Overall Description

Bernie Lorenz Recovery is a licensed halfway house program in the State of Iowa for alcohol and drug dependent women in recovery. This program supports chemically dependent women in recovery by providing a way of life free from the use of alcohol and other drugs. Dignity and respect are the base of the 60-90 day living environment. Women who enter Bernie Lorenz Recovery report methamphetamine, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and other drug abuse to the extent that their health, psychological functioning, employment and social skills are affected.

Discharge planning from the Bernie Lorenz Recovery halfway house program begins upon admission. Counselors assist the women in arranging appropriate living accommodations, developing a budget, establishing structure for their daily schedule and support system, and enrolling in a continuing care program to strengthen their quality of life and their abstinence from chemicals.

History

Bernie Lorenz Recovery located in Des Moines, IA. was founded in the late 1980’s by a group of concerned citizens in the Des Moines area who recognized that women in early recovery from alcohol and other drug usage had no where to go for structured, nurturing, supportive living following their treatment. This group’s dream was realized when on February 12, 1990 Bernie Lorenz Recovery (BLR) opened its doors and since then has served over 1000 women desiring recovery. The Staff are committed to the mission of BLR: to support chemically dependent women living in recovery. The program was established for the sole purpose of assisting women addicted to alcohol and other drugs who have been a largely unserved population.

Services

For many residents, Bernie Lorenz Recovery is their last hope because all other methods and attempts have been unsuccessful. Bernie Lorenz Recovery programming is unique in that the addiction is treated as the core problem. Oftentimes other attempts at resolving problems have been through doctors, marriage counselors, clergy, and family members. All other avenues may have been exhausted, and although these efforts may have seemed to help, the relief was only temporary since alcohol and drug abuse continued and perpetuated the problems. The core problem, the addiction, had not been treated. Bernie Lorenz Recovery brings hope to the utterly hopeless.

Bernie Lorenz Recovery is licensed by the State of Iowa Department of Public Health, Division of Substance Abuse, to provide therapeutic residential services for Level III.1 – clinically managed low intensity residential services and for Level I – continuing care program.

The program strives to increase the opportunities for women living in Bernie Lorenz Recovery to recreate a life for themselves. Through sobriety and abstinence from drugs, these women desiring recovery will enhance their educational and vocational skills to better their lives. By doing so, they will also improve their alcohol and drug related challenges such as parenting, homemaking, nutrition, comparison-shopping, job interviewing and searches, family of origin and self esteem issues, physical and sexual abuse, grief and loss, spirituality, relationships, physical and mental health concerns, and financial budgeting.

The women entering BLR report alcohol and drug abuse to the extent that their health, psychological functioning, employment and social living skills are affected. Because of the debilitating effect of drug usage on their lives, the women entering Bernie Lorenz Recovery and other women throughout the nation who have abused drugs are in need of structured, supportive halfway house living environment to assist with their recovery efforts.

National and state research shows that longer length of stays in therapeutic environments result in longer abstinence in recovery from alcohol and drugs. Treatment and residential programs must continue to address the primary addiction while working with the clientele on life’s related challenges. Because of the altered brain chemistry of the users, the recovery process is longer for the users to assimilate the psychological and physical behaviors; thus the current standard length of stay in programs is not realistic for recovery from meth. Several treatment programs have established longer term, less intense treatment for the meth client per State of Iowa Report on Methamphetamine, House File 2348.

The Bernie Lorenz Recovery program provides a home-like environment, combined with the best in therapeutic recovery services. Seventeen recovering women can live together in this residential home and develop their skills in remaining sober, homemaking, parenting, and general living. They focus on their recovery and benefit from programming in the following ways:

• participate in individual and group therapies
• complete their GED (if applicable)
• pursue other educational goals and training
• practice interviewing skills for employment
• obtain meaningful employment
• become financially responsible
• obtain a 12 Step program sponsor
• participate in 12 Step recovery meetings
• obtain a physical exam for treatment of health concerns
• obtain a psychiatric exam if warranted and/or counseling to treat mental health issues
• obtain appropriate dental care for damage due to methamphetamine and other drug usage

Benefits

State and national statistics support therapeutic services for improved health.  According to the report, Iowa's Drug Control Strategy, 2005,

Research-based substance abuse treatment programming has been shown to be successful, particularly for longer – albeit more costly – stays, which is exactly what meth-addicted clients need.  Meth, in particular, can cause long-term brain damage, requires longer treatment, and is relatively inexpensive and easy to manufacture, leading many addicts to feed their habits by setting up their own meth labs.  A report released in 2004 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services indicated that Iowa had the lowest overall rate of “illegal” drug use of any state in the nation. However in a separate report on treatment admissions, SAMHSA rated Iowa as having the nation’s fourth highest rate of meth use. The Iowa Department of Public Health contracted with the Iowa Consortium for Substance Abuse Research and Evaluation to follow up a sample of clients six months after discharge from substance abuse treatment. Comparisons were made between status at admission and follow up on changes in a client’s life. Fifteen different life situations are compared. In calendar year 2004, the following changes were noted in four of the most significant areas:

Employment Status
Clients in the sample reported that full and part-time employment increased by 20.6% six months after discharge.

Arrests
88.7% of clients in the sample reported no new arrests six months after discharge.

Substance Use
50.2% of clients in the sample reported no primary substance used six months after discharge.

Income
25.1% of clients sampled reported moving from no income to having some level of income six months after discharge.

The Iowa Department of Public Health, through a grant from the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment under the Targeted Capacity Expansion (TCE) Grant Program, was able to expand and enhance methamphetamine treatment for an additional 125 adults in Polk County in each of the three grant years. This treatment was provided by BLR and four other treatment agencies in the Des Moines area. A follow-up study conducted by the Iowa Consortium for Substance Abuse Research and Evaluation showed positive outcomes following discharge.

Six months after discharge from treatment Percent Abstaining: 71.2% Percent with no arrests (prior six months): 90.4% Percent working full-time (35 hours/week): 54.8% Twelve months after discharge from treatment Percent Abstaining: 75.4% Percent with no arrests (prior six months): 95.7% Percent working full-time (35 hours/week): 66.7%

Those who had longer lengths of treatment (more than 90 days) were almost one and a third times more likely to remain abstinent and about one and a half times more likely to be employed full-time. The results of this evaluation indicated that treatment can be successful for the methamphetamine client and that those who are in treatment for more than 90 days are more likely to have successful outcomes.