Two new centers designed to help people who abuse alcohol and other drugs are opening in Golden Valley at Courage Center by Vinland National Center, and in Center City, Minn., by the Hazelden Foundation.
Courage Center
Vinland National Center has announced the opening of a new outpatient chemical health program at Courage Center in Golden Valley to help people with disabilities better understand their use of alcohol and other drugs and the affect of these substances on the health and healing of the brain, body, feelings and relationships. "Courage is pleased to be selected for Vinland’s only Twin Cities metro location," says Nancy Larkin, chief operating officer for Courage Center. "Services provided by Courage Center’s partnership with Vinland National Center compliment the total continuum of care for persons who struggle with addiction on top of dealing with the challenges of their disability."
Carol Jackson, executive director of Vinland, says Courage Center’s program represents an important step forward with a key partner. "While we’ve run outpatient programs from our main campus in Loretto, Minn., for 16 years, and small satellite programs from time to time in more urban settings, we’re very excited to have the chance to offer this service to Courage Center’s clients. We’re pleased to be able to give them the help they want in a way that is proven successful at a facility that is familiar and convenient to them."
The program is an expansion of a successful partnership through which Vinland has been providing chemical health services to participants of Courage Residence in Golden Valley since the summer of 2005. This partnership with Courage Center has allowed Vinland to expand the reach of its chemical health programs for people with disabilities. This new program will significantly improve access to Vinland’s services for people with a broad range of chemical health needs. Courage Center is a non-profit rehabilitation and resource center for people with disabilities, brain injuries, speech or vision impairments, and hearing loss. For more information about Courage Center, visit courage.org.
Hazelden Women’s Recovery Center
Faced with a four-fold increase in demand for women’s treatment services, the Hazelden Foundation opened a new Women’s Recovery Center September 18 in Center City, Minn., that introduces a new concept of care for women addicted to alcohol and drugs. The signature facility will ultimately increase Hazelden’s capacity to treat women by more than 37 percent (from 64 to 88 beds), and provide enhanced programs and services to address the unique recovery challenges women face.
Statistics have shown that many women who may need treatment and recovery services are not receiving help. Nationally, an estimated 7.4 million females in the U.S., ages 12 and older, were classified as substance dependent or substance abusers and in need of care. Of those, only about 10 percent received treatment, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
Compounding the difficulty of treatment for women is the fact that women seeking treatment often struggle with co-occurring disorders such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders and trauma. Some women also have unique caretaking roles within their families, relationships and communities, all of which need to be addressed in an addiction recovery program.
The opening of the new 41,000-square foot building represents the completion of the first phase of the Women’s Recovery Center development. Renovations to Hazelden’s existing women-only care units will occur over the next year with completion scheduled for fall 2007. The result will be a comprehensive offering that will have three 22-bed primary care units and a 22-bed extended care unit for women in Center City, as well as a 22-bed unit and a 10-bed extended care unit at Hazelden’s Springbrook location in Newberg, Oregon.
In addition to the new physical space, Hazelden has redesigned its clinical services to provide women the most effective care possible. Enhancements for the care of women, which will available at all Hazelden sites that treat women, include a women-only lecture series on gender-specific topics, enhanced education on such issues as eating disorders and trauma, an early recovery parenting skills curriculum and a weekly women’s health clinic.
Hazelden has long been a pioneer in treating women with addiction. Since it first opened a women’s treatment facility in 1956, Hazelden nationally has treated more than 40,000 women. It also touches the lives of women every year at Women Healing conferences, two-day events designed to inspire, support, motivate and encourage women affected by and in recovery from addiction.
