UNMASKED UNMASKED SPRING 2019 SPRING 2019
EXPLORING ADDICTION AND RECOVERY EXPLORING ADDICTION AND RECOVERY IN CENTRAL INDIANA
Recovery and Redemption RELIGION AND REHAB
Recovery and Redemption Two men’s journey toward recovery | 18
XX
XX | XX
RELIGION AND REHAB XX XX | XX The journey toward healing | 18
A LIFELONG JOURNEY Brian and Rhea Graham continue crusade | 05
ARRESTING ADDICTS Prosecutors change approach toward drugs | 36
StigmaUnmasked.com
Stories better told, lives better lived
The Power of 50 The Ball State Department of Journalism is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and if every graduate in our global network donates $50, the department will be able to provide nearly $400,000 in scholarships for deserving majors. Gifts made this year have double the impact through a passionate graduate’s pledge to match gifts of any amount (up to $25,000) made to the $50 for the 50th Anniversary Campaign.
Now is the time to support the next Now isgeneration the time to support next generationand of storytellers and strategists. ofthe storytellers strategists. Every gift matters, and collectively, our commitments add value to the department’s mission to outfit students with the confidence, expertise, and connections to tell stories that matter. To give online, please visit: bsu.edu/give and select the “Journalism Scholarships” fund from the pulldown menu.
For more information, visit bsu.edu/journalism
Job Number: 00015362 Salesperson: Customer: MCKINLEY AVENUE Phone: (765)285-1200 Email: ecmeyer@bsu.edu, mckinleyave@bsu.edu, dailynewsads@bsu.edu
ABOUT THE PROJECT Unmasked: Recovery and Redemption Unmasked: Recovery and Redemption explores the addiction recovery community in Muncie, Delaware County and East Central Indiana and the role churches and faith-based organizations have in helping addicts address the disease. Rodney Tackett, a recovering addict for 20 years, says today’s area faith-based recovery programs are the strongest he’s ever seen them. He’s one of dozens of people Ball State University students, participating in the 2018-19 Unmasked immersive learning class spoke to. Students found there are several 12step meetings, support groups and faithbased programs available. In fact, they are common in this community. But there are far fewer medical-based, in-patient and outpatient treatment alternatives as government and community-based health care providers come to terms with the worst drug crisis in the nation’s history. “Any treatment is great, of course, if we can stop the bleeding,” Tackett said. “But we need something more than just being focused on: ‘Let’s keep this person from killing themselves.’” Tackett said the challenge is “not just harm reduction, but creating a life worth living.” In 2016-17, a class of Ball State students examined the use of meth in Delaware County. The result was www. stigmaunmasked.com, a website with original content that included a 30-minute, made-for-public-television documentary and a 40-page magazine. In the 2019, students revisited the topic through the lens of recovery updating the website and producing a new magazine. Funded by a Ball Brothers Foundation Rapid Grant students from the Department of Journalism examine what has changed for Brian and Rhea Graham, who were featured
in the project’s original documentary and magazine, and role the local faith communities have in addiction recovery. In this issue, we hear from addicts in search of recovery, and the obstacles they face, including funding for residential treatment. The Grahams, who frequent speakers at Narcotics Anonymous meetings and often travel to regional and national NA conventions, discuss how they have stayed clean and what it meant to alter their circle of influence. We also examine relapse as a part of recovery, and the effect drug addiction has on families and communities.
MORE COVERAGE Visit StigmaUnmasked.com to read stories from the first and second editions of Unmasked.
03
Unmasked: Recovery and Redemption
CONTENTS FACULTY Juli Metzger, Department of Journalism Associate Lecturer WRITERS Olivia Adams Noah Ademek Bailey Cline Summer Davis Lauren DeLorenzo Loren Dent Mary Freda Shelby Jones Michelle Kaufman Samantha Kupiainen Patrick Murphy Christian Sarber Paige Washington PHOTOGRAPHY Bailey Cline Michaela Kelley Patrick Murphy
FAMILY 06 | Process: Children hit hard when addiction runs in the family 08 | Saving lives: Maternal Treatment Program 10 | Lifelong: One daughter’s struggle to cope
FAITH 12 | Muncie Mission: Refocusing on life in recovery 14 | Road: Faith community leads recovery efforts 18 | Religion: Friendship born of faith and addiction
FITNESS 24 | Weights: New gym gives strength to recovering addicts 26 | Rehab: ARC in Richmond offers residential treatment 28 | Leap: From prescription pain relief to addiction recovery 30 | Doctors: Pain management within reach 31 | Employers: Supporting a workforce
DESIGN/GRAPHICS Emily Wright
FORGIVENESS
WEB PRODUCTION Robbie Moscato-Goodpaster Emily Wright
32 | Unbreakable: Addiction sponsors key to recovery 35 | In her own words: Rhea Graham 36 | Approach: Delaware County focuses on recovery, not arrests
SOCIAL MEDIA/EVENT Camille Breck
RESOURCES
FUNDING SUPPORT
38 | A list of resources
Ball Brothers Foundation
04 | Spring 2019 | Unmasked: Recovery and Redemption
FAMILY
ONE DAY AT A TIME Brian and Rhea Graham continue recovery, bring others along By Samantha Kupiainen “Hey Rhea . . . I’m from Springfield, Mass and I am a recovering meth addict,” read the FB message. “Today was a really tough day as I’m 4 months into my recovery and I have had so much going on in my life that using has been quite an appealing thought! Today, I stayed in and just watched documentaries and reminded myself that no matter what the battle is gonna be hard but fighting it clear headed is the best way! I came across u and ur husband and just wanted to reach out and thank you guys for ur story it was definitely what I needed today.” For Brian and Rhea Graham, random messages via Facebook aren’t unusual. The couple has inspired untold numbers to take back their lives. Three years ago, the couple were subjects of a Ball State University immersive learning class documentary film, magazine and web report on drug addiction called “Unmasked: The Stigma of Meth.” The story propelled them into the spotlight locally but also nationally and even internationally. In 2017, Rhea served as an access consultant for an episode of a British Netflix documentary, “Dope,” after its producers came across the Ball State “Unmasked” project online. The Netflix episode explored the opioid epidemic across Indiana. In her role, Rhea was behind the scenes on location, such as abandoned houses, and helped connect the filming crew with people in the community. Brian and Rhea have both been clean for five years now. It’s still one day at a time, they’ll tell you, but both are confident enough in their recovery to bring others along. It’s been two years since Rhea stood before Delaware County Judge Linda Wolf for her sentencing hearing, where she
Brian and Rhea Graham share their stories of recovery with others. Photo: Michaela Kelley
faced up to six years in prison for dealing in methamphetamine. According to Rhea, “if you’re not doing the right thing, you don’t want to have her as a judge.” Brian faced up to 26 years in prison for his drug-related crimes, a much longer sentence because of his long history of prior offenses. Both were arrested in early 2014 for possession of meth and faced Class B felony charges. Judge Wolf had the final about whether Brian and Rhea were going to prison. At Rhea’s sentencing, the judge commented on Rhea’s high visibility in the community and her work with addicts. She said she didn’t see how the community would benefit by her being removed from it. Wolf told Rhea she believed it was her “God-given calling” to help people who suffered from addiction, to give them courage, strength, and help. Rhea says that’s how she intends to spend her life. Instead of six years in prison, Rhea was
sentenced to six years probation. Brian was given a similar sentence, despite a list of prior offenses. Her commitment to help others recover helped get her a job as an office manager at First Choice for Women, a Christian non-profit pregnancy resource center in Muncie. Today, she is a peer support specialist for Meridian Health Services, headquartered in Muncie and one of Indiana’s largest health care providers. Previously, she was a volunteer for Meridian’s Maternal Treatment Program, which helps pregnant women manage their addiction during pregnancy. Both Brian and Rhea are popular sponsors in the recovery community. Brian’s been approached roughly 20 times to be a sponsor; Rhea has been approached around 50 times. It’s still one day at a time for the couple but both hope to become even more involved and lead others toward recovery. 05
FAMILY
RECOVERY:
A FAMILY PROCESS By Shelby Jones Kira has blurred a lot of the years At age 19, Kira Szarka has seen more than her share of the ravages that together and sometimes has trouble addiction causes. She’s also been part remembering when certain things of the addiction recovery process. Her happened. But she does recall a time when her mom’s new boyfriend was arrested parents are drug addicts. According to a national survey by the for what Kira thought was just having her Substance Abuse and Mental Health grandmother’s old diabetic needles. He Services Administration one in 35 children was stopped by police and they saw the lived in households with at least one needles in the car. He was arrested and parent who used drugs over the past year. later released on bail. That’s when Kira started noticing the The survey was taken among households bizarre behaviors of an addict. She later from 2009 to 2014. learned both were drug Kira was 13 when her addicts and shared the mother’s addiction to meth same symptoms. began. Rhea Graham, now She remembers thinking clean for five years and it was odd that her mom a community advocate always was in her bedroom for addicts, says life with because she and her mom Kira’s step-father was “a shared a deep connection bad situation.” The family with each other. What Kira eventually left the abusive didn’t know at the time relationship. was that Rhea didn’t want “She’s always been the her daughter to see her as rock, always been there,” an addict. Kira said about her mom. “Our electricity got “It was always us three turned off and that was against whoever.” It - KIRA SZARKA, probably the worst time of was a red flag when her Rhea Graham’s my life,” said Kira. mother wasn’t around for daughter She remembered one her or her older sister. night, especially. It was a The 13-year-old knew cold night in 2014. something wasn’t right. Kira, 14, and her sister shared a room, When she was young, Kira says she never fully understood what was going on or that with beds side-by-side. They didn’t have her mom was an addict, at least not at first. any electricity but Rhea and her boyfriend She said that her family never had much had a heater in their bedroom. That night, Kira and her sister tried so she thought some of the circumstances sleeping underneath every blanket they were just part of being poor. “I just noticed that they were struggling owned. Still, she remembers being cold. “I remember there were so many nights for rent, like really bad every month, like it started to get really bad,” she said. “We didn’t where it was just so hard to sleep like that. have any food and stuff like that, but I was I remember one night I tried to use my cats to warm my feet and just to try my best.” like okay this is normal. We are just poor.”
She’s always been the rock, always been there. It was always us three against whoever.”
06 | Spring 2019 | Unmasked: Recovery and Redemption
Holidays were no better but Kira continued to think the family was just poor. When Thanksgiving came, she was ready to help her mom with the food like she does every year, but she realized they weren’t going to bother making anything or celebrate. She and her sister ended up making the Thanksgiving dinner themselves. She and her sister ate together. Her mom and her boyfriend took Thanksgiving Day dinner to their bedroom, and ate by themselves
Kira Szarka (left) and Madelyn Szarka (right) pose in their home where they live with Brian and Rhea Graham who are former addicts. Kira recalls how her mother’s addiction impacted her life and their relationship. Photo: Michaela Kelley
“At that point, I realized something’s not right, because this ain’t cool,” Kira said. “It just continued to go downhill from there.” The effects of addiction on children include depression, anxiety, doing poorly in school and even unemployment later in life, according to a report by the Center for Disease Control. Children of addicts also are more likely to become addicted themselves, according to the CDC. But more than half don’t.
At one point, Kira and her sister were sent to live with their biological father in another state and told later their mom and her boyfriend had been arrested for drugs. “I was just like ‘what?’ I looked at him and said like ‘are you playing with me?’ because this is something my mom would never do,” Kira remembers. “I just thought so highly of my mom through every battle we fought together.” Although it was one of the most difficult
times in her life, Kira says today she is grateful to have gone through it because not only did it change her as a person, it also started a good relationship with her father, who had not been a part of her life until then. Kira and her sister stayed with their dad for about six months. Kira says she won’t ever forget the first time she got a phone call from her mom from jail. “I was very angry because I have always been the strong one between me and my sister,” she said. “I have always been the one that is going to fight. I was so angry with her and remembering telling her ‘I’m going to finish high school with my dad. I don’t want to live with you when you get out, I don’t want to come back with you.’ ” Kira couldn’t understand how her mom could have betrayed her. But that feeling didn’t last. She remembers she would plead to God, “reunite me with my mom. I don’t want her to go away. Let me see my mom again.” In 2015, Kira and her sister were back with Rhea. But the tough times weren’t over. At one point, she, her sister and mother were in a shelter for battered women. Once they were able, they left the women’s shelter and moved next door to Rhea’s long-time boyfriend, Brian Graham. Finally, in 2016 Rhea married Brian and life for Kira and the couple started to turn around. It’s been about five years now since she moved back in with her mom and Kira says she’s proud of Rhea and Brian. “I saw their recovery pan out in front of me,” Kira said. “I just felt so proud.” Faith has had a strong role in recovery. New Beginnings and Reformers Unanimous keep all of them focused, Kira said. RU has become an extended family, as well as a formal support system with regular group sessions, steps and sponsors. “God had a purpose for these two, to touch people’s lives and show them that there is recovery,” said Kira. “Slowly, all the pain and everything that happened ... This is my family now and we are doing really good.”
07
MATERNAL TREATMENT PROGRAM
SAVING LIVES OF MOTHER AND CHILD By Noah Ademek Katie Garland, a 23-year-old mother of a newborn, said she turned to Meridian Health Services Maternal Treatment Program to stop using drugs, at least long enough to give birth. Her baby was born — healthy and drugfree — on Valentine’s Day 2019. She said she was addicted to cocaine and used marijuana to cope with depression and anxiety. But once she was pregnant, she said she knew she had to stop. “Even though I didn’t care [that I was an addict] when I wasn’t pregnant, I didn’t want my baby to turn into (an addict),” said Garland. Today, she says she knows what is important. “Being completely independent and taking care of my baby are my top priorities.” The MTP program, started in 2017, aims to help pregnant women manage their addiction. It also teaches life skills like parenting, coping and juggling schedules. The women themselves provide a backboard of support to each other.
XX | Spring 2019 | Unmasked: Recovery and Redemption Illustration: Emily Wright; Freepik, courtesy
FAMILY
Alysha Nemore, a clinical program manager, oversees the program at Meridian Health Services’ Suzanne Gresham Center in Muncie. “Our ultimate goal is to make the community better,” said Nemore. “People aren’t really understanding the issue of substance abuse.” Since its start in 2017, the program has seen 76 participants, 11 full graduates of the program and 21 babies born without neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) to mothers in the program. In Indiana, infants are 25 percent more likely to die within their first year of life than infants born nationally, according to a 2014 Indiana Youth Institute report. Meridian Health Services says those state numbers relate well to Delaware County and East Central Indiana, in large part because of high drug use locally. Of the 1,300 deliveries at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie 2017, just over 20 percent of babies were tested for drug exposure and just over half of those tested positive for at least one substance. There were 67 newborns affected by maternal use of drugs or neonatal abstinence syndrome. In 2018, there were some protocol changes at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital. For example, all laboring women are given a drug test to ensure the best treatment for mother and baby. NAS is most often caused by a mother taking opioids during pregnancy, and occurs when a baby is exposed to a drug in the womb before birth and then experiences withdrawal symptoms from the exposure after birth. NAS can cause serious problems for infants, such as being low birth weight, breathing problems and post-birth withdrawal from the drugs, according to marchofdimes.org. Besides keeping pregnant mothers
Our ultimate goal is to make the community better. People aren’t really understanding the issue of substance abuse.” - ALYSHA NEMORE, Clinical program manager
clean, the MTP also teaches them parenting skills. The pregnant women start off going through “Seeking Safety” sessions where they learn about how to get involved with the community and about the substances they were or are using. This section of the treatment program is three days a week for two hours a day. The women have to complete 12 weeks of this to move on to the next part, called the “Incredible Years” sessions. The “Incredible Years” sessions teach soon-to-be mothers about parenting and the developmental needs of the child. This part is once a week for two hours and lasts 14 weeks. Overall, it should take 26 weeks to complete the program, but that’s without any relapse. If a woman starts using drugs again, the process can be extended to meet her individual needs. Rebekah Hill is a therapist at the MTP. She works directly with women who are going through the program. She said her main goal is to build skills and get them to focus on themselves. “They actually do care about others, not just themselves,” Hill said. “It fascinates me how they got to that point.” Addiction recovery is a struggle. Garland says Meridian’s program is a place where she feels safe and not judged because others who are facing
the same obstacles she has. Mothers who need to are permitted to bring their other children with them, taking child care issues out of the equation. There’s also a baby store where mothers can cash in “baby bucks” for items such as clothing, bottles, blankets, hygiene items, diapers and toys. “Baby bucks” are earned by simply attending scheduled sessions and meetings. Patients either refer themselves by calling in or they get referred by their physicians. Organizers say they are pleased with the progress so far. “The program not only impacts the child,” Nemore said, “but getting to see two lives change – it has become my favorite program.”
09
FAMILY
A LIFELONG PROCESS Addiction recovery creates anxiety, distress and sorrow for children By Shelby Jones
W
henLeaSueszwasinkindergarten, herparentsweredivorced,butshe didn’tknowwhy.Sheremembers going back and forth between her mom and dad’s. She remembers her dad was the fun parent. When she was in the fourth grade, Lea learned her father was addicted to drugs. “I remember my mom sitting us down and dumbing it down for us like, ‘Oh, your dad took bad drugs and you won’t be able to see him for 90 days,’” Lea said. “When I was a kid that was very, very, very devastating.” Children of addicts wage their own battles. For them, recovery is equally important. It can be a slow, sometimes a lifelong process. According to a study done by the Center for Disease Control, adverse childhood experiences like drug addiction cause children to be at greater risk for mental distress, depression and other health-related problems. Lea got married this month, but without her father. He helped her financially, but Lea says she doesn’t want him in her life right now. She’s still trying to cope with her father’s addiction and the grief it caused her. When she was a child, Lea’s mother, Erin, would tell her: “I’m sorry he keeps making bad choices. I know he loves you.” Throughout middle and high school, Lea noticed how mad her mom would be at her dad. She said he showed up to one of her sporting events high and made a scene. Her mom made him leave.
10 | Spring 2019 | Unmasked: Recovery and Redemption
“It was terrible,” Lea said. “She wouldn’t even wear a sweatshirt with my last name on the back because it’s his last name, during soccer season. Which was like a really rude awakening for me it was like, ‘Dang, OK.’” Her dad tried rehab a few different times. Lea was able to write him a letter; a letter she still has to this day: “Dear daddy, I’m so sorry you’re not doing good. I know you’re trying so hard to get better.” He would write back: “You’re the most important thing in the world to me.” Early in high school, she found the letter again and it reminded her of the reality of addiction. “After so many times, that doesn’t mean a lot,” Lea said. “I was like ‘Man, I feel really stupid because it was like, ‘Oh my gosh you literally just believed everything would just get better, just because he said it would.’ ” She said every time she heard him say that, it was like a heartbreak. “If you want to talk about addiction being a family disease, it’s impacting me and my siblings, and my brother’s mom, and our mom and our stepdad,” she said. As a result of the stress from her family situation, Lea developed tics as a child, which is a mild form of Tourette’s Syndrome. As she got older, she started seeking out therapy. Today, she is studying psychology at Ball State University and believes therapy has been incredibly important for her.
Lea Suesz is finding her own path as she recovers from the distress caused by her father’s drug addiction. Lea plans to graduate from Ball State University with a degree in psychology, where she hopes to help kids who have been affected by addicts in their own families. Photo: Bailey Cline
She has been diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, as well as anxiety and depression. “It had all kinds of things to do with what was going on with my dad ... it’s just like a really vicious cycle of trusting and then having that trust broken over and over again,” Lea said. “Especially from your parent, it’s like the person you look up to the most and you love more than anyone in the whole world.” Lea still goes to therapy. Her church youth group leader introduced her to Al-
Anon, an organization for family members of addicts. “It was awesome. They’re a super awesome resource,” Lea said. She went to one meeting with mostly all adults. It was a supportive environment. The people there told their own stories that Lea could relate to which she felt was good for her. She also took it upon herself to find more resources. “The definition of family just means nothing, like family is whoever the heck is there for you, which was a big deal for me,” she said.
These days, Lea says she wishes her father well. “I had so much fun with him when I was younger. There’s no doubt in my mind that he loves me more than anything in the world,” she said. “I heard that he’s clean so that’s good. I hope he stays that way. But also I don’t have any desire to talk to him because I’m at a point in my life where it is about me and getting my life together before I open my life back up to someone who could bring it all crashing down again.”
11
FAITH
OPENING NEW DOORS By Michelle Kaufman When Frank Baldwin became director of the Muncie Mission in 2014, he and his staff were frustrated with the outcomes of their addiction recovery program. Then one man’s life and death led Baldwin to start a different kind of program, one that provides longer-term housing for residents who need it. “We are pouring our lives into guys for a year, year and a half through our program. They would graduate, they would leave, they would do really well for a year or so and then the stresses of life — there would be a major event — an illness … that would totally throw the fragile balance that they had off balance,” Baldwin said. “Next thing you know, they’re dealing with the stresses the way that brought them in the first place ... this time worse.” In 2015, one of those graduating residents was Tyler Greathouse, who was an alcoholic. Maybe it is life’s way of making connections when you least expect it, but something drew Baldwin to Greathouse. Tyler was from Rock Island, Illinois, Baldwin’s hometown. “He did so well for the time he was here,” Baldwin said. “He was intelligent. I still have a copy of his transcripts in my drawer.” After leaving the Mission, Greathouse got a job and an apartment. But eventually he relapsed. He is believed to have drank himself to death. Baldwin officiated the funeral, and as he looked out at Greathouse’s family, an idea came to him. “It just came to me — we need transitional housing. We need a house where the Tylers are never isolated, where they never feel alone,” Baldwin said. “All this just went through my mind in a millisecond, pretty much a whole program. I said, ‘We’re going to build transitional housing, and I’m going to name the first house the Greathouse.’ ” The program has gone through multiple expansions since it launched in the summer of 2016 and is expected to expand at least
12 | Spring 2019 | Unmasked: Recovery and Redemption
once more. Ball State University students have provided construction plans for two different homes that will be built in 2019. The J. Robert & Joanne N. Baur Foundation gave the Mission $175,000 after seeing those plans. “We’ve bought a lot more lots, and I envision a great community of people who are thriving well and being contributing members to society,” Baldwin said. “It’s a complete turnaround [for them], and I have Tyler Greathouse to thank for that, and I wish he could have been one of the first guys through it. But we lost Tyler, and I’m going to
do everything I can to not lose anymore.” Baldwin says nine out of 10 people who have entered the program stay sober, get a job, live independently and are involved in a new social network of their own. Some even start giving back to their community. In addition to transitional housing, the Mission strives to make hope a part of its program. Hope, Baldwin says, comes with meeting the physical needs of their clients. “That hope is provided by offering a safe shelter, by offering meals to eat, by offering clothes to wear so those are things they don’t have to worry about as
Muncie Mission expands housing for recovering addicts
MAN ON A MISSION Embracing life after addiction
By Michelle Kaufman
Andy Ray says the Muncie Mission changed his life. Photo: Michaela Kelley
For around 30 years, Andy Ray battled one form of addiction or another. After waking up in 2015 in the hospital after his third overdose, a friend asked him if he was done with his life on drugs. He wasn’t sure he was, but he said yes anyway. With only a few clothes to his name, Ray entered the Muncie Mission.
If it wasn’t for this place, I’d probably be dead.” Frank Baldwin, director of the Muncie Mission, helps those in need find transitional housing and basic services. He became director of Muncie Mission in 2014. Photo: Bailey Cline
- ANDY RAY, Muncie Mission transitional housing resident
they’re trying to deal with the internal issues of their life, those things that are broken,” Baldwin said. “From a Christian perspective, if God has been so kind to meet their basic needs, it means there are other needs He can provide, too. There can be healing for the emotions, there can be tools to learn to deal with emotions, and there can be support networks to let you know you’re not alone.”
Today, Ray has a vehicle, holds down two jobs and has his own apartment in the Mission’s transitional housing program, which targets recovering alcohol and drug addicts. He has a roommate, who also is a graduate of the program. “This moves you toward doing what everyone else does, pretty much every day,” Ray said.
“You know, normal people. Getting that sense of, ‘Oh I gotta make these payments.’ It is something during my addiction, I didn’t worry about,” Ray said. “I bounced around. When rent came due it was time to move.” These days, Ray serves as a mentor to men currently going through the program. “I know what a difference it can be if you follow through on this,” he said. “And it’s not something I read in a book. I lived it for decades, so I know the difference.” Most people have a stereotype of what an alcoholic or an addict might be. “I was functioning,” Ray said. “I worked at a company for over 20 years. I made more than most. I made a six-figure income and I ruined it all because of my addiction.” Ray says the Mission’s transitional housing program gives people the privacy they need to grow independently with the emotional support system of the Mission still nearby. “If it wasn’t for this place, I’d probably be dead,” Ray said. “If I hadn’t came here and went through what I have to make the change in my life ... The last [overdose] about killed me, I’m sure the next one probably would have.”
13
FAITH
For some, faith is an integral part of recovery. Brian Bell runs a faith-based addiction recovery program after struggling with his own drug and alcohol abuse. Photo: Michaela Kelley 14 | Spring 2019 | Unmasked: Recovery and Redemption
A ROAD TO
RECOVERY Muncie’s faith-based community is leading addiction recovery efforts By Patrick Murphy
T
hesedays,55-year-oldBrianBellleadsas manyas60drugandalcoholaddictsina faith-basedaddictionrecoverymeeting everyThursdaynightatMuncie’sTabernacleof PraiseChurchwhilehiswife,Jennifer,worksthe sound system. It’s an emotion-packed spiritual uplifting that is far from the life that led him to this point. Bell uses his story of addiction, loss and recovery to inspire the addicts he sees every week. Music always has been important to him. It’s been a way to connect to people. When he was 7 years old, Bell picked up a 1964 Fender Telecaster bass guitar and started to play. He says he and his family were part of a gospel group called the Church Bells. “We traveled to different churches all over the place,” Bell said. “When I was 12 years old, we produced our second album.” Bell remembers watching his father on stage, too. The elder Bell traveled the world as a guitarist in a band. He played in five different countries and 47 states for nine months out of the year, Bell said. When his father was home for those three-month stretches, he and his brothers and sisters would learn new songs, choreography and harmony parts. Bell says in those days, he noticed dramatic mood shifts in his father. “As he continued to come home, he would be happy and then he would go play at local clubs, where he would drink . . . ” Bell said. Bell was in his early 20s when he
started drinking. Eventually, he added drugs to the mix. By 32, Bell was using cocaine and meth. “The first time I did meth, I was up for three days,” Bell said. “The second I was up for five days without sleep. The final time I was up for 12 days with no sleep.” By then, Bell knew he had a problem. The addiction, Bell says, is to blame for his criminal behavior, behavior that would lead him to jail many times. Bell’s criminal records dates back to January 2002, according to the Huntington Court of Appeals. He’s had 12 convictions, including domestic battery, resisting law enforcement, operating a vehicle while intoxicated and public intoxication. He also was arrested seven times for domestic violence and fighting. His first wife moved out with the kids. In 2008, Bell met Jennifer, his current wife, at the Daleville American Legion, where he was performing. “Brian had been sober for three or four months when we first met,” Jennifer said. Soon afterward, Bell started drinking again. “He had this previous life of rock’n’roll, drugs, drinking and stuff that I didn’t know,” she said. “That was something I wasn’t used to because I didn’t know that person before.” She stuck with him for a while and the two were engaged to be married but in 2010 following another relapse, the couple broke up.
15
FAITH
The two had a clandestine meeting in 2012, but not before Bell says he hit “rock bottom.” He was homeless and drunk most of the time, and living in a storage unit, where he kept everything he owned. He remembers sitting on his makeshift bed, in clothing wet from drink, holding his last bottle of vodka. He had lost everything: Jennifer, a threebedroom house, his two “very nice” vehicles and about $30,000 to $40,000 worth of musical equipment. “Sleeping there at night felt like I was freezing to death,” Bell said. “One evening, I was either having seizures from alcohol poisoning or withdrawals, and I had been on a bender for a while,” he said. “I couldn’t tell you what day it was or anything.” Bell remembers getting into a car with a guy he knew from one of the clubs he played. They stopped for something to drink and Bell had a seizure. He was later told that his blood alcohol content was 0.87 percent - six times the legal limit. “The doctors didn’t expect me to live and they told my mom and my oldest daughter that,” Bell said. “They were the only two who came because I had broken every bridge and never mended them again,” he said. Doctors told Bell and his family he wouldn’t live much longer and if he did, he would likely have severe brain damage. He was in a coma for 10 days.
Brian Bell and his wife, Jennifer Bell. Photo: Michaela Kelley
“I would go to many AA meetings and I would leave. I would say, ‘Man, I’m not coming to these meetings no more. It just irritates me to come to these meetings. They were so stupid.’ One of those times we had a speaker and Ted asked, ‘Did you learn anything?’ I said, ‘No.’ He goes, ’Learn
Sleeping there at night felt like I was freezing to death. One evening, I was either having seizures from alcohol poisoning or withdrawals... I couldn’t tell you what day it was or anything.” - BRIAN BELL, Co-founder, Road to Redemption Addiction Recovery
Although Bell left the hospital with no permanent damage, he knew it was time to get his life together. He went directly to the Muncie Mission and asked for help. He started attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and met his sponsor, Ted.
16 | Spring 2019 | Unmasked: Recovery and Redemption
not to be like these speakers.’ I guess I did learn something: Don’t be like them.” In January 2012, after being sober a few months, Bell fell out of a tree he was trimming, badly injuring his back. He was taken to the hospital. What he didn’t know
was in the intervening years Jennifer had become a surgery educator at Indiana University Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie. On this day, she did not expect her patient to be anyone she knew. The doctors took Bell back to the surgery room and an anesthesiologist told him what he was going to do and left the room. “Jennifer walks around and through the curtain. It was like a movie. It was like angels singing ‘Ahhhhh,’” Bell said. “I started crying and I told her, ‘I loved her and I was sorry.’ And she said, ‘I forgave you a long time ago.’ ” The couple married on May 1, 2015. In 2016, Jennifer and Brian started “Road to Redemption Addiction Recovery,” a faith-based addiction recovery group that meets weekly at Tabernacle of Praise Church in Muncie. At the first meeting, there were six people. “Me and Jennifer made hot dogs,” Bell said. “We read from the Bible and we just talked.” Today, the group serves about 60 addicts every week. Recovering addict Charles Koons is one of them. Before Road to Redemption, Koons used controlled
Brian relied on shelter from a storage unit while he was struggling with drugs and alcohol. He uses his story of recovery to encourage others to overcome their addictions. Photo: Michaela Kelley
substances, mainly painkillers, and cooked meth, he said. “I have done drugs and I have been able to walk away from drugs so many different times,” Koons said. “When I started doing meth ... it grabbed my entire life and I wasn’t able to walk away. The only thing that saved me is when I went to jail.”
Like Bell, Koons said he lost everything, including custody of his children. Koons was in the Delaware County Jail from 2012 to 2017. Since being released he has been a regular at Road to Redemption. He says Bell has been a savior to him. “A lot of the times if he wouldn’t have been there, I honestly don’t know what
I would have done,” Koons said. “He’s a great person to look up to and look to as a mentor. He and his wife both have been great to me and my family. He’s what made me a great leader at Road to Redemption. I look to what he has done and I have seen his testimony. He’s came back from a deep hole too. I know I can do it.”
17
Brian Blevins in prayer at Hope House. Photo: Bailey Cline
FAITH
FINDING
RELIGION IN RECOVERY By Bailey Cline
Experts say cycle of addiction includes relapse and advocates say there’s no shame in it.
FAITH
TRAGEDY CAME EARLY AND OFTEN FOR BON FUNKHOUSER, who, today, at 19 says his relationship with Jesus Christ charges of possession and dealing in narcotics, he was and a man named Brian Blevins are the reasons for his sentenced to house arrest. It wasn’t long after he was in a room alone with a pastor who asked him: “If you die salvation and a life of working toward recovery. Life was never going to be easy for Bon, who grew today, where will you go?’’ It made Blevins think about up with few material belongings and maybe even less where his life was headed. In March 2016, Blevins founded his own addiction emotional support. At age 3, his father died in a car crash. Bon doesn’t know the details but says he remembers recovery group. Hope House, 312 W. Washington St., started in a the feeling of loss. The family’s grieving left little time to small building beside the Grace United pay attention to Bon. Methodist Church in Hartford City. “They didn’t deal with it at all,” Bon Every Sunday, a meal is served to said. “They masked it.” anyone who comes, and attendees Bon says he spent the first several share testimonies about addiction and years of his childhood living with his recovery. Blevins coordinates with area grandparents. churches, which provide the meals. He moved to Hartford City, Indiana, Attendance has increased steadily. with his mother at age 7. Their First, there were 25 people, then 30, apartment was in a shadier side of town, then 35, then 40. Before he knew it, he said, and Bon felt judged by his peers: Blevins had 50 people crowding into he responded by acting out in school. one room. Eventually, Hope House By the end of second grade, Bon says moved into the church basement, he was suspended three times from where it meets today. Hartford City Southside Elementary “To see the transformation in people’s School for stealing, being disruptive lives and [to see] where people start out to and bringing a lighter to school. where they go is a blessing,” Blevins said. By age 12, Bon’s bad behavior As of March, Blevins has been clean escalated. Now, he was using drugs. - BRIAN BLEVINS, three years. Hoosiers are more likely to die from Founder, Hope House But just as Blevins started Hope a drug overdose than car crashes and House and began his recovery, Bon was gun homicides combined, according losing control of his. He left a private the 2018 Opioid Data Brief by the Indiana Youth Institute. In 2017, Indiana’s rate of fatal drug addiction recovery center early, craving a cigarette. Next came fentanyl and OxyContin or sedatives like overdoses was 25.7 per 100,000. Brian Blevins, who later would become Bon’s closest Xanax. He says he tried acid and used marijuana, meth, friend and father figure, had his own share of problems. cocaine and, most often, heroin. “Sometimes I think, ‘What haven’t I [used]?’” Bon said. Despite a suspended driver’s license since 2010, Blevins A criminal record followed his addiction. Bon violated was cited several times for driving without a license and failure to appear in court. In 2012, about the same his probation and relapsed. In January 2016, he threatened a gas station clerk with time Bon started to use drugs, Blevins was arrested and a needle and syringe that he said was infected with AIDS. charged with possession of methamphetamine. By age 17, Bon was facing six years in prison for “I did so many stupid things,” he said. By 2015, Blevins says his life hit rock bottom. Facing armed robbery.
To see the transformation in people’s lives and [to see] where people start out to where they go is a blessing.”
20 | Spring 2019 | Unmasked: Recovery and Redemption
Bon Funkhouser (right) and Brian Blevins (left) met during a group session at Celebrate Recovery. Blevins took Funkhouser in because he “really wanted to help him along.� Photo: Bailey Cline
21
FAITH
Beth Rhodes, a volunteer at Hope House, sings during a service. Photo: Bailey Cline
“I didn’t see myself as a violent person,” Bon said. “Drugs definitely had a lot to do with that side of me.” Bon’s grandfather bailed him out of jail with a property bond, meaning if Bon broke the terms of his release, his grandfather would be forced to forfeit his home. “I really never cared for anybody, but for some reason I cared enough that I wasn’t going to leave him out on the street because I ran — because I was a coward,” Bon said. This time, Bon completed a 28-day-long program at Fairbanks Alcohol and Drug Addiction Treatment Center in Indianapolis. It was during a visit home where Bon met Blevins. Both were sitting in a small group session at Celebrate Recovery, where Bon announced his higher power might as well be a sandwich. While some laughed at Bon’s comment, Blevins took made a point to speak with Bon afterward.
22 | Spring 2019 | Unmasked: Recovery and Redemption
“I just really wanted to help him along,” Blevins said. “I was someone who really didn’t believe in Jesus when I first started into recovery. I knew, me reaching out to him, that he could have that same relationship as what I had and how to go after it.” Faith-based recovery is growing, said Zach Craig, Delaware County chief deputy prosecutor. Recovery coaches and mentors, as well as formal sponsors, are critical parts of recovery, said Craig, adding that his office and others cannot arrest their way out of crimes caused by addiction. It was soon after Bon left for Youth and Families Inspirations, another addiction treatment center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he says he found what he had been looking for: Jesus Christ. When Bon returned to Hartford City, he began spending
“I came to recovery with a concept of God and He’s time with Blevins. Bon said he told him, “You can hang out with me, but you’re going to go where I go, and do what I used the programs to give me clarity,” Tackett said. “Now, He uses me to bring other people to recovery. I’ve do, and say what I say.” Blevins introduced Bon to Hope House. The group’s been trying to get clean for over 20 years. I celebrated welcoming atmosphere and empathy for addicts made four years in January.” For his part in the gas station robbery, Bon was sentenced Bon feel comfortable. One evening, a speaker shared the Bible story about David and Goliath. He told the to three years in prison and three years on probation. After that night at the cross, he saw prison as group they were giant slayers, Bon an opportunity for ministry. said. For the first time since beginning Bon used his prison time to get his his religious journey, Bon said he felt GED, and he was released after 27 deeply encouraged and moved. months. Now, he attends Hope House “I had never loved myself, and I on Sundays. really never loved anyone that I know In March, Bon relapsed — for the of, and the fact that He was telling me first time in nearly three years. all these things about me … [it proved “Relapse is part of the recovery to me] God was doing work that night process,” said Anthony Lathery, in my heart,” Bon said. director of adult and addiction When the pastor made an altar services at Meridian Health Services. call, Bon said he felt compelled to “While relapse should be managed go forward. seriously, the individual should not be “I never had anybody to show me “shamed,” or made to feel they have to stand up and be a man and not done something wrong. Often times run from things,” Bon said. “But that treatment takes multiple episodes. night was different. For some reason, Sustained recovery requires daily I didn’t run.” He felt drawn to a 3-foot work just as any other chronic illness.” wooden cross at the front of the A second Hope House was recently church, he said. started in Eaton, Indiana, too. Blevins “Even with drugs, I had never felt estimates, in three years, they’ve anything like that,” Bon said. fed around 15,000 people. “I always Suddenly, he didn’t feel judged by made the excuse that there wasn’t others. Bon walked up to the front any good recovery around these small and kneeled at the cross. “I didn’t even - ANTHONY LATHERY, towns, but I couldn’t make that excuse know how to pray,” Bon said. Meridian Health Services anymore because recovery was That moment became a defining booming in Hartford City,” Bon said. point in Bon’s faith. These days, Blevins works at GrantRodney Tackett, who runs Walk Blackford Mental Health as a peer It Out, a faith-based drug recovery program, at Urban Light Church in Muncie, says Urban support specialist. His coworker, Shane Beal, who has Light Church is rebuilding its faith-based addictions also struggled with addiction and runs a successful recovery program after one of its founders relapsed into recovery blog, said Blevins has a spiritual feel to him. “When he walks into a room, it’s almost as if things get drug use. “This has been the perfect intersection of how secular calm or serene,” Beal said. “When I’m with Brian, I feel programs in our area are meshing with faith-based really close to the Holy Spirit. If I’m struggling, I reach out groups,” he said. “The Walk It Out program provides to him … I know if I was having a bad day, Brian would weekly counseling but also checkpoints that keep carry me through it,” Beal added. Blevins’ willingness to reach out to others led him to recovery addicts moving forward.” Tackett says today’s area faith-based recovery his relationship with Bon. “Bon was a huge blessing in my life,” Blevins said. “I’m programs, like those offered at Urban Light and Hope on him just like a dad, too.” House, are the strongest he’s ever seen them.
While relapse should be managed seriously, the individual should not be “shamed,” or made to feel they have done something wrong. Often times treatment takes multiple episodes. .”
23
FITNESS
LIFTING
MORE THAN
WEIGHTS
Fitness regime puts new focus on life for those recovering from addiction By Paige Washington
W
hen owner Mac Hines walks into Big Time Barbell, he’s lifting more than weights. With every rep, the burdens ofhisownpastfadeawayandhefindshimself lifting the spirits of the drug addicts and alcoholics who use Big Time to do the same themselves. The nonprofit gym and workout center in Muncie, Indiana uses physical fitness to create a mental and emotionally healthy environment for recovering addicts. The workouts are paired with addiction recovery coaching sessions. Even though the facility has been open for less than a year, Hines said he has seen a positive impact on the community. “We went from working out in the YMCA to now having this building and a full workout facility,” Hines said. It hasn’t always been this way. At age 19, Hines says he already was an alcoholic. One beer at a social setting turned into drinking over a couple of days, then a couple of days turned into the entire week. This was his life for 20 years. At 42, after a particularly long binge over the 4th of July holiday in 2014, his life took a turn. Hines aspirated and stayed into a coma for 10 days. While in the coma he had a dream of a man pulling him out of a hole, and the man said to him, “This time is on me but the next time it’s on you.” Hines says he believes the hole was actually his grave and that it was God speaking to him, giving him a second chance. Hines knew he had to do something different with his life. He started attending addiction recovery group meetings but wanted something more for himself and for his friends who also needed a new kind of recovery outlet.
24 | Spring 2019 | Unmasked: Recovery and Redemption
Mac Hines owns Big Time Barbell, where workouts and coaching sessions are offered to help recovering addicts. After struggling with addiction, Hines found that physical activity helped with his recovery and hopes to share the oppurtunity with others in similar circumstances. Photo: Bailey Cline
Owner of Big Time Barbell Mac Hines (right) sits with man at his gym at 2008 N. Walnut St. Hines opened the gym in in June 2018. Photo: Bailey Cline
Hines and and a friend, Nick Albertson, partnered to open Big Time Barbell in June of 2018. The gym, funded by city and county grants and some private memberships, is open 24 hours a day. Neither Hines nor Albertson draw a salary. For Hines, the true mission of the gym is to help people like him get better. Poor eating habits, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and lack of self love are common among drug addicts and alcoholics. According to Biology of Addiction, physical fitness is important to maintain a healthy lifestyle and treat the symptoms of addiction. “We utilize mirrors to help build that confidence to make a muscle and you notice they stand a little taller,” Hines said. “When you’re in addiction people do not look in the mirrors.” Hines has experienced the benefits of a good workout first hand. Exercise is believed to create a measure of euphoria or “high” similar to the feeling some
people have after using drugs, according to Frontier in Psychiatry, The same study says those who exercise are less likely to have substance abuse issues. Big Time Barbell, located at 2008 N. Walnut St., taps into the adrenaline rush that drives their clients toward a healthier lifestyle. “If we trade an addiction to shooting heroin and turn it into lifting weights, I’ll take that all day long,” Hines said. Besides using the gym for a physical workout, Big Time Barbell collaborates with Brian Bell from Road to Redemption, a weekly support group at Tabernacle of Praise Church at 6 p.m. every Monday and Wednesday. “The biggest thing right now is to have short-term goals so that we can get through our day-to-day lives,” Bell said. Hines and Bell want to help those in the Muncie community because they once walked in their shoes. This is a place where recovery addicts like Jerry Sloan feel comfortable and safe.
If we trade an addiction to shooting heroin and turn it into lifting weights, I’ll take that all day long.” - MAC HINES, Owner, Big Time Barbell “I come here because you gotta have somebody to lean on sometimes, somebody to pick you up and carry you through the hard times,” Sloan said. Now with close to 100 members, Big Time Barbell is growing fast. “If I can save one life then it was all worth it,” Hines said. Hines and Albertson have no plans to expand for now. But they say they’ll push for what they know works, one rep at a time.
25
FITNESS
Meridian Health Serivces opened its recovery center in Richmond, Indiana, nearly two years ago. Residents typically stay at the center for 21 days while they begin their recovery journey. Photo: Mary Freda
LIFE AFTER
REHAB Meridian’s residential program teaches routines, offers continuum of care By Mary Freda
26 | Spring 2019 | Unmasked: Recovery and Redemption
Meridian Health Services and its Addictions Recovery Center in Richmond, Indiana, addresses a growing demand for residential alcohol and drug recovery programs in East Central Indiana. “Many really need some in-patient treatment for a while, at least that 28-day program to just get them away from the substances available to them, just to get out of that environment and try to get their heads around another way of living,” said Delaware County Circuit Court Judge Linda Wolf. Meridian Addictions & Recovery Center provides 30 residential beds for adults 18 years and older. It has two units - one for men and one for women - with 15 beds each. The facility provides a multi-disciplinary approach for drug and alcohol treatment
and offers medical detox, behavioral therapy, intensive rehabilitation, wellness education, recovery and post treatment support, as well as primary care services. Equally significant is that the state of Indiana received a federal Medicaid waiver and put in motion a payment system for addictions recovery treatment, said Gerry Cyranowski, regional vice president for Meridian Health Services. “The state sees the bigger picture,” Cyranowski said. “The state looked at the opioid epidemic and said “we cannot not have treatment for people who need treatment.” Meridian had the expertise they needed and they had the facilities we needed.” Meridian’s focus in the last year has been to get patients admitted faster and better prepared for life after rehabilitation. For example, in the beginning the admissions process took days. Now, it can take as few as 30 minutes, said Nicole Whallon, practice manager at Meridian Health Service. “We know that when people call us it’s taken a lot of courage to call and get that ball rolling,” Whallon said. “We want to catch them while they’re motivated for recovery. So, we try to get them in as soon as possible.” The nation’s opioid crisis is a driving force for this kind of treatment, which has been out of reach for so many because of financial barriers. For a lot of people with addiction, by the time they get to the point of treatment they’ve lost their home, they’ve lost their job, they’ve lost their family. They don’t have resources. At ARC, within the first 48 hours of being admitted, Whallon said patients see a nurse practitioner for a physical, who determines the next course of medical attention and whether the patient needs anything else, like dental care. Once at the facility, patients are on a strict schedule. They wake up around 6 o’clock every morning and do morning chores. After that, Whallon says patients exercise, then go to meditation. Whallon says patients usually attend recovery - or life-skills-based groups throughout the day, stopping for meals
Signs created by women in the Richmond residential program hang on the walls outside of the women’s rooms at the center. Photo: Mary Freda
in between. Around 9:30 or 10 p.m., patients get their nighttime medication, then go to bed. “I think they need to re-discipline themselves and hold themselves accountable,” she said. “A lot of people who are in recovery, like newly in recovery, they don’t know what to do with themselves.” Whallon said boredom can lead people to look for things to do, which can be a negative. “We teach them there are things that you can do to get yourself in a routine. If you are used to doing something, then you’re going to be more successful, you’re going to feel more accomplished, you’re going to feel better about yourself,” she said. The idea is once patients leave, they’ll be able to stick to the routines they’ve formed while in rehab, which is typically a 21-day stay, Whallon said. According to American Addiction Centers, 90-percent of those who need drug rehabilitation the most, don’t get it.
And those who do, often don’t get followup care from their treatment center. Meridian is trying to change that. Before patients leave the Meridian treatment center, Whallon says they meet with a newly hired, full-time discharge planner, who helps patients plan life outside the program. “It will be a continuum of care even after they leave,” she said. About seven months ago, the center started tracking patient outcomes from through MyOutcomes, said Anthony Lathery, division director of adult and addiction services at Meridian. Those results, he said, have shown high patient satisfaction and treatment efficacy. Whallon and Lathery said there are no plans to expand the Richmond facility, but Meridian is opening new facilities elsewhere in Indiana. Its newest facility opened in November 2018 in West Lafayette, Indiana.
27
FITNESS
THE BIGGEST LEAP How prescription opioids started life of addiction recovery for Indiana woman By Loren Dent
A
fter walking into the hospital for two kidney surgeries in 2009, Emily Bowman could not have predicted the addiction journey she would soon face. “I was prescribed two different opioids, Vicodin and Percocet, at the same time,” Bowman said. “I was on those for three weeks to a month straight. I didn’t know anything about them at the time. I didn’t know you could get addicted.” Indiana providers wrote nearly six million opioid prescriptions in 2015, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. In 2016, there were 794 opioid-related overdose deaths in Indiana, only slightly below the national average. In October 2018, the School of Public Health at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis published The Changing Landscape of the Opioid Epidemic in Marion County and Evidence for Action. According to the report, opioid prescriptions filled by Indiana pharmacies have actually decreased. There also is a statewide focus on increasing access to treatment of addiction. Yet, deadly new challenges, like fentanyl-laced drugs on the street, have arisen. “The problem is the tracking of it,” said Karen Moore, certified addiction therapist and owner of Elevated Minds, an Indianapolis social service agency. “As physicians and therapists, we have no control over our patients and who they may go to next. If there was a universal tracking system where all doctors in the country
28 | Spring 2019 | Unmasked: Recovery and Redemption
could access what medication you have been prescribed, that would be helpful.” Opioid drug abuse has been an issue around the state, and Bowman is one of the many that have been affected. Bowman said by the time she ran out of her prescriptions, she began to feel deathly ill. She realized she was experiencing withdrawal. “I had no idea,” she said. “I was never told. Nobody ever explained anything to me. Even when I thought I was sick and called the doctor’s office, they acted like they had no idea. It completely threw us off.” Bowman began taking pain pills off and on. She would only use them on weekends, but she would binge. She wanted more but it became expensive. A few years passed before she was introduced to heroine in 2014, and everything began to spiral downward after that. “I went downhill really fast.” Bowman said. “My mom caught me in the first month and she had me go to a treatment facility. I got clean after that, but deep down inside, I didn’t want to be clean.” Within four months treatment, Bowman relapsed and started using meth. On Sept. 24, 2015, Bowman overdosed on heroin at her mother’s house. At the time, she was on probation for possession of methamphetamine. “I think it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done as a parent,” said Jennifer Tackett, Bowman’s mother. “I felt helpless, yet at the same time I’m a social worker so I’m
Emily Bowman became addicted to opioids after being given prescription drugs following kidney surgery in 2009. Now, she’s almost two years clean. Photo: Michaela Kelley
used to being able to solve these kinds of problems. I said a lot of the right things and wrong things, but we learned along the way.” In June 2017, Bowman was released from jail but was required to complete a drug rehabilitation program. With a new mindset and desire to persevere, she graduated early. The first step is the biggest leap one can make, Moore said. Actually sitting in front of a counselor or professional in one’s most vulnerable state, without the
fear of being judged, is monumental. Tackett said during Bowman’s recovery process, she and her family continuously offered support. They did not give her money unless it pertained to her recovery process. They also provided rides to treatment and meetings and kept her on the insurance as long as they could. “She’s older now, and that makes a difference,” Tackett said. “She stays connected to her recovery community. She’s not complacent, because she knows what could happen. We stay ready because
it’s a chronic and relapsing disease.” Now, almost two years clean, Bowman still is on probation but actively works to stay clean and motivates others at the beginning stages of their recovery. “I wake up in the morning with a new mindset,” Bowman said. “I’m always smiling now. If I had to give one piece of advice to someone going through a similar situation, I would tell them it’s worth it even though it’s hard. There is greener grass on the other side.”
29
FITNESS
Doctors exercise caution in pain management treatments By Summer Davis Pain management in the era of an opioid addiction epidemic – arguably one of the worst drug crisis in U.S. history - calls for physicians to first draw on a variety of other drugs and treatments, said one of the region’s leading experts. Dr. Rakesh Patel, a physician at Henry Community Health in New Castle, Indiana, specializes in pain management, physical medicine and rehabilitation. His patients come to him to manage ailments like chronic lower back pain when other treatments like physical therapy, antiinflammatories, muscle relaxers, and sometimes even acupuncture haven’t worked. When patients visit Patel, they typically already have been prescribed chronic opioid treatment, and it is up to him how to proceed with this treatment and adjust it to control the patient’s pain as best as possible. In 2017, the number of overdose deaths involving opioids – including prescription opioids and illegal opioids like heroin) was six times higher than in 1999. “More high risk patients, who maybe have a family history of addiction or have abused drugs before, we more closely monitor,” said Patel. “We do this by urine drug screenings and prescribing them a lower quantity of opioids. Even if my patient is addicted, they still need pain management.” Patel typically treats his patients with short-acting Hydrocodone. He also prescribes short-acting Oxycodone and Percocet, as needed, but steers clear of long-acting opioids because of the higher risk for overdose. “We now have the option of doing genetic testing,” Patel said. “This determines their genetic profile (and) which medication works best for them.” For patients addicted to opioids, Patel recommends help from an addiction
30 | Spring 2019 | Unmasked: Recovery and Redemption
Dr. Rakesh Patel specializes in pain management, physical medicine and rehabilitation at Henry Community Health in New Castle, Indiana. Patel works to find alternative pain management options in hopes to curb the opioid addiction epidemic. Photo: Bailey Cline
specialist and a prescription of Suboxone or Methadone, which are drugs used to manage opioid dependence. Patel says education is key. Community drug addiction centers are another alternative, though the area offers few options for inpatient or residential rehabilitation. “In my opinion, detox with an addiction specialist is not enough for a patient who is addicted to multiple substances,” Patel said. Kristi Dunigan, the political community liaison for Bridges of Hope Treatment Center in Anderson, Indiana, says
residential treatment is a key to longterm success. “Addicts need stability more than anything, and I believe we not only treat the body, but also the mind and soul,” Dunigan said. Patel says it also is helpful for patients to share their experiences with others. “For other pain management solutions to really stick, like meditation, yoga, massage, it helps if they see these methods be effective for other people, so peer groups, counseling with people with similar conditions could be a good solution.”
Second chances at life Employers assisting in addiction recovery efforts By Christian Sarber Addiction in the workforce takes its toll While addiction among employees takes its toll on employers, families and the community, two local businessmen say more can be done. “What we do is that we try to be very conscious of those things and those folks who are available to help them, and make sure that we can help make those connections, or make sure those organizations exist, are well funded, and have the ability to serve those our community,” said Jeff Howe, president of Old National Bank Northeast Region. Old National Bank supports many organizations in the community that play a role in helping addicts find a second chance at life. According to the National Recovery Study by John F. Kelly, associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, 22 million Americans have said they “used to have a problem with drugs or alcohol, but no longer do.” Of that 22 million, 47.7 percent are working as a paid employee, leaving more than 11 million Americans in recovery unemployed. Howe and J Chapman, president of Woof Boom Radio agree prior experience is often the first requirement to employment in their industries. How someone has handled life’s challenges is another marker. “If they’ve worked through things, that is not only a good testament to their work ethic but their determination,” Chapman said about recovering addicts.
Jeff Howe, president of Old National Bank Northeast Region, offers recovering addicts the opportunity to find employment. For Howe, it is essential for Old National to provide addicts with resources and connections. Photo: Patrick Murphy
Chapman and Howe served on the Community Drug Task Force, initiated first in 2016 then revived in 2017 to address local concerns about how the nationwide drug abuse epidemic affected Muncie and Delaware County. A crosssection of employers and community stakeholders met monthly for two years, then broke into smaller groups to tackle specific jobs including working with state legislators and to look for federal funding the help. Although strides have been made, they agree there still is a long way to go when it comes to helping the recovery community in Muncie. Both say as local employers, they see their role, at least in part, to support area nonprofits like A Better Way, Inside Out and Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana to address the drug addiction problem. “We want the community to realize that [an] event is taking place because that will help enlist the community’s support in what is really a good program or initiative,” he said. Angie McKillip, branch manager at Spherion Staffing in Muncie, says it is a chicken and the egg conundrum
for recovering addicts, who also often commit crimes because of their addiction. “They often do not fall within background check requirements. Companies will sometimes be more forgiving if they have not committed violent crimes.” Employers need to see there has been some time since the conviction, McKillip said. “They need to know the individual is intent on being successful. Relapse is a problem. Ultimately, employers need their employees to show up to work and be ready to do the job.” The solution, McKillip says, may be more help sooner in the addiction cycle. “We don’t have enough options here and that’s a problem for everyone.”
MORE INFORMATION For more information, visit Old National Bank’s career website at oldnational. hodesiq.com/job_start.asp. If one is interested in working at Woof Boom Radio, visit their hiring page at woofboom.com/careers.
31
FORGIVENESS
Tom Sloan, an addiction recovery sponsor, has started the 12-step program with over 125 different sponsees. Photo: Michaela Kelley
AN
UNBREAKABLE BOND
Addiction sponsors provide stability and support throughout the recovery process By Olivia Adams
32 | Spring 2019 | Unmasked: Recovery and Redemption
A
husband and wife. A dad and his son. A mother and her daughter. These are relationships that are sacred in some families. Similarly, the connection between an addiction recovery sponsor and their sponsee is a family-like bond. It becomes essential to the recovery process, and overtime is unbreakable. Sponsors are the “heartbeat of recovery,” says 45-year-old sponsor and construction project manager Diana Goodwin. Goodwin, a recovering addict herself, has been a sponsor for five years and says she has loved every second of it. Goodwin says she loves her own sponsor and how she guides her in the right direction. She wanted to be that for other women. “I get to see these women change from when they are just so … when they come in and they’re broken ... they’re looking down and you can tell they’re ashamed or afraid,” Goodwin said. When she witnesses women who start sharing find peace in themselves: “There’s really nothing like it,” she said. Goodwin describes how at first addicts are unable to trust even their sponsors because of all the lies and manipulation they practice during active addiction. They are not sure
who they can trust with their truth until they find the person they can trust with more than their truth. “I view the sponsor and sponsee relationship as sacred,” she said. “My sponsors are not my friends. A friendship can grow from that, but my sponsor guides me and that’s what I try to provide for the girls that I work with.” And she does just that with the women she works with. One of her sponsees, a current nursing student, says she would not be the person she is without Goodwin. Her sponsee describes Goodwin as a maternal figure and does not know where she would be in life without Goodwin and her insight. “My recovery depends on that relationship. It’s vital. There is no way I would be able to … sure, I could stay clean without it, but staying clean is just one part of it. Living with life is another part,” Goodwin’s sponsee said. “There would have been no way I would have been able to stay clean without her … it’s a lifeline.” The Delaware County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Zach Craig said, “The connections run deep because their lives really do depend on it.” He said addicts who have sponsors or recovery coaches do better than those who don’t because people need a judge-free zone. Sponsors offer a sense of family, he said. “We’ll see people in court who think they can conquer this problem by themselves,” Craig said. “I don’t think they truly appreciate the depth of their problem. It’s the ones who seek out sponsors and seek out the recovery coaches ... those are the individuals who are appreciative and recognize the true monster that they are dealing with.”
33
FORGIVENESS
Tom Sloan, a sponsor and 70-year-old the phone every day to get advice from retired firefighter, believes the best way one another and see how each other is to help his sponsee is to live the program doing and look when the next MMA fight himself. He continues to live the program is coming up to find a place where they to this day because the last step, step 12, can all watch it together. Sloan and one of his sponsees, Todd is to carry the message of the twelfth step to others in need, according to American Stone, take a fishing trip every year to Lake Okeechobee in Florida just to be Addiction Centers. Sloan uses a 12-step program. He together, to talk and relax. Stone said says he has done step one with 125 they have been to Lake Okeechobee at people, but has reached the last step — least ten times and they have an amazing step 12 – with only four. Sloan believes trip every time. Stone is forever grateful for Sloan that by living the program, they will be able to recover and become who they and their relationship that turned into a friendship. Because of Sloan and their want to be. “Living the program means getting relationship, he is 15 years clean now. “I’d be dead without my a sponsor, reading relationship with Tom,” literature, pray to Stone said. whoever you believe Along with his in, come to meetings, relationship with Stone, and once you begin to Sloan and five to eight recover, give it away, of his other sponsees meaning go out and do meet up with each other, this,” Sloan said. watch MMA fights and “I go up to the psych hang out. unit every Tuesday and - TODD STONE, At first, Sloan said do a presentation. I go to Tom Sloan’s sponsee his sponsor was just a the jails to do whatever, name so he can say he and give it away and find has one to get through a way to give it away. This the 12 step program, but is a very self-centered now, his sponsor is very important to disease,” he said about drug addiction. Only a few are able to slay the him. He hopes that his sponsees feel the monstrous addiction they are dealing same way about him as he does with his with and become a better version of sponsor. “Many of my sponsees are like themselves, he said. Sloan likes to stick brothers to me,” Sloan said. The bond runs deep between a sponsor around with the ones who are able to get past it. He and his sponsees that have and a sponsee. Not only are they making stuck with him for a while have such a lifelong connections, but they are saving special bond because of it. They talk on each others lives.
I’d be dead without my relationship with Tom.”
34 | Spring 2019 | Unmasked: Recovery and Redemption
In her own words:
A life turned around By Rhea Graham When I look back on my life I could never have dreamed or imagined that it would be what it is today. I have spent most of my life surviving instead of living. I was broken and had lost all hope for a future where I could be happy, healthy and loved. It’s nothing short of miraculous how our lives have changed and evolved in five short years. By trusting in God and the programs of recovery, we’ve experienced freedom from so much more than just active addiction. In the two years since the original “Unmasked” magazine, Brian and I have grown both together and individually in our recovery. We’ve had the opportunity to share our stories of recovery with so many people. The pain and suffering we’ve endured in our lives have been turned into a vessel of hope and today feels like it has some higher purpose. We are humbled that we’ve been able to connect with so many people who can relate to our journey. We are not special. There are many recovering addicts who have powerful stories. They are the silent warriors whose names no one knows, but whose influence behind the scenes has helped countless people. We could all learn a lot about humility from the people who inspire us. We are grateful to be a part of the “Unmasked” projects and are excited to see how many more people can be helped through the work college students are doing to connect story with community. We want to thank God, our family, Ball State University, the Ball Brothers Foundation, the students, their instructors, and everyone involved. You helped start the much needed conversation in our community about addiction. This has helped begin to replace the heartlessness and indifference of how addicts have generally been treated with care and compassion for them as equal human beings. To the addict still lost and suffering in active addiction, you can trust there is hope for a great new way of life and that
Rhea Graham uses her story of recovery to help others with addiction. Photo: Michaela Kelley
recovery is not only possible but achievable with diligence, honesty, and willingness. Rhea Graham is a recovering addict. She is a peer support specialist at Meridian Health Services working with the Maternal Treatment Program, and vivitrol and jail diversion programs. She and her husband, Brian, committed nonviolent crimes as a result of their drug use but are focused now on recovery and helping others. 35
FORGIVENESS
A NEW APPROACH Changes in strategy sends more dealers to prison, helps addicts find recovery By Lauren DeLorenzo After changing its approach to drug investigations and intelligence from the arrests in 2017, the Delaware County FBI gives prosecutors a good idea of Prosecutor’s office said it has more than which category an arrestee falls under. “It’s always been my philosophy, as twice as many convictions of high level long as I’ve been a prosecutor, that drug dealers. “We’ve flipped the numbers,” said if we as a society are going to spend Zach Craig, Delaware County’s chief time, effort, energy and money on deputy prosecutor. “When you have a rehabilitation for those who are addicts, problem this big, you kind of get shell the flip side of that coin is we must spend the time, effort, shocked. If we really energy and money want to have an effect, on prosecuting and what do we do? And incarcerating the drug then there’s that old dealers to keep it off the saying… how do you eat street,” said Hoffman. “I an elephant? One bite at think those two things a time. So I think when go hand in hand. You we finally came around have to have both.” to that idea we started Craig explained this making incremental approach not only benefits steps towards real addicts, but also saves the change.” community resources. Around 70 percent of “I’ve got somewhere like convictions are high level - ZACH CRAIG, 150 drug dealing cases offenders, while there Delaware County chief on my calendar,” said are fewer convictions deputy prosecutor Craig, who described the among those who are constant influx of low level simply addicted to offenders as “infuriating.” drugs. The prosecutor’s “If we could help [addicts] solve that office has rewired their approach from a zero-tolerance stance to one focused problem so they don’t get to these other [high offending] levels, that’s on recovery. “[Law enforcement] don’t want to put great. It saves time exponentially, saves people in jail,” said Craig. “They want to resources exponentially.” One initiative to save resources is help people.” One way the office is doing this is “Surrender to Freedom,” an event which by making a distinction between drug began in 2018 to help resolve arrest dealers and addicts. Delaware County warrants and connect addicts to recovery prosecutor Eric Hoffman said that police programs. Individuals with warrants who
[Law enforcement] don’t want to put people in jail. They want to help people.”
36 | Spring 2019 | Unmasked: Recovery and Redemption
Delaware County chief deputy prosecutor Zach Craig says the prosecutor’s office is convicting more high level drug dealers and sending more addicts into treatment. Photo: Michaela Kelley
come to this event are eligible to have warrants vacated and may recieve a new court date. The program helps avoid the costs of housing individuals in a jail or shipping them to an outside county jail because of overcrowding. It also saves taxpayers the cost of paying law enforcement to retrieve and arrest
these individuals, said Craig. In addition, the creation of the Community Drug Task Force in 2016 brought together Muncie leaders to pursue an approach based on recovery. The CDTF has involved major employers, the mayor, the president of IU Ball Memorial Hospital, the president of Ball State University, the president
and chief executive officer of Meridian Health Services and vice presidents of local banks. “If you get those individuals in one room, you can make change happen,” Craig said. “It’s really focusing on all the tools that we have and the people that come together, and funnelling those to the area that can have the most effect.”
37
RESOURCES
DRUG AND ALCOHOL ADDICTION PROGRAM RESOURCES
Here is a list of resources that offer drug and alcohol addiction programs and specialties. It is not necessarily comprehensive or complete.
IU BALL MEMORIAL HOSPITAL offers behavioral health services and peer recovery coaches for emergency department patients. It also launched a virtual care behavioral health hub for emergency department patients at IU Health Blackford and IU Health Jay, which provides around-the-clock access to peer recovery coaches, advanced practice nursing and psychiatry.
ROAD TO REDEMPTION ADDICTION RECOVERY offers recovery coach group meetings at Tabernacle of Praise Church, 2200 E. Fuson Road, Muncie, Ind., 47302. Some meals provided. Call 765-760-0806.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS GROUP OF MUNCIE, a nationally known 12-step program. offers meetings and group sessions. Located at 827 W. Riverside Ave., Muncie, Ind., 47303. Call 765-282-1849 or 765-284-2515. A BETTER LIFE- BRIANNA’S HOPE started in Portland, Indiana in 2014 by the family of a local woman who died of a drug overdose. It now offers 25 chapters in 17 counties in Indiana and Ohio. Located at 115 E Water St., Portland, Ind., 47371. Call 260-766-2006. A BETTER WAY FOR WOMEN provides shelter and services for victims of domestic violence. Call 765-747-9107. BIG TIME BARBELL offers a full-service gym to instill healthy lifestyles through support, community, meal plans, and individual group exercise and counseling, 2008 N. Walnut St. Muncie Ind., 47303. Call 765-717-7328. CELEBRATE RECOVERY is a12-Step program addressing drug addiction, alcoholism, and sexual abuse. Hosted YMCA of Muncie, 500 S Mulberry St. Muncie, Ind., 47305. Call 756-288-4448. CENTERSTONE OF INDIANA provides assistance for drug and alcohol addiction and other counseling needs. Located at 421 S. Walnut St. Suite 200, Muncie, Ind., 47305. Call 765-288-1790. CLEAN SLATE OUTPATIENT ADDICTION MEDICINE provides medical-assisted treatment for opioid and alcohol addiction, 124 E Main St. Muncie Ind., 47305. Call 765-587-7311. DELAWARE COUNTY PREVENTION COUNCIL offers free drug and alcohol programs, as well as information regarding substance abuse support meeting groups in Delaware County. Call 765-282-7988. CENTER TOWNSHIP TRUSTEE OFFICE may offer income-based housing and rent and mortgage assistances available. Located at 1200 E. Main St., Muncie, Ind., 47305. Call 765-288-8876. 38 | Spring 2019 | Unmasked: Recovery and Redemption
MERIDIAN HEALTH SERVICES, a progressive health care provider with programming and clinics across the state. It is a whole-person health care provider offering a range of services from primary care to behavioral health services. Headquartered in Muncie at 240 N. Tillotson Ave, Muncie, Ind., 47304. Call 765-288-1928. MERIDIAN HEALTH SERVICES ADDICTION AND RECOVERY CENTER, a 30-bed in-patient drug and alcohol addiction treatment center in Richmond, Ind., outpatient treatment and inpatient 28-day stays. Call 765-373-8704. MERIDIAN HEALTH SERVICES MATERNAL TREATMENT PROGRAM, an outpatient treatment program that provides care to drug-addicted mothers and their newborn babies. Located at Meridian’s Suzanne Gresham Center, 4620 W. White River Blvd., Muncie, Ind. 47304. Call 765-288-1928. MUNCIE MISSION, a homeless shelter that also provides emergency shelter, recovery and transitional housing for programs for men and women. Located at 1725 S. Liberty St, Muncie, Ind., 47302. Call 765-288-9122. OPEN DOOR HEALTH SERVICES, a federally qualified nonprofit health center providing comprehensive primary, urgent, and preventative health care services to individuals and families throughout central Indiana regardless of insured status, 333 Madison St. Muncie, Ind., 47305. Call 765-286-7000.
RECOVER TOGETHER, a private counseling service offering group sessions for those who are drug addicted, 1200 S. Tillotson Ave., Suite 4 Muncie, Ind., 47302. Call 765-499-8329. REFORMERS UNANIMOUS, a nationally branded program designed to help people struggling with addiction. Located locally at Grace Baptist Church, 6401 W. River Road, Muncie. Ind., 47304. Call 765-288-9569. THE SERENITY CLUB, a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to support, educate, and enrich lives of the recovering community. Includes Narcotics Anonymous 12-step program. Located at 1218 S. Brotherton St., Muncie Ind. Call 1-800-407-7195. STILL WATERS PROFESSIONAL COUNSELING, a private counseling service located at 1904 W. Royale Drive, Muncie, IN 47304. Call 765-284-0043. URBAN LIGHT COMMUNITY CHURCH offers a program geared toward women who seek freedom from addiction and/or help women re-entering the community after incarceration. Call 765-748-3309. WALK IT OUT, a-faith based drug recovery program that offers peer counseling and support groups, also is available at Urban Light Church. Located at 1400 S. Madison St., Muncie, Ind., 47302. Call 765-747-1055. YWCA OF CENTRAL INDIANA emergency shelter services for women and their children, transitional housing, social services. Based at 310 E. Charles St. Muncie, Ind., 47305. Call 765-284-3345
www.centerforemdd.com
Emerging Media Design & Development Harnessing the power of storytelling and humancentered design to solve complex problems
Take foundational courses in design thinking, usability and user experience design research methods, humancomputer interaction and transmedia storytelling
Work on projects with real-world partners in the arts and entertainment, sports marketing, environmental journalism, non-profit sector and more
Collaborate with students from various majors and backgrounds—from history and business to design and creative writing
Add the skills you need to succeed in a 21st century marketplace
Offering an undergraduate minor, one-year graduate certificate and two-year master’s degree
Committed to Supporting the Community through Grantmaking and Philanthropic Leadership. Learn more at www.ballfdn.org