Health & Wellness
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The Hansen Foundation’s Recovery Housing
Housing Recovery….One Person at a Time, One Day at a Time Lisa Whitley, PMP – Executive Director, The Hansen Foundation The Ying Yang of this duo creates a balanced dualism that is essential to their life saving work…..helping people heal from substance use disorder (SUD). The complementary opposite forces of Terri Burns, Director of Operations, and Melissa Loupos, Assistant Director of Serenity Housing at the Hansen Foundation, creates the ideal team to run the Recovery Housing Program. The Hansen Foundation Residences, called Serenity Houses, provide a structured, affordable, long-term, family-like atmosphere for people to learn how to LIVE after enduring the depths of addiction. Living in Recovery housing is truly a time of learning new life skills and having the right kind of support is essential to sustained Recovery.…. enter Terri and Melissa. Each one has travelled their own road of addiction and know first-hand the challenges of sustaining Recovery. Terri, a high energy personality that has a spirited approach to everything, is in long term Recovery since 1997 and has worked in the field of addiction since 1999. She started using substances before the age of 12. As a young teenager she was allowed to drink alcohol at home and by her mid-teens this “norm” led to increased alcohol and drug abuse. By her midtwenties Terri finally reached a point at which she knew if she didn’t stop using substances she would die. Terri entered the addiction profession by coincidence while living in Recovery housing after her own treatment. A housemate invited her to take a temporary job while she was on leave from work, at a youth advocate program. It was a job that became a profession; one that has led her to co-founding Enlightened Solutions Treatment center, her current position with the Foundation, and numerous leadership positions with organizations that determine standards and best practices for Recovery housing in the State of New Jersey. Quiet but strongly persuasive, Melissa had a much different journey to addiction. Although plagued with severe anxiety as a child and teen, Melissa was a model child. She was captain of the track team, a good student, and had wonderful friends. Her close family was thrilled when she entered Villanova where she chose to major in business. College partying
introduced her to a new way to control her anxiety, something that was increasing as the college work intensified. It was during this time Melissa lost her grandmother and aunt, both of which she was close to. As the alcohol consumption increased, the ability to manage it all diminished. She left college and proceeded to enter a cycle of drinking and prescription drug use 24 hours a day. By 21, she had endured 12 detoxes, numerous Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP), and three inpatient treatment centers. She entered the Hansen Foundation’s Serenity Recovery House in 2013 after treatment. After several years of Recovery, Melissa was offered a position by Terri to work in housing while pursuing her BSW from Rutgers. Each one brings a dedication and passion to the job. As a team, they work with each resident on an individual basis. “No two people are alike and it is our role to go the extra mile for everyone that walks through our doors,” says Loupos. Their philosophy is to know the individual, understand their strengths and struggles and identify the ways to best support them. “Whether it be facing legal issues, regaining a driver’s license, getting custody of their children back or simply learning how to do laundry, food shop, cook and clean, our staff helps people,” says Terry. Terri and Melissa are not only fiercely committed to their staff but also to each other and their mission to help people heal. Terri says that her work with the Hansen Foundation has “been an amazing journey of watching people get their lives back.” Melissa’s favorite quote sums it best, “You can’t lead the people if you don’t love the people. You can’t save the people if you don’t serve the people.” Dr. Cornel West
MORE ABOUT THE HANSEN FOUNDATION The Hansen Foundation transforms lives—helping ALL people become healthier and happier. To learn more about Terri Burns, Director of Operations, and Melissa Loupos, Assistant Director of Serenity Housing and to support the life-changing work we are doing at The Hansen Foundation, please visit us at www.hansenfoundation.org or reach me directly at lwhitley@hansenfoundationnj.org
The Hansen Foundation, Inc.
4 East Jimmie Leeds Road, Suite 3 | Galloway, NJ 08205 Mobile : 609-968-3873 | Main: 609-270-4443 | Tax ID #31-1667973 lwhitley@hansenfoundationnj.org | hansenfoundationnj.org
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New Year in 2022!
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January/February 2022
