Throughout Black History Month, our nation honors African-Americans who have made significant contributions to our country. Famous names such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, and Frederick Douglass probably come to mind. As we close out the month, Liberation Programs would like to take an opportunity to introduce a few whose names may not be well known but who have made significant contributions to the treatment of mental illness and addiction.

 

Maxie Clarence Maultsby, Jr, M.D. (1932-2016) 

Dr. Maultsby was the founder of rational behavioral therapy, a type of cognitive behavioral therapy and counseling method. His work explored ways in which people can help themselves manage emotions and behaviors. In fact, his work helped make emotional self-help a legitimate focus of scientific research and clinical use. The type of therapy and counseling that Dr. Maultsby created is the first short-term drug-free technique of psychotherapy that produces long-term therapeutic results.

 

Jacki McKinney, M.S.W. 

Ms. McKinney is a survivor. She experienced trauma at a young age and battled addiction and mental illness later in life. She is a family advocate specializing in issues affecting African-American women and their children, and is also a founding member of the National People of Color Consumer/Survivor Network. Ms. McKinney has been a consultant and advisor to the Center for Mental Health Services and is known for her moving

presentations to national audiences on issues such as seclusion and restraint, intergenerational family support, and minority issues in public mental health. She is a recipient of Mental Health America’s highest honor, the Clifford W.  Beers Award, and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for her distinguished leadership and her advocacy on behalf of trauma survivors.

 

Arthur C. Evans Jr., PhD

Dr. Evans is the Chief Executive Officer of the American Psychological Association. Prior to this role, he served as commissioner of Philadelphia’s Department of Behavioral Health and

Intellectual disAbility Service. There he improved health outcomes and increased efficiency of service by adjusting the agency’s treatment philosophy, service delivery models, and fiscal policies. Evans spent the early part of his career in Connecticut as the deputy commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services (DMHAS). In this strategic role, he implemented recovery-oriented policies that addressed healthcare disparities and increased the use of evidence-based treatment practices.

 

The work Dr. Evans has done throughout his career has been recognized nationally and internationally, and he has been the recipient of prestigious awards.  He was named Advocate for Action in 2015 by the White House Office of National Drug Control. In 2013, he received the American Medical Association’s top government service award in health

care, the Dr. Nathan Davis Award for Outstanding Government Service. In 2013, Evans was also recognized by Faces and Voices of Recovery with the Lisa Mojer-Torres Award for his dedication to mental health advocacy.

 

Lawrence S. Brown, MD 

Lawrence S. Brown, MD is the Chief Executive Officer of START Treatment and Recovery Centers in Brooklyn, NY. Prior to this role, Dr. Brown led prominent organizations in the addiction treatment field. He served as President and Chair of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), as Chairman of the Board of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, and as a Board Member of both the College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) and the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS.

 

Dr. Brown’s scientific contributions have resulted in the publication of over 100 peer-reviewed articles, chapters, and abstracts that focus on complications that stem from addiction and improving treatment of substance use disorders.  He is the recipient of the Addiction Medicine Physician of the Year Award from The New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services. He is currently a member of SAMHSA’s Drug Testing Advisory Board and he is a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine, the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, American Society of Addiction Medicine, and The College on Problems of Drug Dependence. He also serves as medical advisor to the National Football League.

 

These individuals have dedicated their lives to improving treatment and services for those impacted by addiction and/or mental illness—and they made significant contributions along the way.  They are pioneers in our field of behavioral health, and we are grateful for their leadership.

 

All of us have a story. Not all of us live long enough to tell it.

Sara came to Liberation Programs in need of our help and because we were there for her, she can tell hers.

She took her first drink at only 13 years old. What followed were many years of heavy drinking, well into her adulthood. In 1990, she joined the U.S. Navy. During her eight years enlisted, she found it easy to hide her excessive drinking – which continued unabated throughout her naval career. When she left the military, she was able to get sober and remained so for about 14 years.

Then Sara became involved with a man who became physically and emotionally abusive, suffering 26 black eyes, four broken ribs, and two broken noses at his hands. “He threatened to throw me out of the house. He threatened my life. He told me I had nowhere to go. I believed him.” Every day, Sara felt like her partner was waging psychological warfare against her as he prevented her from seeking help.

One day Sara finally reached her breaking point and called the police. A sense of relief came over her when her abuser was taken away, but what happened next devastated and stunned her: child welfare removed Sara’s two children from her care as a result of the domestic violence in her life. Shattered and not knowing where to turn, she walked into a bar.

Eleven long, agonizing months followed where Sara self-medicated with binge drinking and drugs, thinking that it was the only way to dull the emotional pain of years of abuse – trauma now made still worse by the unbearable separation from her little ones.

May 10, 2015 was excruciating for Sara – it was the only Mother’s Day she’d spent without her children. But she also began to feel hope for the first time in ages when she made the courageous choice to become addiction-free once more. She reached out to Liberation Programs where staff in the Families in Recovery Program (FIRP) helped her understand she could get her children back after she became more grounded in recovery.

Sara moved into a sober house where every day she committed herself to getting better – spending countless hours in group sessions, unpacking and trying to understand the trauma she had experienced. In a year’s time, she had made tremendous progress.

Even so, Sara knew that she still had more work to do. Ready to move on to the next stage of her recovery, she reconnected with FIRP. She remembers, “When I first came to the program, I was scared to death. I didn’t want to be around anyone – I truly didn’t like myself. My anxiety was out of control.”

People who know Liberation Programs well know that our philosophy has always been about treating the whole person. So, in addition to helping Sara gain more tools to support her recovery, FIRP helped her reconnect with life and the world around her. They encouraged her to take walks outdoors and go to outside meetings. When her godmother passed away, staff made arrangements to take Sara all the way to Portland, CT to attend the funeral.

Like Sara, many of the women at FIRP have become separated from their children due to crises and traumatic circumstances. At Liberation, we are in the business of treating the whole family, because addiction doesn’t just affect the addicted person, but it touches everyone in their life. FIRP is one of the very few programs in Connecticut where women can keep their children with them while they are in treatment. The staff members at FIRP were there to support Sara as she took the painstaking steps to get her children back.

After four successful months in the program, Sara moved into transitional housing where she continued to work hard on her recovery for another year. And her hard work continued to pay off.

Today, Sara has regained part-time custody of her two beloved children and they all live together in Sara’s own three-bedroom apartment. Sara has an excellent job as an office manager of a furniture store and she has become a Recovery Support Specialist, certified to hold group sessions to help others suffering the ravages of addiction and past trauma.

Now Sara is able to look toward the future with hope. She wants to continue helping others, and plans to get her master’s in social work and become a certified counselor.  Sara credits our program for its pivotal role in her recovery: “FIRP is not just a set program, but a place where the staff tailors treatment to match your individual needs. They let me know how much they valued me as a person and believed in my recovery.”

This approach to treatment is part of Liberation Programs’ philosophy of care. We understand that to effectively help people break free from addiction, we need to value them as individuals and demonstrate our belief that recovery is possible for everyone.

To learn more about Liberation Programs, follow us on social media:

 

Just two weeks ago, we welcomed in the new year. This is the perfect time to hope for the future and to reflect on the year that has passed. In Fiscal Year 2017, we helped more individuals than ever before, making it our best year ever in that sense. We provided medication assisted treatment (MAT), mental health counseling, and other vital services to 2,215 individuals. I am happy to share that, of those receiving MAT, 75 percent eliminated or significantly reduced the use of illicit opioids, improving their life function. None of these individuals were among the estimated 1,076 Connecticut lives lost to drug overdose in 2017.

While 2017 may have been our best year—with so much left to do—it was also one of our most challenging years. Sadly, we closed 2017 with news that life expectancy in the United States had fallen for the second year in a row, in large part, due to the opioid epidemic and alcohol dependence. And the numbers show that opioid overdose deaths affect all people regardless of their race, gender, economic status, or any other characteristic. With more than 2.13 million Americans suffering from opioid dependence but only 20 percent receiving treatment, we have a long way to go.

Communities across the nation have the ability to end this epidemic of overdose deaths. For instance, Liberation Programs is launching the Bridgeport Integrated Health and Wellness Center. By augmenting our existing mental health and addiction treatments with a comprehensive array of services including family therapy, services for children, parent education, and vocational programs, we will provide an encouraging and welcoming environment to allow more individuals and families to get the help they need. We have taken on the construction of this center without state or federal support because the Bridgeport Community needs these services—and because it is the right thing to do. Other communities feel the same way and are following a similar model to help more people get access to care. There may still be a lot to do in 2018, but local communities like ours have the capability to end this crisis.

Liberation Programs could not have made so much progress in 2017 without the hard work of our employees—and I offer my sincerest thanks to these wonderful, dedicated women and men. I am also deeply grateful every day for the steadfast support of our board of directors. They help make everything that Liberation does possible. Last but not least, I owe a special debt of gratitude to our other donors and volunteers, those loyal friends whose sacrifices help make the work we do a reality. Thank you for believing in our mission long before the opioid crisis was a trending topic in the news. I hope that all of those who helped us make 2017 a successful year will join us in taking more steps this year towards ending overdose deaths in lower Fairfield County.

As a next step on our journey together, would you please follow us on social media? Like, comment, and share our posts so we can spread information about how we, as a community, can end this epidemic.

 

By Alan Mathis

President and CEO of Liberation Programs

Sources:

Medical Examiner

National Survey on Drug Use and Health