The following is published with permission from the author.
What I have received from Breakthru House and how it has helped me.
It's hard to express in words just how much Breakthru has done for me. It's given me my life back. I was a broken person in so many ways when I got here. I was so deep into my addiction that I had lost all connection with reality. I was in so much emotional and spiritual pain that I was actually numb.
It took me a while to be able to feel again, to even cry. Breakthru has brought me back to life. I could possibly be in prison or dead right now without having come here. I have many horror stories about my addiction, but I don't have to live those anymore. Breakthru has taught me self-discipline, has given me back my self-worth. I have found courage and integrity and honesty. I have started to love myself again.
Words don't come close enough to express the gratitude that i have to Breakthru. All I know is that my God brought me here so that I could survive and get the help that I so desperately needed. thank God I had a place to go. I am a miracle, a survivor, and a productive member of society today. I am worthy. I am a good daughter, a good sister, a good aunt, a good step-daughter, a good friend, a good woman and I owe that to Breakthru House.
Sincerely and Appreciatively,
Beth G.
About Me
- Breakthru House
- Breakthru House, Inc., is a member of the Action Ministries family of ministries. Action Ministries, Inc. is an independent, faith-based, Georgia non-profit corporation with roots in the United Methodist Church. As the first long-term residential recovery program for women in Georgia, Breakthru House is designed to meet the unique needs of women struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. Utilizing the 12 Steps and a Therapeutic Community, Breakthru House provides a safe, structured drug free environment to foster a life of recovery while therapeutically addressing addiction as a disease, unresolved grief, trauma, and poor self-esteem issues commonly associated with female addicts. Since its founding in 1969, Breakthru House's founding principle remains constant: physical, emotional, and spiritual healing through recovery is possible when each woman's treatment program is designed to meet their individual needs.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Client Progress
by Melanie Storrusten, LCSW, Clinical Coordinator
Our newest evaluation tool that we have created is the Self-Report Unmanageability Scale. This scale measures the level of unmanageability across six areas of functioning:
Our newest evaluation tool that we have created is the Self-Report Unmanageability Scale. This scale measures the level of unmanageability across six areas of functioning:
Physical – ability to care for food, shelter, clothing, and safety needs
Medical – ability to care for medical, dental and psychiatric needs
Employment – ability to obtain and maintain gainful employment
Financial – ability to manage debt and other financial obligations
Relationships – ability to maintain healthy relationships and interactions with others
Legal – ability to uphold the law and fulfill any legal obligations
Clients rate each of these areas at admission and throughout their treatment on the following scale:
1 = I have no problems in this area
2 = I have some issues in this area, but nothing that causes excessive stress
3 = I have many issues and increased stress in this area, but I am able to manage somehow
4 = I have an unmanageable amount of issues in this area, with an unmanageable amount of stress, but I have a plan to get back on track
5 = I am overwhelmed by issues in this area; I feel completely unmanageable, and I have no idea what to do.
Our current clients rated themselves as having 73% of the areas of their lives rating at 4’s or 5’s when they were admitted to Breakthru House. Today, they rate only 26% of these areas as 4’s or 5’s.
The following graph will show the decrease of unmanageability experienced by our clients in each of these areas.
From this data, we know that: clients experience the most unmanageability in the Employment and Financial areas of their lives when they first come to Breakthru. Their ongoing needs remain highest in the areas of: Finances, Employment and Relationships. We have an extensive job coaching program, although due to the current economy, none of our clients have obtained employment. This may contribute to their continued experience of unmanageability re: their finances. Our program also dictates that clients wait to begin job search until their completion of DAC, so it makes sense that clients would still have unresolved financial issues. It is promising that despite this fact, the drop in unmanageability scores from admission to present-day in the area of Employment is one of the largest! So, at least they are gaining the skills that they feel will bring some manageability back into this area of their lives. Clients are also required to wait until they are on Level 2 until they resume contact with their families, which could play a role in their continued experience of unmanageability in the Relationships area. Still, the fact that Relationships are one of clients’ biggest areas of need when they come into Breakthru, and one of the smallest drops in unmanageability, means that we need to strengthen this area of our program. We are planning to implement an extensive family component to our treatment program by the end of 2011. Above even the drop in scores in the area of Employment, are those in the area of Medical needs. Our clients are linked to and regularly access psychiatric, medical, dental, and vision care.
At Breakthru, we strive to measure and meet our client’s needs, and then to re-measure and improve our programming to ensure that we truly are transforming the lives of women by facilitating physical, emotional, and spiritual healing.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
About Our Clients
by Melanie Storrusten, LCSW, Clinical Coordinator
From our assessments, we know that: 100% of our current clients are homeless. 100% have a history of trauma. 64% have a criminal background. 36% have children in alternative custody. 82% have a family history of addiction. 64% have a diagnosis of depression. Other clients carry diagnoses of: Attention Deficit Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Anxiety, and Bipolar Disorder. Our clients drugs of choice are: opiates, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, alcohol, and marijuana.
From our assessments, we know that: 100% of our current clients are homeless. 100% have a history of trauma. 64% have a criminal background. 36% have children in alternative custody. 82% have a family history of addiction. 64% have a diagnosis of depression. Other clients carry diagnoses of: Attention Deficit Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Anxiety, and Bipolar Disorder. Our clients drugs of choice are: opiates, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, alcohol, and marijuana.
From our evaluation tools we know that: 55% of our clients acknowledge Childhood Trauma and are still affected by it today. 64% of our clients acknowledge a traumatic event in their past and still experience symptoms that impact their daily lives today. 27% of our clients have eating issues, and utilize food as an unhealthy coping skill to a level that impacts their daily lives. 82% of our clients’ addiction and recovery is impacted by hormonal or sexual issues.
As a result, in addition to Substance Abuse Treatment, many of our clients are being treated for: Grief/Trauma, Low Self-Worth, Codependency (unhealthy relationships), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Guilt/Shame.
Our clients have been at Breakthru House from 1 month to 12 months. Our average length of stay among current clients is 6 ½ months.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Blog Launch Party!!
by Melanie Storrusten, LCSW, Clinical Coordinator
Here at Breakthru House, we are pretty excited about our blog! To celebrate, we threw a drop-in blog launch party Tuesday night. There were refreshments, campus tours, and of course, our blog unveiling! If you missed it, you missed a great time! Enjoy the pictures!
On to the party!!!
Others in attendance included church liasons and volunteers, neighborhood residents, and supportive family and friends! If you missed out, don't worry! You can always find out more information and get connected with Breakthru House by subscribing to our blog, visiting our website, or checking out our Action Ministries facebook page!
Here at Breakthru House, we are pretty excited about our blog! To celebrate, we threw a drop-in blog launch party Tuesday night. There were refreshments, campus tours, and of course, our blog unveiling! If you missed it, you missed a great time! Enjoy the pictures!
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| Our post-card advertisement - Designed by Melanie Storrusten, our Clinical Coordinator, and Bryan Bradley, a local web designer |
On to the party!!!
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| Long-time friend of Breakthru, Zoe Hicks, and new friend of Breakthru, Betsy Edwards |
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| Breakthru House's Resident Manager, Gail Whitton, Executive Director, Kate Boyer, and Administrative Coordinator, Kaysha Corniffe |
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| Our Clinical Coordinator, Melanie Storrusten, and Counselor, Jessica Jenkins |
Others in attendance included church liasons and volunteers, neighborhood residents, and supportive family and friends! If you missed out, don't worry! You can always find out more information and get connected with Breakthru House by subscribing to our blog, visiting our website, or checking out our Action Ministries facebook page!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Welcome to Behind the Walls at Breakthru House
by Melanie Storrusten, LCSW, Clinical Coordinator
Welcome to Breakthru House!
We are excited to establish a bigger presence on the world wide web! We want our blog to be a way for potential clients, alumni, family members, volunteers, donors, board members, church liaisons and other friends of Breakthru to keep up with what is going on here. We are a small family of staff, and rely so heavily on all the awesome people who freely give of their time and talents and care about our clients! We know that our volunteers, donors, and supporters give because they truly care about these ladies and about the ways in which their lives are changing through the hard work they are doing at Breakthru House. We are also a very unique place, because unlike other organizations, many times friends of Breakthru can't see the full picture due to the confidentiality requirements of the therapeutic work that is happening behind our walls. So, our hope is to utilize this blog to give you a peek into what daily life at Breakthru entails, and to share as much of the miracles that happen here as we can, without breaking anyone's confidentiality or anonymity.
Our clients are also excited about our new online venture, and they may volunteer from time to time to provide content for our blog. This will always be done with their very specific written consent as to what will be published, and how they will be identified.
Please let us know what you would like to see on our blog! You can comment here, subscribe to us, add us on facebook, visit our website, etc. We hope that the internet will prove to be a valuable tool in connecting all of our available resources to our clients' needs and then back again, bringing us full circle. We could not accomplish our mission without all of you!
Thank you, and welcome!
Welcome to Breakthru House!
We are excited to establish a bigger presence on the world wide web! We want our blog to be a way for potential clients, alumni, family members, volunteers, donors, board members, church liaisons and other friends of Breakthru to keep up with what is going on here. We are a small family of staff, and rely so heavily on all the awesome people who freely give of their time and talents and care about our clients! We know that our volunteers, donors, and supporters give because they truly care about these ladies and about the ways in which their lives are changing through the hard work they are doing at Breakthru House. We are also a very unique place, because unlike other organizations, many times friends of Breakthru can't see the full picture due to the confidentiality requirements of the therapeutic work that is happening behind our walls. So, our hope is to utilize this blog to give you a peek into what daily life at Breakthru entails, and to share as much of the miracles that happen here as we can, without breaking anyone's confidentiality or anonymity.
Our clients are also excited about our new online venture, and they may volunteer from time to time to provide content for our blog. This will always be done with their very specific written consent as to what will be published, and how they will be identified.
Please let us know what you would like to see on our blog! You can comment here, subscribe to us, add us on facebook, visit our website, etc. We hope that the internet will prove to be a valuable tool in connecting all of our available resources to our clients' needs and then back again, bringing us full circle. We could not accomplish our mission without all of you!
Thank you, and welcome!
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