FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS REGARDING THE SALVATION ARMY ADULT REHABILITATION CENTER PROGRAM INTAKE

Transcription

1 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS REGARDING THE SALVATION ARMY ADULT REHABILITATION CENTER PROGRAM INTAKE Q. What kind of clothes do I need to bring when I go to your program? A. Generally we prefer that you just bring the clothing you are wearing. We will provide you with all the clothing necessary while in the Program. You can bring some undergarments and socks but we will provide that as well. If someone requires unusual sizes we may ask the person to bring their personal clothing. You are allowed the following: 1 Suit or 1 Sports Coat 8 Total Shirts (dress shirts, work shirts, collared shirts) 6 Total Pants (dress pants, work pants, casual pants) 3 Ties 3 Sweatshirts or 3 Sweaters 3 Pair of Shoes 1 Pair Shower Shoes 1 Work Coat Q. When I apply to your program, will I be admitted immediately? Sometimes we have a waiting list and you will be asked to call on a daily basis but most often we try as much as possible to take people in the same day they apply. We understand how difficult it is to stay clean and sober out there. In some cases we may be able to refer you to another facility until a bed opens in our program. Q. Am I allowed to bring my medication with me to your program? A. Yes. You are allowed to bring your medication with you. The Intake Counselor and Director of Rehabilitation Services must review all medications. Narcotics are not allowed on our property, for example. We also do not permit Valium, Librium or any other Benzodiazipines. Antidepressants, antipsychotic medication and Lithium (to treat Bipolar Disorder) are permitted. Q. Do you admit people with psychiatric problems and who need medication? A. Yes. The standard is the same for everyone. The person must be able to tolerate and participate in all aspects of our program. For example, you would need to be able to be on time for and participate in all the classes, counseling and work therapy. A psychiatric assessment will be done during intake to determine appropriateness for the

2 program. You will need to disclose any and all psychiatric/mental health history prior to intake. Q. Do you admit people who have medical problems? A. We are not a medical facility. If the medical problem is such that a person is not able to participate in all aspects of our program, including 40-hours/week of work therapy, then the individual might not be appropriate for our program and we would refer you to a more appropriate facility. Q. How old do you have to be to get into your program? A. Generally our beneficiaries range from 21 to 65 but we can take people in as young as 18. Q. What if I don't live near you? Do you have other Centers I can go to? A. We have 22 Centers in the Western United States. 1= Honolulu, 1= Seattle, 1 = Portland Oregon, 16 = Throughout California, 2 = Arizona (Phoenix and Tucson) and 1 = Denver, Colorado. We maintain over 2,500 beds for men and women in recovery in the Western United States. PROGRAM STRUCTURE Q. How long is your program? A. Our program is a live-in Residential Program that is a minimum of 6 months to a year, depending on the needs of the individual. Q. How much does it cost to be in your program? A. There is no cost to the individual. The Salvation Army assumes the entire cost of the Rehabilitation Program. Q. Will I have counseling while in your program? A. Yes. You will have weekly individual counseling and weekly group counseling from trained counselors in the field of Chemical Dependency/Substance Abuse. Q. What kind of classes will I be required to take while in your program? A. You will be required to take a weekly Chemical Dependency class, a 12-step study course, Relapse Prevention course, Big Book Study course, Bible Study Course, Anger

3 Management Course, and other related courses. We also provide a Family Education Course to help your family in the process. Q. What's your success rate? A. In the United States, of all alcoholics who go into recovery, about 20% are sober at the end of a year. When you add drug addicts to that population, about 10% or 11% are sober and clean. In our Centers we have varying success rates ranging from about 23% - 35%. Additionally, we did a series of longitudinal studies at our own Transitional Houses (Phase IV in our Program). We randomly chose a day and went back two and a half years and tracked everyone who had been in the Transitional Houses and on that day, 86% were sober and clean and 69% had over a year s sobriety. We did three, two and half-year longitudinal studies, all with similar results. We know now that our Transitional Houses offer a significant impact on the recovery of our people. Q. Do you have a women's program? A. Yes. We have 8 Centers that provide a Women s Program. We maintain over 150 beds for women in recovery. The structure of the Women s Program is similar to that of the Men s Program. We have Women s Programs in Seattle, San Francisco, Fresno, Pasadena, Anaheim, San Diego, Phoenix, and Denver. Q. Do you have recreational activities and an exercise facility in your program? A. Yes. All our Centers have an exercise facility. We also get tickets for sporting events as well cultural events and museums. All we do is carefully planned to focus on a healthy recovery. It is important that in recovery, you learn to have clean and sober fun. These recreational events, then, become a very important component to your recovery. Q. Do you have a class that my family can go to while I am in your program? A. Yes. We have Family Program Weekends six times a year designed to help, support and education your family and friends as you progress in your own recovery. We also support your family and friends by making them aware of support systems available to them in the community such as Al-Anon. We help them prepare for your home visits. PROGRAM POLICY AND STANDARDS Q. Can I have visitors and have contact with my family?

4 A. When you are admitted to the program, you are usually on intake restriction for 30 days, unless you have been in the program before. If this is the case, you are on restriction for 45 days. There are no phones or visitors while on restriction. Q. Can I have a job while in your program? A. You are not permitted to have outside employment while in the program. Q. Do you take people who are on parole or probation? A. Yes. We work closely with parole, probation and the court system including drug court. If you are going to be court-mandated to a program, it is imperative that we are contacted by your parole or probation officer or the court liaison prior to intake to confirm legal status. Q. Am I allowed to go home while in your program? A. When you are off restriction you are allowed to go home on your free time. In most of our Centers, you are allowed one 24-hour pass every month if - 1) you have been in our program for at least 90 days, 2) you are working a good program and, 3) your family has attended one of our Family Program Weekends. Q. Do you believe in tapering off drugs and alcohol? A. We require complete abstinence. Q. What does "work therapy" mean and why is it important? A. Work Therapy is an activity that allows you to develop healthy work skills and habits again. People donate clothing and furniture. We pick up the donations, sort them, repair them and then deliver them to our Thrift Stores for sale. The funds we make in the Thrift Stores pay for the care of the residents of the Program. You will be assigned to a work therapy site upon intake. As part of your work habits, you will be expected to be on time and put in an honest day of work therapy. Adjusting to the work therapy can be difficult for some i.e. working for a supervisor or with peers. As such, your meeting with your counselor can help you learn new ways to cope without drinking, using, or running. The work therapy, then, becomes like a slice of life where the things of life happen and you learn to cope as you prepare for your life back out in the community. Q. Do you take in Heroin addicts? A. Yes. We do admit heroin addicts. Q. Do you allow people to take Methadone in your program?

5 A. No. We take a strong position on abstinence and the 12-step program when dealing with addictions. We do not use any narcotics like Methadone to treat other narcotic addictions such as heroin. Q. Do you take in Crystal Meth addicts? A. Yes. Increasingly more and more of our beneficiaries are addicted to Crystal Meth. The good news is that it is a treatable disease. Your life can change and you don t ever have to go back to the life of drugs and insanity..q. Do you offer medical care or benefits in your program? A. The residents all participate in County Medical Services (CMS) that provides medical care including prescription medication. Many of our Centers also have volunteer physicians who provide medical support. Q. Do I have to be a Christian to be in your program? A. You do not have to be a Christian to be in our program. Although we do not tell you what to believe, we do present a Christian perspective. We present recovery from a holistic point-of-view and address the spiritual dimension to recovery. You will be required to attend Bible study, chapel devotions, and church on Sunday. PROGRAM COMPLETION RE- ENTRY EMPLOYMENT Q. Will someone help me find a job when I finish your program? A. After you complete the First Phase of our Program at the end of 6 months you will be encouraged to participate in Phase II of our Program called the Re-Entry Phase. In the Re-Entry Phase, the focus will be on re-entering the community. We will give you passes to go to job interviews. We will discuss career planning and likely give you vocational testing. We will talk about budgeting money and how to fill out job applications and successfully handle job interviews. We frequently videotape and roleplay mock job interviews. Once you find work, you will enter Phase III - Live-in/Workout. We will give you transportation money or bus token to go to and from work. We will give you lunch to eat while at your new job. We will continue to give you your weekly gratuity and continue to feed and house you until you get your first full paycheck from your employer. Q. If I leave your program, can I ever come back? A. After you graduate - if you require our help again - you are welcome to re-apply at anytime. If you leave without completing the program, you can re-apply after 30 days from the time you left the program. We will review your application at that time to

6 determine whether or not you are eligible for readmission. The quality of your previous stay in our program will have a strong impact of determining whether we will readmit you. 12 STEP Q. Does your program participate with the 12-step program? A. Yes. The 12-step program is one of the fundamental principles of our programs. All residents are required to go to weekly AA or NA meetings. They are also required to obtain a sponsor and Home Group by 60 days into the program. Our weekly Chemical Dependency Classes are based on 12-step concepts. Q. Are people in your program encouraged to get a sponsor? A. You are required to get a sponsor by 60 days into our program. You are expected to maintain close contact with your sponsor. We are aware that if you get a sponsor early on in the program and maintain good contact with your sponsor - (we recommend at least one phone call per week and one face to face visit other than at a meeting. Many contact their sponsor daily) - you will have more support in your program and it will be easier for you to go through the process of recovery.