Addiction recovery hall takes unique approach
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RONAN – On a Tuesday afternoon a man played pool at the Never Alone Recovery Hall, surrounded by mental health professionals and peers determined to help him recover from addiction. Just hours earlier he was down the road at the transitional living center in Pablo, bored and lonely.
“He did an amazing thing for someone early in recovery,” said Never Alone Recovery Hall program coordinator Don Roberts. “He reached out and asked if I would come and get him.” Never Alone Recovery Hall exists for just this situation; it serves as a safe space for people recovering from addiction.
The space for the original hall, on Main Street in Ronan, was donated. The center offered peer support during the day and group sessions in the evening. A grant from the Morgan Family Foundation allowed Never Alone to pay wages to a full-time peer supporter. According to Roberts, Never Alone serves about 10 people a day, on average. Participation numbers have increased in the last six months.
“Pretty soon our rooms were just filled with people,” Roberts said.
The future of Never Alone Recovery Hall
Roberts said Ronan is a good location for Never Alone because it’s a good mid-point on the reservation. When the Main Street location became unusable this winter, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Council offered to allow Never Alone to use the former Boys and Girls Club building on U.S. Highway 93. However, the recovery hall will have to find a new location by Aug. 1 because the space will be demolished this fall. Roberts said he’s working to find a new place to house the program.
A place to be
According to Roberts, a licensed addiction counselor and the founder of Never Alone Recovery Hall, the first thing the hall provides is a space for those in recovery. “This is a place to come and be safe and work on their recovery for several hours a day,” Roberts said. Many visitors to the hall don’t have permanent homes or jobs, and a safe, drug-and-alcohol-free space is a necessary ingredient for successful recovery.
Visitors to Never Alone also have access to resources that can support their recovery. They can use computers to update their resumes, apply for jobs and search for housing. A full-time peer supporter, Krystal Orman, helps create and support recovery plans and helps participants navigate the court system. Roberts provides addiction counseling. The hall houses an extensive library that provides guidance on working through recovery.
The hall also provides a space for recovering addicts to work through the social challenges of living sober. Roberts said in order to succeed in their recovery, people must remove themselves from relationships with those who are still using substances. Often, that isolates them, making them vulnerable to relapse. The hall serves as a place to work on social skills and build relationships with others living without drugs.
“It’s awkward and lonely in recovery,” Roberts said. “We don’t really know who we are because our identity has been that of an addict. This is a safe place to practice being ‘awkward me.’” The hall also holds social functions like campouts to continue that work.
The spirit of collaboration is at the center of the hall’s philosophy. Those who attend meetings often work together to arrange rides for those who don’t have access to transportation.
A unique approach
Roberts said Never Alone is unlike other addiction recovery services. First, the center uses the peer support model. Participants in the programs at the hall are mentored and guided by other individuals who are in recovery from addictions.
Those who use the center determine the agenda, rather than an outside agency.
“Things are constantly brewing because we try to keep things organic and let our participants say the directions they want things to go,” he said.
Never Alone works with the court system, mental health agencies and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Council and Tribal Health Department to reach and serve those in need of addiction recovery services.
“We’ve got this interagency cooperation happening around this recovery hall that’s really rare and beautiful,” Roberts said. “There’s this cooperation of community stepping up to say, ‘Hey we’ve got this problem, here’s this solution.’”
Roberts was training to be an addiction counselor when he became interested in establishing a center for peer recovery support in the Mission Valley. Roberts, who is in recovery from addiction, was dismayed by the lack of recovery options in the area. Alcoholics Anonymous was the only support option available. Those working to recover from addictions to drugs or those who wanted other options had to leave the area to get support.
Roberts did his capstone project for his bachelor’s degree in social work on peer support in rural areas. While peer support groups exist in urban areas, there was little research on their impact in rural areas and especially on Indian reservations. According to Roberts, his research showed that a peer support center on the Flathead Reservation would be successful. In response, he started Never Alone himself.
Roberts is currently looking for a new space to offer services after August 1. The hall is also accepting donations to fund the cost of operating. For more information on the programs or to contribute, contact Never Alone Recovery Hall at 406-830-8587.
The program is open from 12 to 4 p.m. for peer support. There are support groups every evening of the week except Sunday.
