In the Potter's Hands

RECOVERY

Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.

(ISAIAH 64:8)

What makes the Salvation Army’s Adult Rehabilitation (ARC) program so successful?

If you ask Don Coombs, director of program development for the Salvation Army’s ARC Command that question, he says the answer is rooted in Scripture.

“The way the potter makes clay into a beautiful vase is constant pressure in the right direction,” he says. “It’s not too much that it breaks anything and not too little that it flies everywhere. It’s constant pressure—just the right amount—in the right direction. That’s how God makes us and molds us and that’s how people change their lives in the ARC.

“What’s great about the ARC ministry is it’s really six months to a year of redirecting a person in a healthy direction.”

Coombs said that redirection begins on Day 2 of a person’s entrance into the ARC. They begin to “live normally” by getting up on time. They also are introduced to devotions, namely Bible reading, prayer, and quiet time.

“Some people haven’t done that in a long time,” he says. “Other people have never done that.

“Living normally is also taking care of your hygiene items. That’s going to work as therapy. That’s learning some new coping skills and new ways of thinking. That’s learning how to live with a biblical worldview. That’s having healthy relationships.”

Learning how to do life

ARC beneficiaries complete their “work therapy” in the family stores, which fund the entire ARC program. They learn to concentrate, follow directions, complete a task from start to finish, and work together—all constant pressure in a positive direction. The work as therapy helps prepare them for life and employment once they graduate the program.

“They’ve actually had to sustain

attention and keep to a task,” Coombs explains. “They get to see they can make a positive difference in their life and the lives of people in close proximity to them.”

Beneficiaries also meet with their counselors. They also can attend education programs; self–help groups, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and Celebrate Recovery; and bible studies and chapel services.

“There are all these groups we get people involved with so that they truly know and experience that they’re not alone, and where we have unity, we have tremendous strength,” he said.

Coombs said 20 percent of people who enter the ARC stay and complete the program, graduating from “chaos to really living in the community.”

“What it takes to graduate is really quite intensive,” he said. “That 20 percent is a good number because it’s residential and there’s a lot involved to get to that number. That 20 percent is actually pretty good.”

Mental health complications

While some short–term rehabs allow “slips” or relapses, the ARC program does not. If a person relapses, they are referred to a detox and may return later.

“When it comes to the ARC, you need to think of it as a residential church where people do worship, teaching, fellowship, service, and prayer,” he said. “Then think of an atmosphere wheresome of those things that would hinder relationships, such as drugs and alcohol, are not allowed.”

Coombs said that many persons who have a substance abuse problem also have a co–occurring mental health disorder. That would include depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, and bipo lar disorder.

“It’s not just one issue or one substance,” Coombs said. “As a residential church, our goal is to connect people with the level of service and care that they’re willing to participate in and that they actually need.”

Andy Iorio, a counselor at the Wilkes– Barre, Pa., ARC, said the drug landscape is also getting tougher. While people have been mixing drugs with fentanyl for years, a more powerful drug called carfentanyl has surfaced.

“It’s killing the younger guys,” Iorio said. “They think they’re buying heroin and there’s fentanyl and carfentanyl mixed in it. We’ve seen a lot of overdoses.

Carfentanyl is killing the younger guys, they think they’re buying heroin and there’s fentanyl and carfentanyl mixed in. We’ve seen a lot of overdoses.

— Andy Iorio, counselor at the ARC in Wilkes–Barre, Pa.

“Sadly, from my perspective, I see poly or multiple substance users,” Iorio said. “There is no main drug anymore. It’s multiple drugs. They’re used simultaneously and they’re also used in place of one another. If a person can’t afford cocaine, they’ll go for something cheaper and if they can’t afford that, they’ll go for alcohol. It’s rare that I ever see a person with only one substance use or a dominant substance use.”

Putting in the time

Coombs said while new drugs are surfacing, an old one is still a major problem in America today.

“We can talk about opioids, which quickly kill somebody, but alcohol kills people just as well,” he said. “When someone drinks alcohol, they’re drinking the highest level of a carcinogen.

“We really need to look at all mood– altering, non–prescribed drugs, including alcohol. I think that’s really where the concern needs to be, not just on one drug.”

Iorio said that’s why the long–term nature of the ARC program is the key to dealing with the myriad of issues.

“One of the reasons I choseto stay employed here is because we have a resident long–term, whereas a regular treatment center that is billed by state insurance or regular insurance, is 28 days,” he said.

“The key words are ‘relational ministry.’ I think the reason The Salvation Army is successful is because we have time to build relationships and get to see what’s under the surface. When a resident is with us six months to a year, with a little time and pressure, we really get to see what’s underneath there.”

Iorio said the long–term nature helps the ARC make referrals for mental health and spiritual needs.

Christ at the center

“Being a long–term facility with work therapy gives us an advantage because our guys leave here employable when most of them were not when they first arrived. I think that all ties in—mental, spiritual, emotional, and physical.

“You can’t develop a successful long– term program without some time. That’s one of the advantages that keeps me excited about working here.”

Iorio said another key to the ARC’s success is that whether it’s groups, counseling or chapel, the Bible is the ultimate authority and not the “shallow” principles of humanism.

More than 3 in 5 people who died from drug overdose had an identified opportunity for linkage to care or life–saving actions (such as the ARC).

source: www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/pubs/featured–topics/VS– overdose–deaths–illicit–drugs.html

“We’re not giving any opinions or anything unless it lines up with that biblical authority,” he said. “We get to be Christ– centered here, which seems to be rare these days. I appreciate being able to say, ‘This is what the Bible says.’”

Coombs, a certified drug and alcohol abuse counselor and an ordained minister and evangelist with the Church of the Nazarene, said his motivation is also biblical. He cites John 13:34 as a life verse: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

“Because I really truly believe the Bible is God’s revelation, it has helped me in my personal relationships,” he said. “I want to emulate that and love other people the way Christ loves. Who better to learn from about having healthy relationships and loving other people than Christ? That’s my message.”

by ROBERT MITCHELL