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Q: If your friends and family had not intervened to help you escape the grip of substance abuse, do you think you could have achieved sobriety on your own?

A: Simply put, I was on a path to total destruction. I was welcoming the next seizure and praying I wouldn’t wake up from it. Statistically speaking, my odds for survival were next to zero had I kept going the way I was going. In that sense, my answer would be ‘no.’ However, one thing I have learned is that probably no human power could have relieved my alcoholism. The intervention was a critical component for me finding my footing in sobriety, but there was a more spiritual journey that began before the intervention. This was a path to recovery, which is different than sobriety. Having an understanding and insight of a 12step program now, I look back and realize that my higher power was working for me and through all areas of my life, doing for me what I could not do for myself.

Q: How would you best describe Imagine by Northpoint to someone who has never heard of it before?

A Imagine by Northpoint offers mental health services to adolescents in a group setting, with individual counseling, family sessions and medication management as ancillary services. Imagine offers two levels of care: partial hospitalization program (PHP) and intensive outpatient (IOP). The PHP program is both practical and beneficial as either a step-down from inpatient care or in some cases, an opportunity to stabilize and prevent crisis from occurring. It is a day-program that entails 30 hours of programming per week and usually lasts about a month. As such, it provides clients with a break from their school environment. The IOP program can be either a step-down from PHP, or clients can direct-admit into this level of care depending on the circumstances. Clients in the IOP level of care engage in programming three days per week for a few hours after school and it usually lasts about two to three months. The clinical staff at the Imagine program is licensed to treat both mental health and substance use disorder, provided the mental health component is primary. This is a fun and creative environment with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy being the two modalities utilized. Imagine is gender-affirming and offers support for the whole family.

Q: What advice would you give to parents who are wondering how to help a child facing mental health and/or substance abuse challenges?

A: Seek professional guidance. Even under good circumstances, each family dynamic presents challenges and can be a barrier to a child’s mental wellness. Children and adolescents often filter and omit things with their parents, despite them having the best intentions. As a parent, I can tell when something doesn’t feel right with one of my children and I believe most parents would relate. I also know that I am not equipped to handle, nor have all the answers for my children. Neither should any other parent. I am happy to be a resource for any parents who believe their child is struggling, or who may have struggles of their own. My mission is to make a tangible impact in improving the quality of life for those around me. It’s a sort of living-amends for the hell my family went through when trying to figure out what to do about me and my alcoholism. My job is to elevate interagency collaboration in our community and to be a steward of the behavioral health organizations in the Spokane area, as well as serve as a connector to out-of-state programs. The last thing that a family needs is to spend more time grasping at straws while their loved one is in harmful and potentially life-threatening circumstances.

Q: You've been in this field for a while now. What do you find most rewarding about your work?

A: I look for gratitude – in myself, my peers and all the thousands of families I have worked with. Professionally, it doesn’t get any better than the feeling I get when I see healing taking place. Those of us who work in the behavioral health field are generally motivated by our lived-experience or a personal connection to someone else’s journey and struggles. Because of this, we work with passion through long and emotionally taxing hours. For every success story there are dozens of patient outcomes that are frustrating, sometimes avoidable and sometimes tragic. Yet despite this, it is all worth it when a treatment team effectively delivers their service to a patient who is willing and receptive. We experience joy to its fullest extent when we help pull someone out of the trenches of their condition and witness them turn their struggle into an inspiration.

2023 March Malicious Mischief Hotspots

Spokane Valley Districts

2023 March Robbery Hotspots

The maps provided below depict where citizens have reported Vehicle Thefts, Thefts from a Vehicle (also known as vehicle prowling), Burglaries and Thefts. As you view the map each circle will contain a number indicating how many instances of a particular crime were reported at that location. Thefts from a vehicle is often under reported as people often feel nothing can be done or they only lost a small quantity of loose change. However, the Spokane Valley Police Department and the Spokane County Sheriff’s office analyze this data to determine high crime areas and where to allocate resources. I encourage citizens who have been a victim of crime to call 911, if the crime is in progress, or Crime Check at 456-2233, if not in progress, to report a crime.

2023 March Burglary Hotspots

Districts

Safety Tip Of The Month

Wear a Helmet

Helmets reduce the risk of head injury by at least 45%, brain injury by 33%, facial injury by 27%, and fatal injury by 29%.3

Check for Fit and Roadworthiness

Feeling uncomfortable in the saddle, experiencing aches in the lower back, and having knee pain are common issues that can occur when a bike is improperly fitted.

Use Reflective Gear

Reflective gear includes vests, arm bands, and headlamps. You also should consider lights for your bike for better visibility and to warn others of your whereabouts.

Install Lights and Mirrors

Bike lights provide extra visibility for you to see ahead and let others see you. In fact, one study reports that the incidence rate of injuries is 19% lower for cyclists with permanent running lights mounted.

Keep to the Bike Lane or Path

Rather than dodge traffic, stick to bike lanes or bike paths when you can.

Laws You Need to Know

Ride on the right-hand side of the road. Yield to crossing traffic. Maintain at least three feet from traffic, if the lane is wide enough to share. Abide by all street signs road markings, and signals.

Avoid Extreme Weather Conditions

If temperatures are soaring, or have plummeted into the minus causing ice on the road, it might be best to skip the outdoor cycle.