Making the Connection

This morning, Daniel Norvell, a counselor at Alpha, pulled me aside and said he had someone who wanted to volunteer with Brandywine. Daniel was excited because he'd seen one of the postings on our Web site, and found just the type of person we’re looking for. He asked whether she should get in touch with me, and I said, of course! It’s always great to get word of mouth referrals of volunteers. I wish we would get more!

This got me thinking how a word of mouth referral happens. It sounds so simple, yet so few of us actually do it. In Daniel’s case, an ordinary conversation with his friend turned to the economy, how so many people were hurting and in need of help. His friend said she wished she could do something to help. So Daniel said, well, Brandywine can use your help.

Ding Ding Ding! Connection made!

It really was that simple. How many of us are having that same conversation about the economy with our friends? We all want to help. Perhaps we would do something if we just knew where and how. If we knew there was someplace that could use our own particular skills to do some good.

Just think, if all of Brandywine Counseling’s supporters seized that opportunity and put in a plug for what we need, how many connections would we make? Connections with people with computer skills, people with clothes to donate, people from the corporate world who can teach us things, you name it. People you know, who are ready and willing to help.

Could you do what Daniel did? Think about it. Where can you make the connection?

5 Questions for Kiesha Wright, Intake Counselor

5 Questions is our ongoing feature where we introduce you to the people who make Brandywine Counseling run, spotlighting a different staff member every two weeks.

Name: Kiesha Wright
Job: Intake Counselor, Lancaster Center
Time with BCI: 1 year

1. How is the economic downturn affecting your clientele and how you do your job?
I’m an intake counselor, which means that I see people when they come straight from the streets. A lot of our clients that are coming in right now are very, very needy. When I say needy, I mean housing, food, clothes. Because the economy is so bad, a lot of [counseling] time is being taken up with things that people need immediately. So that definitely puts a strain on what I do. Because we’re therapeutic. A lot of that therapeutic aspect is being taken out. If we can help them with food, and things like that, we’re supposed to. But it’s not supposed to be our primary job. My whole session shouldn’t be on helping the client get food, housing, and clothes.

And that’s why we have case managers now. What we do now is try to coordinate with their case manager, who does handle Medicaid, food, housing, clothes, and other necessary resources, so that we can do the therapeutic aspect of counseling.

2. As an intake counselor, you see clients on a temporary basis until they’re stabilized, but you don’t follow them through treatment. What’s the appeal and the challenge of working in intake?
It depends on how much you want to be involved with the client, and how far you want to follow them. Intake works for me, because I don’t only get to see the end result. When they move up [to a permanent counselor] they’re supposed to be stabilized, [and if I’m the new counselor] I don’t see anything that they went through to get there. I’m the type of person that wants to see the client through all of those steps. Once they are stabilized, I want to pass them on to somebody who’s maybe a little bit more experienced, somebody who will follow them the rest of the way. Not everybody gets stable before they go upstairs, but in an ideal situation, I would take them through all the beginning stages, get them 30 days clean, and then they would go upstairs to Core.

My biggest challenge in doing my job is not to take it personal, not to take it home with me. If I’m working with someone and they get 30 days clean, and they relapse, I can’t take that as if they relapsed because of me. I have to also be understanding. They’re going through different stressors than I am. And, not to take it home with me.

3. Many of our staff express their personality in how they decorate their office – tell us what you have in your office.
I have a big poster of a waterfall, and the water’s green and the sky’s blue, and this is what I use to escape when I’m having a very, very stressful day. I also have a lot of sayings. “Life is about making mistakes and learning from them.” “Make an effort, not an excuse.” And, “You can’t change your past. You can change your future.” I have other little thoughts for the day. I have a little plant that one of the girls gave me that left, that I’m trying to keep alive.

When I got here, I got the office painted. I wanted it to be really bright, because I wanted people to walk in my office and just, like, cheer up! Even if they were sad! Unfortunately, I was told that I couldn’t make it as bright as I wanted to. (Laughs) So I settled for orange. So, when people walk in my office, I want them to be, first of all, surprised by the color – like, “Oh, that’s a bright color,” and open up their eyes. And I just want them to feel comfortable. I try not to have anything that’s intimidating to people, or anything that’s going to offend anyone. I also have the regular things, too, some NA schedules, some diagnosis charts. I have some of Habib’s decorations, so he has a little touch in my office too.

4. What’s been your most rewarding moment at BCI?
When somebody reaches 90 days clean time [and earns take home medication], and the reaction that they give you. And you’ve seen that person struggle, you’ve seen that person from intake - which is why I like intake - you’ve seen that person come in and say, “I’m not gonna make it, but, this is what I have to do, to maybe stay off the streets.” And they actually get to 90 days, and you see the reaction that they give you. That’s a big reward. I actually have two clients that just reached their 90 days.

I have a client who transferred to us from Kirkwood Detox. She came in and she was like, “You know what, Kiesha, I’m gonna stay with my mom. She’s gonna kick me out, I’m still using, the hardest part for me is to get to 90 days. I can’t get to 90 days, I won’t make it to 90 days, but I’m gonna try.” Her son’s father took custody of the child, so she was upset about that. She wasn’t employed, she had psych issues, and she was just all over the place. Well, I just recently saw her for our third or fourth session, and she now has four months clean. She’s going to court for a custody hearing. She’s very hopeful that she’s going to get custody back of her son. I’ve even met her son. She got a job, so therefore, she’s paying for her own medication. Things are going better between her and her mom, because her mom’s not financially supporting her.

So that actually made me feel happy. She came in recently, and she was like, “I just want to thank you for sticking it out with me, ‘cause you could’ve just gave up on me. And that’s what I thought you counselors did, you just pushed people through.” So, that made me feel good. It made my heart smile a little bit.

5. If you had $30,000 to donate to BCI what would you do with it?
I would update the computers, because we’re going paperless now, and I had a couple clients where I couldn’t do their intake, or couldn’t complete it. I keep getting the error message, “No Token.” So I would update the computers, definitely, because that’s a big, big, big part of it. And… oh yeah! I would put it into having our own food closet for people that are not in NSAFE or Safety Net, so it’s not like we’ve got to send clients out to get food. We’d have the food here. Of course, I guess, we’d have to build another room for it. So I’d build the room! (Laughs) And have the food in there, and also a clothes closet. So the computers, a food closet, and a clothes closet within BCI! That way it makes it easier for everybody. That’s what I would do.

Delaware Inaugural Ball to Benefit AIDS

Want to celebrate the inauguration of Barack Obama and Joe Biden while supporting a great cause? Delaware will host an Inaugural Ball Saturday January 17 to benefit HIV/AIDS testing, treatment, prevention, education, and support.

The Delaware Inaugural Ball is a night for celebration, hope and, change. A night to say: “Yes We Did!”

Tickets include:

• An Obama themed appetizer, dinner, and beverage menu (Chicago, Hawaiian, African, Indonesian),
• Professional DJ and Dancing,
• Professional pictures with life size Barack Obama and Joe Biden figures,
• And more!

The event will take place at The Crystal Center, 728 Philadelphia Pike, Wilmington, DE 19809, from 7:30-11:30 PM. Proceeds benefit AIDS Delaware. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit Delawareinauguralball.com.

More Court Appearances = More Success for High-Risk Drug Offenders

BCI's Drug Court Diversion Program clients took part in a research study which found that high risk offenders achieve better outcomes in treatment with more frequent court hearings. The article appears in the December issue of NIDA Notes.

A “high risk” offender is defined as one who has antisocial personality disorder or prior drug treatment, which makes them more likely to return to criminal behavior including drug abuse. A drug court program provides educational groups, drug testing, referrals, and support in meeting personal lifestyle goals in lieu of prosecution for a first time offense. It’s estimated that such programs save $1000 to $15,000 a year per client in judicial costs and financial loss to crime victims.

In the study, participants who were required to attend court for monitoring every two weeks had a higher rate of graduation from the treatment program, fewer days of drug use, and fewer days of alcohol intoxication than participants who were monitored every 4-6 weeks.

The study also found that low-risk offenders do just as well when their frequency of hearings is reduced. This means that drug court programs can shift their existing resources to increase the monitoring of those most at risk, and decrease it for those at low risk. The programs can thereby improve public safety without increasing costs.

Good news for drug court participants and for the public.

Tech-Savvy Volunteers Wanted!

BCI is seeking people who are technology-inclined and are looking to give back to the community. We have two volunteer projects available:

NEW MEDIA ASSISTANT
2814 West 2nd Street, Wilmington

Are you knowledgeable about “new media” and excited about its power to deliver a message? Are you passionate about addiction treatment and recovery, or HIV/AIDS prevention?

Brandywine Counseling seeks a volunteer to help us tell our success stories and raise awareness of our work using new media, including video, social networking sites, and user-generated content. Work closely with our staff and clients to collect stories and ideas and use them in creative ways to inspire and inform. Fun project for someone who can give a few hours, 1 or 2 days during the week on an ongoing basis.

Knowledge of new media required, including popular sites such as YouTube and Facebook. Experience filming video and preparing for online publication very helpful. Creativity, and enjoy working with people.

Apply for this project


TECH SUPPORT
2814 West 2nd Street, Wilmington

Are you the person everyone turns to to fix their computer issues? Do you want to make a difference for people affected by drug and alcohol addiction? Brandywine Counseling seeks a volunteer to troubleshoot and fix IT issues for the staff at our treatment center. There are everyday problems that come up related to hardware, software, browsers, email, etc. We have limited IT staff to help with this, and the rest of us are more technically challenged! So we need your help to get these problems solved more quickly so we can focus our time on client services!

Great project for someone who is available weekdays, between 9 and 4, and can give a few hours a week on an ongoing basis.

Apply for this project

Most Popular Posts Last Year

Happy New Year, readers! Let's start off 2009 with our Top 10 most popular posts in 2008.

1. Annual Door Decorating Contest
2. Mosaic Mural is Finished!
3. The Saying Goodbye to Addiction Tour at BCI
4. 5 Questions for Evelyn Handley, Receptionist
5. Delaware Does More: Neighbors Helping Neighbors All Winter Long
6. 5 Questions for Karen Barker, Account Manager
7. 5 Questions for Darlene Pezzulo, Nurse
8. Thanks to You, We're On Our Way to Playground Goal
9. 5 Questions for Dianna Dorsey, Outreach Worker
10. Daily Message 4/1/08


That's right, folks... at Brandywine Counseling, we treat addiction and save lives, but we also help you decorate your door for Christmas! :)

What makes a post popular, anyway? In some cases, people find us through Google, or Google Images. But more and more, our visitors come through email links that a friend sent them, or from a stumbleupon.com link another visitor created. This means YOU have a say in making a post popular.

So when you read something you like here, take a moment and click the ShareThis icon, or add us to your StumbleUpon. While I think most of the posts above deserve to be in the Top 10, I'd rather see this one on the list, and this one. This one was one of my faves too. What are your favorites?

Gannett Foundation Grant Will Bring Furniture, Fun to Lighthouse Program

The Lighthouse Program will be able to buy new furniture and educational supplies for our day care thanks to a $2,000 grant from the Gannett Foundation.

This gift is going to add to the cheerfulness and home-like atmosphere of the day care. We’ll be able to get furniture including cribs, a rocker, a swing, changing tables, and storage units. Plus, educational materials -- like alphabet picture puzzles, an animal photo library, math match-up set, and social studies book set -- will be used to teach the children skills in language, mathematics, science, music, social studies, and dramatical play. These improvements will help make the day care a safe and pleasant place for the children to play and learn.

The Gannett Foundation is a corporate foundation sponsored by Gannett Co., Inc. They give grants to organizations in the communities in which Gannett owns a daily newspaper or television station.

Thank you very much for this wonderful gift!

Practice-Based Evidence?

In today's New York Times, Benedict Carey looks at whether evidence-based practices improve patients' success rate in treatment. Programs like BCI are increasingly accountable for showing our effectiveness, yet few have the stats to do so and there's no universal standard for success. Delaware is one of the states taking part in the Advancing Recovery project, in which we implement -- and track the results of -- techniques that science says are effective.

In 2001 the Delaware Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health began giving treatment programs incentives, or bonuses, if they met certain benchmarks. The clinics could earn a bonus of up to 5 percent, for instance, if they kept a high percentage of addicts coming in at least weekly and ensured that those clients met their own goals, as measured both by clean urine tests and how well they functioned in everyday life, in school, at work, at home.

By 2006, the state’s rehabilitation programs were operating at 95 percent capacity, up from 50 percent in 2001; and 70 percent of patients were attending regular treatment sessions, up from 53 percent, according to an analysis of the policy published last summer in the journal Health Policy.

Carey suggests these Performance Based Contracts are an example of “‘Practice-Based Evidence,’ the results that programs and counselors themselves can document, based on their own work.” Why has this worked for Delaware? We focus on getting people in the door and keeping them here, because length of time in treatment is associated with successful outcomes. We’re rewarded financially when we do a good job at this, and penalized when we don’t.

But we also use many of the Evidence-Based Practices mentioned in the article, like motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioral therapy. Sometimes our results are great, and sometimes they’re not. You can read more about our work here.

This topic generates lots and lots of questions within the addictions field and the recovering community. Here’s just a few:

• What should be the definition of success in treatment?
• How do we provide individualized treatment within a treatment curriculum?
• What kind of evidence are we most interested in – evidence that comes from science, or from practice?
• And, how do we collect data to measure success in treatment without increasing costs?

BCI Goes Nuts for Food Drive

"BCI staff are nuts!" Oh yeah, we've heard that before. Well, it's true. And we've got pictures to prove it.

All month long, our staff has been running a food drive for Delaware Does More, the statewide project to help those less fortunate weather the economic decline this winter. We’re competing as teams to take photos of ourselves with the food we collected, and the most creative will win a pizza party. Now it’s time to unveil the results.

Georgetown


Probation & Parole


Outreach


Alpha


And the winner is…Georgetown! Great job, everyone.

Want to write your own caption for these pictures? Head over to our Facebook page and go nuts!

Volunteer Spotlight: Bridget Cady, Outreach Support

Bridget Cady is a recent graduate of University of Wales, Lampeter in the UK and will be serving in the Peace Corps starting in May 2009. She spends several hours a week volunteering with Brandywine Counseling's Outreach Department. Recently she sat down for a chat about what brought her here and what she’s been doing.

What made you want to volunteer?
I’m joining the Peace Corps, and I really wanted to get as much volunteer experience as possible. I know a bit about drug rehabilitation and addicts, and stuff like that, but it was really important for me to get experience in HIV/AIDS, the outreach part of it.

Why did you choose BCI?
I live in this neighborhood, so it was really important to me to volunteer close to home. I wanted to help out in my community, so I’m volunteering at two places, and both of them are within my zip code.

What have you worked on here?
I’ve done all sorts of things. I’ve looked up research, I’ve written little pieces for proposals. I’ve worked the week before Thanksgiving giving away turkeys to people. That was probably my favorite thing. I have lots of different things to do. No day’s ever the same when I come in here, and I really like that.

What will you take away from your experience?
A greater appreciation for members of my community and some of the hardships that they’re going through, and also for the wonderful people who are trying to help them.

How does it feel to help people in need?
It feels great! I mean, of course it feels good to be able to say, “I have the time to do this, so, I’m going to.” It’s a heartening feeling.