Tuesday, 05 January 2010 22:20 Written by Terry Newton

Letter From The Director  2009

As I reflect on this past year I see one of great challenge for the State of Michigan yet hope for a bright future. It is only by working together that we can achieve great things and effectively steer Michigan to a path of recovery. The survivability of programs like Harbor Hall and the many other non-profit organizations that treat social concerns depends on a healthy economy. Without programs like ours, addiction is dealt with in a costlier fashion, such as jails, prisons, emergency rooms along with secondary expenses of lost productivity, broken homes, highway deaths and other social problems.

I am reminded of working together on a daily basis by our volunteer board of directors and the dedicated staff who work hard to help us fulfill our mission. I am also reminded of this by my involvement in Rotary and the many coalitions I serve on to help eliminate the use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs by our local youth. Many fine local people serve in these different organizations to help make our community and the world at large a better place to live in.

Because of reductions in state revenue Harbor Hall has had to rely even greater on contributions from corporate sponsors, individuals and their families. As we approach nearly forty years of operation our mission is as vital today as it’s ever been.

Harbor Hall continues to be involved with others in the field to shape the way we treat addiction. From the Minnesota Model to the move towards Recovery Oriented Systems of Care, we continue to strive for new and better methods of treatment. May we never forget that we work with people first and foremost? These people come to us as individuals that are vulnerable, yet resilient and enmeshed with their own strengths.

I am humbled by the mission that we strive to achieve daily at Harbor Hall. Our mission is to educate the public at large about the devastating effects of alcoholism and chemical dependency and, to provide cost effective treatment to the addicted person still suffering, along with their families.

I have had the good fortune to have worked at some of the finest treatment centers in the country such as The Betty Ford Center and Hazelden. The disease we share does not discriminate in regards to age, gender, social status, education, financial position, etc. However, I look at the price of treatment today and wonder how people can afford to participate in getting themselves well. Programs costing $14,000 per month and above are out of the scope of average Americans who are also afflicted by this disease. At Harbor Hall we strive to provide the best treatment for the disease of addiction at a cost that is affordable.

Recent reports by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration conclude:

Too often, addiction goes untreated: According to SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 23.2 million persons (9.4 percent of the U.S. population) aged 12 or older needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem in 2007. Of these individuals, 2.4 million (10.4 percent of those who needed treatment) received treatment at a specialty facility (i.e., hospital, drug or alcohol rehabilitation or mental health center). Thus, 20.8 million persons (8.4 percent of the population aged 12 or older) needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem but did not receive it. These estimates are similar to those in previous years.

They also give testimony on what constitutes the Principles of Effective Substance Abuse Treatment:

Scientific research since the mid–1970s shows that treatment can help patients addicted to drugs stop using, avoid relapse, and successfully recover their lives. Based on this research, key principles have emerged that should form the basis of any effective treatment programs:

• Addiction is a complex but treatable disease that affects brain function and behavior.
• No single treatment is appropriate for everyone.
• Treatment needs to be readily available.
• Effective treatment attends to multiple needs of the individual, not just his or her drug abuse.
• Remaining in treatment for an adequate period of time is critical.
• Counseling—individual and/or group—and other behavioral therapies are the most commonly used forms of drug abuse treatment.
• Medications are an important element of treatment for many patients, especially when combined with counseling and other behavioral therapies.
• An individual's treatment and services plan must be assessed continually and modified as necessary to ensure that it meets his or her changing needs.
• Many drug–addicted individuals also have other mental disorders.
• Medically assisted detoxification is only the first stage of addiction treatment and by itself does little to change long–term drug abuse.
• Treatment does not need to be voluntary to be effective.
• Drug use during treatment must be monitored continuously, as lapses during treatment do occur.
• Treatment programs should assess patients for the presence of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and C, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases as well as provide targeted risk–reduction counseling to help patients modify or change behaviors that place them at risk of contracting or spreading infectious diseases.
• Harbor Hall prides itself in practicing all of these principles in our treatment of addiction. We treat male and female clients from adolescence through senior citizens in our outpatient clinics and adult males in our residential programs.

It has also been proven by research that effective treatment is at least ninety days in scope and intensity.

Harbor Hall provides 60 – 90 days of primary residential treatment for adult males. This treatment is provided at a cost of $8,550 for the full 90 day length of stay. When combined with one of our sober living facilities, at a cost of $425 per month upon completion of residential treatment, the chances of ongoing recovery improve dramatically. The men who graduate from residential treatment can remain at the sober living facility for up to one year or longer, depending upon individual needs. These facilities have been a springboard for many young men who now contribute greatly to the communities they come from. Our outpatient programs also embrace providing cost effective treatment on an individualized basis.

It has been a little over two years since we lost our main benefactor, Leo Desimpel. Life has gone on though his spirit lives on in the great facilities that he helped to create. I know he would be proud of all that we continue to do on behalf of the chemically dependent person that is still out there struggling. He left a lasting legacy and the building that is named after him is a strong testament to the greatness that he achieved on our behalf. We are blessed by having his wife Lois continue to be actively involved in Harbor Hall's Ladies Auxiliary.

In parting I once again want to reiterate how it takes togetherness to beat the disease of addiction. It will continue to take togetherness to get our once great State’s financial condition back up to par with the rest of the country's recovery. It is modeling what we in recovery already know; “Alone we are nothing but, together we can accomplish great things."

Warm Regards For A Blessed New Year,

Terry Newton, Executive Director