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Daily Message 7/23/08

RECOVERY: Discovering, something that was previously lost. To reclaim, that which was misplaced. To find, something that was missing. How wonderful...when we, "find" ourselves, through our recovery. Look and you shall find...

It's Playtime! Thanks to You, Our Kids Have A Playground

We did it!!! Seven months ago, BCI appealed to you to help us build a playground at The Lighthouse Program. Today we have surpassed our goal of $17,000. To everyone who contributed, we appreciate it so much!

Take a look… the playground is here! And it's great that we've gone over our goal because now we can make it even better with benches, a sandbox, and toys.

We want to say a special thanks for a grant that put us over the top, from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation. Bank of America’s Local Grants support community organizations helping make their neighborhoods better places to live, in areas including affordable housing, arts councils, and children’s advocacy groups. The foundation awarded over $11 million to organizations in the Wilmington community in 2006.

Building this playground is a big deal – it’s not just about giving the kids a place to play. It’s about creating a cheerful, home-like environment for kids displaced from the comfort of their own home. It’s about giving them an outlet for relaxation and releasing stress while their moms work on their recovery. It’s about family bonding for families who need it.

Soon, we will announce a special event to honor all the donors and volunteers who have supported The Lighthouse Program. On behalf of our moms and kids, thank you again for your generous support. Celebration time!!!

5 Questions for Jeremy Zane, Therapeutic Supervisor

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: Jeremy Zane
Job: Therapeutic Supervisor, Lancaster Center
Time with BCI: 4 years

1. Safety Net Services is one of the BCI programs you’re involved in. How are you addressing an unmet need for substance abuse treatment and HIV/AIDS services in Wilmington?
Our main focus is getting people into treatment. The [Christiana Care] infectious disease clinic, who is the largest HIV treatment provider in the city, was referring a lot of people to Brandywine, and a lot of people weren’t making it. The first thing that we’re doing is the seamless transition. A lot of times we get referrals from the infectious disease clinic the day people find out they’re HIV positive. In fact, in the first five months, there’s already been 4 or 5 where we were at the infectious disease clinic the moment they found out that they were positive. So from day one, we’re linking up these two services. We want people to understand that HIV is treatable, that it’s not a death sentence anymore, as long as a person takes care of their body, and takes their medication. Also, substance abuse treatment can coincide with HIV.

We’re talking about a population that is probably taking the bus everywhere, or needing to get rides. Transportation can be a very significant barrier in itself. We’re talking about a person who could be going, in one day, from substance abuse counseling, get on the bus, go downtown, go out to the infectious disease clinic, sit all day out there, get the things that they need to get done, and then go back into the middle of town to Connections or Community Mental Health for their mental health services. That’s a lot of running around. And if the person is in a lot of need, and needs services every week, the chances they will get those services consistently, decreases greatly, having to run around town that much.

Having Christiana Care’s remote site here, a person can come in, get their substance abuse treatment, see the nurse practitioner, get their HIV meds, and they’re able to do it all under one roof. The mental health component also can be contained here. A person with mental health issues can have their evaluation done here, can have their medication management done here, can get their prescription through here. Everything that person needs is contained under one roof.

2. You also helped start Recovery Counts for people who weren’t succeeding in the usual track of treatment. What is this program and how did it come about?
I remember the day, there was a particular client who came over and said, “They’re discharging me off the clinic, but right now, I’m clean. I can give a clean urine right now, but I’m being discharged.” And from that moment, Basha [Silverman] and I kind of looked at each other and thought, “I wonder how many other people there are like that, who are being told they’re discharged, and now, this is when they’re going to decide to make that change?” And after looking at it, we found it to be quite common. So what we wanted to do was to come up with a program that, we say in a very concrete way: This is your last chance at treatment. If you do not demonstrate changes now, you’re going to be referred to a higher level of care, and you’re going to be discharged from the opioid treatment program.

We started a pilot program of about a dozen people. And what we were able to do was, really offer them more intensive services. We’re going to have a couple of groups a week, we’re going to be meeting for an individual session every single week, until we get through this and over this hump. And from that point, it started to grow. And then what we started to realize was that, maybe we should start working with people at the beginning. Anybody who’s on contract at all is then going to go into this program.

The reason they’re not succeeding in treatment is because, maybe we’re not offering intensive enough services. This person needs to be seen more than once a month, and they need a case manager, they need to be coming to group. And the same person running the group needs to be running their individual counseling sessions, so they can incorporate what’s going on in group back in the individual session, in a seamless way.

We also look at an outcome questionnaire. By decreasing incarceration risk, housing need, [and increasing] interpersonal relationship skills, education and employment, it has a correlation with their urine screens. As negative urine screens go up, these factors improve.

3. Recovery Counts and Safety Net Services could both be described as harm reduction approaches to addiction treatment. Do you have an opinion of whether harm reduction or traditional treatment is more effective for clients?
I personally believe that a harm reduction model is more effective. Now, you have to really define what harm reduction means, because it means different things to different people. Some people who are on the liberal side of the harm reduction model say that no one should ever be penalized for urine screens, ever. That a person should never have negative consequences, should never have hard holds. I’m certainly much more on the conservative side than that. I believe that a person needs time to change. They’re going to be positive while they’re in treatment, and the day they walk in the door, you can’t possibly expect them to just, all of a sudden, start submitting negative urine screens. So where is that point? Is it two months into treatment, eight months into treatment? And from my point of view, that’s going to be different for everybody. That toleration, that acceptance that a person’s going to be positive while they’re beginning treatment here, in my opinion, is still part of the harm reduction model.

I also believe, however, that there’s also some point where, if we’re not demonstrating changes at this level of care, and allowing the person to continue their behaviors at this level of care, it’s more detrimental than it is helpful. And we need to make efforts to get a person into a higher level of care, which can be perceived as punishment. If we’re discharging a person because we believe they can’t succeed at this level of care, and they don’t want to go inpatient, then that person’s probably going to perceive what we’re doing as punishment, and I think some of the purest harm reduction model thinkers would also think that that’s punishment as well.

4. How did you get into the field of addiction treatment?
I got introduced to Brandywine when I was at Wilmington College with my undergrad degree. Basha had come in and was doing a presentation about the outreach services that Brandywine had to offer. And at that point, I really didn’t know what I was going to do with an undergraduate degree in psychology. And that was the first time that I became interested in outreach in general, and in getting into the substance abuse field. So I came in for an interview, and there was a project they had just gotten some funding for, and I just kind of fell into it that way.

And once I’d gotten involved and started working with the population… you grow into it. It became something that was very interesting to me. The substance abusing population has mental health issues, they have medical issues, and counseling people with substance use disorders, you get a little piece of everything. So, as opposed to just working with people with depression, or just working with people with post-traumatic stress, you get all that here, but the common thread is, everybody’s also abusing substances. So you get a more complete package, and a more dynamic caseload, in my opinion.

5. What is rewarding about your work at BCI?
I think everybody says that they’ve got a couple of clients who’ve really made changes, and with some of the clients that I’ve had now for 2-3 years, you see them struggle and struggle and struggle, and then finally get to this ultimate goal. The first time a particular client gets travel bottles. When somebody is detoxed successfully who was about to be kicked off the clinic a year ago. Everybody’s got those two or three clients that they’re always going to keep with them. That type of satisfaction, that type of reward and internal satisfaction that you get, I don’t see how you could possibly get that at any other job.

Daily Message 7/21/08

What are "the seasons of our lives"? Are they reflective of our age, or our experience? Whatever the season of your life, take time to enjoy what that season brings. For everything there is a season and God's love for you is reflected in each of them.

Daily Message 7/18/08

Sometimes, the changes that we need to bring into our lives, can feel as overwhelming as the problems. Embrace the changes and look to the future with an open heart and more important...an open mind.

Daily Message 7/17/08

When all goes wrong, we have to remember that we are exactly where God , would have us be, good or bad. Experiencing all, that He would have us learn. Some things are learned, so that we may show and teach others. It's often called "wisdom".

BCI Welcomes New Board Member

BCI welcomes Reverend Karla Fleshman of Wilmington as a new member of our Board of Directors. Karla is Founding Pastor of Imago Dei Metropolitan Church, as well as a Church Plant Consultant with Metropolitan Community Churches. She has a background in social work, HIV/AIDS, and spirituality.

The BCI Board supports our treatment services through fundraising activities and promotion of our mission to the community. We know Karla will be a wonderful addition to the organization. Please join us in giving her a warm welcome to BCI!

Daily Message 7/15/08

The world needs heros and warriors. Sometimes, you have to step up and stand in defense of those, who for one reason or another, can't. Be willing to be a voice. Help them be heard.

Denise Kitson Receives Guardian Angel Award

Brandywine Counseling congratulates Denise Kitson, Program Director of The Lighthouse Program, on receiving the Guardian Angel Award at the Delaware HIV Consortium's 2008 WOW Awards Gala.

Pictured at right, Denise receives her award from Peter Houle, Executive Director of the HIV Consortium. Arlene Bincsik, President of the HIV Consortium Board of Directors and head of the Christiana Care HIV Program, gave the following speech:

"It is said that a guardian angel sits on your shoulder and protects you and comforts you in times of need. This year’s Guardian Angel Awardee is Denise Kitson of Brandywine Counseling and the new director of The Lighthouse Program in Sussex County.

"Whether it is feeding the hungry, supplying clients with street kits of tooth brushes, soap and other necessities, helping them access healthcare, finding shelter, HIV testing or entering rehab, Denise has always gone above and beyond the call of duty to help her clients and the marginalized populations.

"When others said no, Denise has always said 'How can I help you, help yourself?' She is a program manager, a case manager, a counselor, a confidant, a shoulder to lean on, an ear that listens, a compassionate volunteer all rolled up in one incredible woman. But most of all…she has been a Guardian Angel to hundreds of people when no one else cared! She strives to empower clients rather than enable them. The Delaware HIV Consortium proudly bestows the Guardian Angel Award to Denise Kitson. Congratulations!”

Linda DeShields, A Pioneer of Addiction Treatment in Delaware, Dies at 63

Linda DeShields, a steadfast advocate for Delaware's most disadvantaged citizens who helped build programs for treatment, prevention, and rehabilitation, died on Tuesday in Wilmington, Delaware. She was 63.

Linda was one of the pioneering black females in Delaware’s treatment services. She opened the doors for people of color to enter this field, and is thought of as “the Harriet Tubman of treatment” for the state’s African American women and men. This legacy continues today, as many of the outreach workers she hired have ascended to supervisory positions. Her daughter, Rochelle Booker, is the supervisor of Delaware’s first needle exchange program.

In the late 1980’s, Linda started her career at Brandywine Counseling, Inc. (BCI) as Delaware's first HIV/AIDS outreach worker. Later, as Director of Outreach Services, she hired a team of indigenous outreach workers who were in recovery themselves, and often recently released ex-offenders. She had a strong work ethic, often working 10-12 hours a day when it was necessary to get the job done. She passed on these values to her team, many of whom had never held a job. Throughout her career, she became the voice for her clients in the community and diligently worked on behalf of them to ensure better access to the services they needed.

Linda recognized that addicted persons face interrelated challenges such as housing, crime, and domestic violence. In addition to her full-time job, she worked with numerous community organizations that dealt with these social ills. She was a liaison with the Wilmington Housing Authority for drug and alcohol services, a position that was the impetus for the creation of the NSAFE HIV case management program at BCI. She also worked with Mayor Sills’ administration as a community liaison focusing on substance abuse and related problems. Linda also appeared on the cable TV show “Women 2 Women” on channel 28 to interview women on women’s issues. She highlighted successful business owners, struggling domestic violence victims, as well as those addicted to drugs, and offenders.

One of the populations Linda was most passionate about was inmates, particularly women. For nearly 20 years, she volunteered at the Women’s Correctional Institution. She would go to WCI on a daily basis, meet with inmates about to be released, and prepare them for what to expect and to meet important goals like rejoining the workforce. She was also a very dear friend to the staff and often called to just check in on them. The staff remembers her as “an inspiration [who] always had a listening ear, and never turned away.” The way she touched the lives of the offenders and so many officers was like “being touched by an angel.”

Linda also volunteered at the Plummer Center, coming to the dining hall to have lunch with ladies who did not get family visits or any money. Her heart was in this work and she genuinely cared for the inmates. She continued her visits even after suffering a stroke that left her in a wheelchair.

Linda was also a member of the Police Advisory Board, and went to many parole board hearings to advocate for ex-offenders. She did substance abuse evaluations on offenders who had been referred to the Public Defenders office, and made recommendations for treatment as well as for pre-sentencing investigation.

Another passion of Linda’s was children in at-risk situations. She did weekly prevention and education interventions with arrested youth at Bridge House and Ferris School. She also worked with organizations seeking mentors, such as Eighth Street Baptist Church’s "Magic and Minds Together," which developed therapeutic drama skits for kids. The program was the result of a faith-based partnership with Brandywine Counseling, a connection Linda initiated before such partnerships were mainstream.

Rev. Ty Johnson recalls that Linda “was way before her time. She made the connection between the power of spirituality and power of recovery and knew it was vital to success and healing.” She knew that once she connected Eighth Street Baptist, whose board members were ex-offenders in recovery, to the recovery community that had resources, that things could change.

Linda DeShields was an inspirational and influential figure at BCI. She laid the groundwork for many of the services we provide today, and positively affected the lives of countless Delawareans. She will be greatly missed.

Funeral services will be held Monday July 14 at 12 Noon at Ebenezer Baptist Church, 2300 N. Claymont Street, Wilmington, 19802, with viewing from 10 am - 12 pm only.

Daily Message 7/10/08

As human beings, we make errors in judgement. We make mistakes. As children of God...we are forgiven. Who are we, to deny ourselves and others forgiveness.

Daily Message 7/9/08

Dear Lord, we turn to you in our hour of need. Teach us to turn to you in gratitude, when we thank you for our blessings.

BCI Alpha North Wilmington Center To Move to Edgemoor Community Center

Brandywine Counseling's Alpha North Wilmington Center will be moving to the Edgemoor Community Center effective July 16, 2008.

The program will move from its offices at 98 Harvey Road, which it has occupied since opening in 2002. The North Wilmington Center is a satellite site of the BCI Alpha Drug Free Program, which offers outpatient drug and alcohol counseling to Delaware residents.

Our new location within Edgemoor Community Center will make treatment services available to North Wilmington residents at a location that is well-known within the community and easily accessible by bus. The Edgemoor Comunity Center is a not-for-profit, community-based, multi-service agency that provides a broad range of educational, recreational, self-enrichment, and family support services.

Our new address is: 500 Duncan Road, Wilmington, DE 19809.

Our new phone number is (302) 225-8008.

Our new fax number is (302) 225-8010.