce the impact of addiction, but its efforts go beyond that with help for many health issues for families, schools and businesses.

"As a resource for people, they're the best-kept secret in the area," said Cathie Cush of Newtown, who has worked for the organization. "I'm amazed in talking to people in the recovery community that more people don't avail themselves of council's services."

Earlier this month, the newspaper asked readers to nominate a nonprofit organization that does great work in Bucks and Montgomery counties and could use some good publicity to support its endeavors. The council received several nominations.

"People need to know there is an organization, a non-judgmental organization, who can provide assistance to people who have a problem," said Tom Lear, a board member for three decades. "It can be for a personal problem or for a family looking to help someone. And if we don't have a specific program to help, most of our people have knowledge to direct them to the right location so they can speak to a human being right away."

William McDonald is one of Haberle's miracles. Back in 1985, the Warminster man's family set up an intervention because of his alcohol abuse.

Friends and family sat in a circle and "pretty much told me what a slob I'd become," McDonald said, recalling how he'd hurt the people he loved. "The addicted person makes the family almost as sick as they are. It's not a pretty thing. It's not something I would want to go through again. But it got me sober."

McDonald later became a volunteer for the council with an offshoot it establish known as PRO-ACT, Pennsylvania Recovery Organization — Achieving Community Together. PRO-ACT works to reduce the stigma of addiction while ensuring the availability of adequate treatment and recovery support services.

McDonald eventually became a mentor at Bucks County prison in a program known as TASC — Treatment Alternatives for Safer Communities.

"The idea of recovery from addiction is to help others," he said. "That's how we maintain our sobriety. The council and PRO-ACT gave me a tremendous opportunity to do that."

He's not alone. Haberle said the council's hotline gets 2,000 calls a year. That's in addition to the 2,500 calls a month it receives at its centers.

And it does more than interventions. Haberle said it helped 12 women this year at high risk for fetal alcohol syndrome. There are also programs for parents who want to make sure their children stay drug free.

Lear, of Lower Makefield, said the council is looking into gambling problems as casinos have sprouted up in the five-county area. "Compulsive gambling is a problem in communities that spreads out to all places and is such a detriment," he said.

And this time of year, with the holidays playing such a dominant role, can be particularly difficult for some.

"Holiday time, that tends to exacerbate the issues," Lear said.

The council, founded in 1975, holds its main fundraiser, Pumpkinfest, at Fonthill Park in Doylestown each fall. Earlier this month it received a proclamation from the Bucks County commissioners for its "Tree of Hope." In a ceremony at the county courthouse, heartfelt reflections were shared by those celebrating freedom from addiction; others dedicating rays of hope to people still struggling; and to lives lost to addiction.

Haberle, in her 40th year of being alcohol free, is one of the miracles she talks about. And she's been a miracle for others.

"That woman is just tireless," McDonald said. "She is unbelievable."

SAMHSA’s working definition of “recovery” from mental disorders and substance use disorders

SAMHSA recently announced a new working definition of recovery from mental disorders and substance use disorders. The definition is the product of a year-long effort by SAMHSA and a wide range of partners in the behavioral health care community and other fields to develop a working definition of recovery that captures the essential, common experiences of those recovering from mental disorders and substance use disorders. Major guiding principles support the recovery definition. SAMHSA led this effort as part of its Recovery Support Strategic Initiative.

The new working definition of Recovery From Mental Disorders and Substance Use Disorders is as follows:

A process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.

Through the Recovery Support Strategic Initiative, SAMHSA also has delineated four major dimensions that support a life in recovery:

Health: Overcoming or managing one's disease(s) as well as living in a physically and emotionally healthy way.

Home: A stable and safe place to live.

Purpose: Meaningful daily activities, such as a job, school, volunteerism, family care taking, or creative endeavors, and the independence, income, and resources to participate in society.

Community: Relationships and social networks that provide support, friendship, love, and hope.

Read the full press release HERE.

Learn more about SAMHSA’s Recovery Support Initiative HERE.