Radio - Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition

Aug

2022

WLEN Interview with LCMHA / Pathways Engagement Center Program Manager Kellie Niese

Woman’s Voice: The Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition is a diverse group of dedicated community members united around the goal of reducing substance use in Lenawee County. LSAPC members work collaboratively to engage and educate the community in order to promote a healthy Lenawee.

Kathy Williams: This is Kathy Williams. And with me on tonight’s program is Kellie Niese, and Kellie is the program manager at Pathways here in Adrian and she is also the HRSA grant recovery coordinator. We’re going to be talking about an event that’s coming up. It’s called Day of HOPE. Kellie, thanks for joining me tonight.

Kellie Niese: Hi, thank you for having me.

Kathy Williams: So Day of HOPE, this is the second year that you’re having this event,

Kellie Niese: Right.

Kathy Williams: And it’s August 31^st.

Kellie Niese: August 31st, two to six at the Farmer’s Market in downtown, Adrian.

Kathy Williams: So tell us, what does Day of HOPE stand for?

Kellie Niese: So, Day of HOPE is health ownership, education and prevention. Really though, I love the word “hope” because with something like substance use disorder or addiction, hope is the one thing that can get someone across to the other side and into recovery. So I really like that we highlighted hope. Day of HOPE started out as a Narcan event and has grown into like a community collaborative where we really kind of open up to the community with all the resources that we have for behavioral health, overall wellness, and substance use disorder treatment, and bring all our community partners to the table for the community to come out and ask questions, and discover ways that they can get into recovery or sustain their recovery or support a loved one who’s working on getting into recovery. So it’s a really great day.

Kathy Williams: Well, I remember last year you were hoping to just get a few people.

Kellie Niese: Yes.

Kathy Williams: And hand out a possibly a few right doses of Narcan and it went crazy. You had a great turnout.

Kellie Niese: It did. It was a beautiful day. We had a lot of people from all over our community come out and see us. But I think what was really great is just the warm reception that all of our community members and partners in treating substance use disorder were out too. So we had, I think 20 different organizations represented with resources and different ways that people can kind of manage their health, manage their pain, manage their recovery. And it was just so cool to see everyone come together on a day that we recognized the epidemic of opiate use disorder and really come out to support our community. It was really awesome to see.

Kathy Williams: It was awesome. And I’m sure this year’s event’s going to be just as great.

Kellie Niese: Yeah.

Kathy Williams: I know even, you know, for people that maybe aren’t affected, but just want to learn more information, it’s a great venue to, you know, be able to talk to some experts in all these different areas. And even if you’re not the one in need with the opioid epidemic going on, like it is, we’re all going to be touched in some way.

Kellie Niese: Right. I always say addiction is something that doesn’t just affect the individual that’s struggling with it. It really is an entire family disease, an entire community disease. And so I’ve never met one person that is solely affected by addiction, right?

Kathy Williams: Right.

Kellie Niese: There’s a mother, a brother, a sister, a loved one, a spouse that is also affected and they need support and resources too. But really more than anything, we need to know, especially in Lenawee County, that it’s okay to talk about addiction.

Kathy Williams: Yeah.

Kellie Niese: It’s okay to admit that you have struggled with something like this, and the more we start talking about that as a community, the more we have things like Day of HOPE, the better equipped we are to manage this epidemic and hopefully treat it more like the medical and behavioral health condition it is, and not treat it with judgment and shame.

Kathy Williams: Yeah, we talk about getting rid of the stigma.

Kellie Niese: Yes.

Kathy Williams: With any kind of mental health issue, substance abuse and such, it is easier to talk about it to people who are going through it or have gone through it.

Kellie Niese: Right.

Kathy Williams: And this kind of gives you that open door, I think the Day of HOPE does, you know. The door’s open come and talk to us and see if you’re at that point where we can help you.

Kellie Niese: It does. You know, I’m a nurse by profession, but when I started working as the Pathways Program Manager, Pathways Engagement Center downtown is staffed by peer recovery coaches. So that is people that have recovered from a substance use disorder and are now working in recovery treatment. And I have never in my medical career seen someone get through to someone in a way that a peer can. Someone that has walked a similar road and has complete compassion, no judgment, and just wants to sit down and figure out where you are in life and what you need to live a happier, more well life. That’s what a peer does.

Kathy Williams: Yeah, and it’s so much easier sometimes to talk to someone like that rather than a family member.

Kellie Niese: Right.

Kathy Williams: Or your, maybe even your physician, that you can open up to somebody who really does get it.

Kellie Niese: Yeah. And doesn’t judge.

Kathy Williams: Exactly.

Kellie Niese: I mean, who else needs more judgment right? When you’re in a vulnerable position. So, that’s what peers do. And I think that that’s what the Day of HOPE brings is just a real, a platform for people to feel safe, a platform for people to feel comfortable enough to talk about struggles they may have encountered, or really just admit “I don’t know where to go for help”. And so at the Day of HOPE there will be peers and there will be people talking, maybe giving testimonials of how they reached recovery. And hopefully through that, we can find some hope.

Kathy Williams: There you go. Kellie for our listeners, if there they’d like to find out more about Pathways even, how can they do that?

Kellie Niese: So, lots of ways. So there is a Day of HOPE Facebook page, Pathways Engagement Center also has a Facebook page, and then the Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition, LSAPC, has a website as well. All of them have links to all the community events that we have going on in our county. In addition, Community Mental Health, that’s our organization that Pathways falls under. So anyone in need of immediate help can call Lenawee Community Mental Health and get more information about the Day of HOPE, about Pathways, or how to get connected to services.

Kathy Williams: Well, thanks so much, Kelly. And again, it’s Day of HOPE. It’s August 31st from two to six, and it’s at the Adrian farmer’s market, right downtown Adrian.

Kellie Niese: Yeah.

Kathy Williams: Thanks so much, Kellie.

Kellie Niese: Yes. I hope to see everyone there.

Woman’s Voice: Thank you for listening. This information has been provided by the Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition. Supported by funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration. New messages air on the first and third Monday of each month at 6:15 p.m. You can listen to this program as a podcast under the audio tab on WLEN.com and listen and gather more information at DrugPreventionLenawee.com.

Aug

2022

WLEN Interview with Lenawee County Health Department Health Educator Becky Selenko

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Kathy Williams: This is Kathy Williams and with me on tonight’s program is Becky Selenko. And Becky is a health educator with the Lenawee County Health Department. And we’re going to be talking about medication lock bags. Becky, thanks for joining me for tonight’s program.

Becky Selenko: Thanks for inviting me.

Kathy Williams: So medication lock bags, what are they?

Becky Selenko: So, medication lock bags that we have been giving out are basically like a little like pouch that has a lock on it that can be personally configured, so that, to a combination that you remember, and then you can store your either marijuana or prescription drugs or that type of thing in them to keep them away from kids and pets.

Kathy Williams: I like the fact that it is the combo lock. Not a key I could lose.

Becky Selenko: Correct. Now you just have to remember the combo, right?

Kathy Williams: Yeah. True. Well, it’s only three numbers, right?

Becky Selenko: Yeah.

Kathy Williams: So, Becky, how did you come to be in possession of all these lock bags?

Becky Selenko: So, the Health Department applied for a medical marijuana grant through the State of Michigan. And through those funds that we received, we were able to purchase 2000 of these lock bags.

Kathy Williams: That is a lot, but I’m sure they’re probably going quickly. What should I put inside of them then?

Becky Selenko: Well, they could hold anything really that you want to keep away from kids and pets, whether it be prescription medications, medical, marijuana, recreational marijuana, or even over the counter pills that you’re concerned about. So any of those type of things would be appropriate for the lock bag.

Kathy Williams: So, there’s probably a few opportunities to actually get a lock bag. How can I find one?

Becky Selenko: Absolutely. Through the health department we’ve been going to different outreach events this summer. So we’ve been handing them out there. We also will be at the Day of HOPE that the Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition is sponsoring at the end of August. So, we’re just trying to get out in the community. I’ve also been working with the local marijuana dispensaries to give them out to clients there.

Kathy Williams: Now, that’s great that they’re collaborating with you to help hand out the bags, because it is important sometimes to have what you need where you’re already at. And that’s, we were talking a little bit about that off-air is that, you’re trying to go where there are larger groups of people that will be able to, you know, take advantage of the bags that you have.

Becky Selenko: Exactly. I mean, it’s been a great partnership with those stores, just because, like you said, these are people that are already clients that are going there to purchase it. So if they just can leave with a lock bag and don’t have to think about picking one up, then it, you know, kind of checks that box off of their list.

Kathy Williams: Yeah. Now, if they don’t have a lock bag, though, we do want to remind them about some other places that they can take expired medication.

Becky Selenko: Oh, sure, absolutely. In the county we have red barrels, which are at local police and sheriff departments. There’s the Drug Take-Back Day, which happens twice a year in April and October. There’s also a disposal bin at Meijer pharmacy, as well as ProMedica ER, and then the Substance Abuse Coalition has the Deterra pouches, which safely deactivates the medication so that it can be thrown away in the household trash.

Kathy Williams: One of the biggest reasons that we want to promote the Lock it Up campaign is to hopefully help deter our younger adults and children from getting their hands on things they shouldn’t.

Becky Selenko: Absolutely. In the State of Michigan, they’ve seen an uptick in the number of calls to the Poison Control Center since recreational marijuana became legal in Michigan. So, they really want to get the word out, or we really want to get the word out that if you have, you know, items that may look like food or candy to young children that you want to, you know make sure you keep that locked up so they don’t have access to it.

Kathy Williams: Exactly. Now you do go to different events, you were saying that you’re trying to get to the farmer’s markets even.

Becky Selenko: Yes. I was just at the Adrian Farmer’s Market last, this past weekend and try to get to Tecumseh about once a month, just to kind of hit those areas where people are out and about and engage with the community.

Kathy Williams: Right. Well, I think it’s an important message of course, to get out and, a really nice bag. I mean, it looks like it would do the job.

Becky Selenko: Yeah, absolutely. We’ve been happy with the size of it and also kind of how it works. It’s simple, but it’s also, you know, provides protection, So…

Kathy Williams: Yeah. Very effective. Yeah. Becky, if people are interested in finding out more about the bags or talking to you directly, how can they get ahold of you?

Becky Selenko: Sure they can call me at the Health Department at my phone number is (517) 264-5253.

Kathy Williams: That’s “Becky Selenko” that you’re want to ask for.

Becky Selenko: Correct.

Kathy Williams: And Becky, we also, you and I talked that you would be interested in speaking at some service clubs and other, you know, large gatherings. If people are interested in having you come in as a guest speaker.

Becky Selenko: Sure. That would be, that’d be great. We’re just doing everything we can to kind of get the word out about, you know, lock it up. That’s the safe way to handle your prescription drugs and marijuana.

Kathy Williams: And these are available to anyone in Lenawee County is the other thing we want to make sure our listeners know that it’s not just Adrian and Tecumseh. So, you know, we’re encouraging people, even if they don’t need the bag themselves, if they know someone else who should, then maybe get it for them.

Becky Selenko: Yeah, absolutely. A lot of times grandkids may spend time with their, you know, grandparents who, you know… It’s something to think about for the whole family, not just the adults in the family.

Kathy Williams: Exactly. You know, it might be also helpful for someone who maybe is a caregiver and sometimes you have clients that are possibly overmedicating themselves. This would be a great way to secure those.

Becky Selenko: Yes, absolutely. And the nice part about the bag is that it’s big enough to hold quite a few items, but then it can also be, can also travel too. So that’s another plus of it.

Kathy Williams: Exactly. Well, we want to remind people then they can go to the Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition Facebook page, and also get more information on the website, DrugPreventionLenawee.com. Becky, is there anything else you’d like to add? It’s all about education.

Becky Selenko: It is all about education. You’re right. Just that we’re trying to, you know, keep kids and our pets safe in our community. So, this is just one of the things that we’re trying to do at the Health Department.

Kathy Williams So there you go. Thank you so much.

Becky Selenko: Thank you.

May

2022

WLEN Interview with Cradle to Career Director Tim Kelly

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Kathy Williams: This is Kathy Williams and with me on tonight’s show is Tim Kelly and Tim is the Social and Emotional Learning Coordinator at the LISD and also the chairperson of the Prevention and Education subcommittee for the Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition. Tim, two days ago, we had the Drug Take-Back out at Hickman Hospital and we’re going to be reviewing the final figures and such later on this week, but we wanted to talk a little bit about what’s the coalition all about.

Tim Kelly: Okay, yeah. The coalition is a, just a group of community members looking to reduce the amount of substance use in the county. There’s nobody that’s on this that that’s their day job.

Kathy Williams: Right.

Tim Kelly: We all have other duties. As you mentioned, you know, I work for the LISD. We have members from Community Mental Health, obviously. We have people in recovery. We have people that are in law enforcement. I mean, it just is all… there is no restriction against who can be a part of that. So, I guess that’s what I would say first is anyone who is interested can go to, you know, DrugFreeLenawee.com and look at joining our groups.

Kathy Williams: Yeah. So within the LSAPC, there’s a lot of different subgroups that kind of do pigeonhole more into what their day projects or their day employment is. Our particular group though, is the Prevention and Education group, and so that’s why we’ve been so involved in the Drug Take-Back.

Tim Kelly: Yeah. The Prevention and Education group is active and communicating. That’s really kind of where our…

Kathy Williams: Which is why Kathy’s in there.

Tim Kelly: Yes, it is. Thank you very much. But yeah, we have these other groups that, ones… there are six groups altogether. And again, you can find that list on our website, but, Work with Prescribers, Work with Physicians, help to support people in recovery. So there’s a lot of different diverse groups.

Kathy Williams: It is a very diverse group.

Tim Kelly: Yeah. It looks at all aspects of substance use. You know, it was started a number of years ago when we were looking at the opiate epidemic… epidemic. Sorry, I can’t say that word. And it’s just kind of grown into looking at all aspects of substance abuse.

Kathy Williams: Okay. And I think that we’ve had a really good focus on – where are the different people that are maybe suffering from these problems and are we addressing them where they’re at? Not expecting them all to come to us. It’s – how do we get that message to them?

Tim Kelly: Yeah. And you know, that’s a kind of a big change in the last number of years that you recognize that there are people that we’ve been expecting to come to us, and it’s not always easy for them obviously. And we’re recognizing, being more sensitive to that and recognizing, you know, that there are people that need housing supports. There are people that need childcare supports. Those types of things are where they’re at. You know, they need that type of stuff. And maybe in an older model, we might’ve said: “Oh, pick themselves up and just come to us for treatment,” but it’s more complicated than that.

Kathy Williams: Right. A lot more complicated.

Tim Kelly: Yeah.

Kathy Williams: Well, and I think we take a whole different view now on how people got to the situation that they’re in. That we are a lot more compassionate on, it’s not a necessarily a choice that person has made to become dependent on different substances and alcohol and, you know, so much goes into overall mental health.

Tim Kelly: Yeah. And, you know, as a recent event that they have termed it “substance use disorder,” it’s a change. And I know, you know, my former world was working within child welfare and you know, looking at people as though it’s some type of deficit was quite frequently the way we approached this. And it’s not the case. It’s, you know, it’s very easy to say, but people have a hard time understanding it is frequently just a medical condition.

Kathy Williams: Right.

Tim Kelly: It’s something that people, like diabetes or any other type of health issue that they could have.

Kathy Williams: Right. And so, you know, we want to, of course encourage our listeners to become involved in, you know, if nothing else getting more information and educating themselves so that when they’re are exposed to a situation that they might have a better idea of local resources to help either themselves, or, you know, an acquaintance, a family member or whomever. There’s so much help out there and, a good resource is to go to the Drug Prevention Lenawee website.

Tim Kelly: Yeah. Yeah, that’s a good place to start. Community Mental Health is also a good place to start. But yeah, educating yourself is probably the biggest thing people can do right now because whether you believe it or not, there’s probably somebody you know, that has experienced some type of substance abuse issue.

Kathy Williams: Oh, for sure.

Tim Kelly: And you know, educate yourself about what they’re going through and what they need to do to get themselves the help they need.

Kathy Williams: Exactly. It all kind of centers around the way that we look at people, the way that we talk to them, and the fact that there is so much information on there, out there. So many people involved that are very compassionate about walking beside people and help them get through their situations.

Tim Kelly: Yeah. One of the, you know, again, a recent advent is that we now have peer recovery coaches.

Kathy Williams: Right.

Tim Kelly: These are people that have actually experienced substance abuse.

Kathy Williams: Their own crisis, right.

Tim Kelly: Yes. They’ve all lived through it. And you know, those are the best people really to help someone else to know what they’re gonna go through and to help them through all the, actually the medical aspect of it, the social aspect of it, and all those other pieces, like I said: housing, childcare… that’s all a part of what this does to someone is damages all aspects of their lives and somebody who’s experienced it is probably the best equipped to help them through it.

Kathy Williams: Right. Exactly. Well, Tim, we’re going to talk to you again here in a couple of weeks and find out all the facts and figures from the Drug Take-Back that took place on April 30th and we’ll see what happens, but it’s just another way that we can help our community to not have things laying out there that shouldn’t be laying out there for, you know, possible misuse or incorrect disposal. I know there will be another one of those in October, but there’s also places they can drop off things at any time.

Tim Kelly: Yeah. Yeah. Any, any law enforcement agency, you can take things back to there, everything from, you know, again, just like the Drug Take-Back Day: supplements, over the counter medications, prescribed medications, syringes… Those types of things can go back to law enforcement. Some of our pharmacies also provide some types of ability to dispose of things. So, contact your pharmacist. They can tell you if they do things like syringes and needles, or if they can offer you some type of bag, I guess. We call them Deterra bags, but there’s also other brands that do this in which you can dispose of your meds, make them inert by putting them in there and sort of like putting it…

Kathy Williams: Dissolves them.

Tim Kelly: Yeah. It just dissolves them, makes them inert. Yeah, they can contact their pharmacist and a lot of pharmacies now have that type of stuff available.

Kathy Williams: There you go. Well, thanks so much, Tim, for talking with me tonight and again, we encourage people to go to the Facebook page. We also have of course the website and if you’re interested in joining the Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition, we’d love to hear from you.

Tim Kelly: Yes we would, thank you.

Apr

2022

WLEN Interview with Cradle to Career Director Tim Kelly

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Kathy Williams: This is Kathy Williams. And with me on tonight’s program is Tim Kelly. Tim is the Social and Emotional Learning Coordinator at Lenawee Intermediate School District, LISD, but importantly tonight, he is the Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition’s chairperson of Prevention and Education. Tim and I are going to be talking about the upcoming Drug Take-Back event. Tim Saturday, April 30th.

Tim Kelly: Yeah. Yeah. 10:00 to 2:00 at ProMedica Hickman Hospital. Please, yeah, everybody come on out and dispose of those meds. It’s a real simple process. You just drive around back, follow the signs, and someone will direct you on in there. You can even say “hi” to Kathy as you go by. She’s always out there.

Kathy Williams: If you come during the broadcast.

Tim Kelly: During the broadcast, okay. Well, if you do give her some coffee, she’s… it’s kind of cold. She’s standing out there while.

Kathy Williams: Thank you, yes, it does get a little bit cold. So it’s a national event. We had a couple of them last year that were very successful and the Drug Take-Back itself is happening from 10 o’clock, till two o’clock on the 30th.

Tim Kelly: Yeah.

Kathy Williams: If you’ve been to the Charles and Virginia Hickman Hospital, you’ve seen the big, giant COVID signs where you go back for your COVID testing, and that is where the Drug Take-Back itself will be happening.

Tim Kelly: Yeah. You don’t even have to get out of your car. They drive you right through the tent that they have there. And there’ll be people there to take your medications or inhalers or liquids…

Kathy Williams: Sharps.

Tim Kelly: Or even syringes. Yeah, sharps. They, they can take all that stuff. The only suggestion I’d have is that if you have stuff in a bottle, you remove your name or identifying information from it, but they’ll take it right in the bottle. These are students at the Pharmacy College down at University of Toledo. They will bag it all up and ship it out of here.

Kathy Williams: I did like watching the procedure last year, too, because there were you know, quite a few people that maybe did not mark out their information. And so it’s, it was interesting to watch the students as they sorted everything for “This is a pill, this is a tablet, this is a liquid…” Even the salves and lotions and stuff. And they were very meticulous at making sure the information was marked out or taken out of the original container. And then I found out that all those containers then were incinerated. So if you don’t get it taken care of, they certainly will when you drop off your drugs.

Tim Kelly: Yeah. This being a national event, you know, it’s basically from the DEA and they make sure that everything is very secure. The Lenawee Sheriff’s office will have a couple of deputies out there to make sure. So yeah, you can be pretty confident that all your information is… can be disposed of correctly.

Kathy Williams: Yes. And you know what, the other thing that I kind of want to be sure people realize is that we’re having this in April. We’re also gonna have one in October. Personally, we had a friend who passed away and her husband didn’t know what to do with all her drugs. She had a rather large container in a… like a Tupperware thing.

Tim Kelly: Yeah.

Kathy Williams: And Doug grabbed him and said “My wife will take care of that for you”. So, you know, that’s the kind of thing though, to keep in mind, you know, if you’re emptying out someone else’s house, help them get rid of these things in a good way.

Tim Kelly: Yeah.

Kathy Williams: You can also go on a website, DrugPreventionLenawee.com, and tell us about other disposal sites that you can use throughout the year.

Tim Kelly: Yeah. Most law enforcement offices have what’s known as the Red Barrel that people can dispose of stuff anytime during the year. And it is important to get it out of there, get it out of your house. You know, in Lenawee alone, 52% of the people that abused substances got them from a friend or a relative. And a lot of that was maybe taking from a medicine cabinet or finding something that a family member had had prescribed to them somewhere in the house and using it, so…

Kathy Williams: Right, right. And things that are expired. It just amazed me on last year’s Drug Take-Backs, how many people had expired medications. You don’t save it for the next ear infection because you need new stuff by then.

Tim Kelly: No. Right.

Kathy Williams: So, you know, eardrops, eyedrops, even pet medications can all be disposed of at the Drug Take-Backs. It’s… Make a quick sweep of your house, put it all in a big bag and bring it out to us on Saturday the 30th.

Tim Kelly: Yeah. That… We’d really appreciate it. And then if you can’t, you can take it to those other locations throughout the year.

Kathy Williams: Yeah. Now some… I believe on the, DrugPreventionLenawee.com website and Facebook, it also tells, you know, some of the restrictions that might be involved with some of those other locations throughout the year. Sharps may be one of the things that this is the best way to get rid of those.

Tim Kelly: Yeah. There are restrictions at places like Meijer that do return some things, but, sharps – a number of pharmacies will sell you a container for sharps.

Kathy Williams: Yes.

Tim Kelly: If you need one throughout the year.

Kathy Williams: Also people don’t necessarily think about over the counter medication. That also can be brought. It’s amazing how many expired vitamins we might even have or food supplements, you know, all kinds of things like that. So it, you know, our goal tonight is to kind of put that bug in people’s heads, take a look around, get rid of it. Be happy with the empty spaces in your cupboards maybe.

Tim Kelly: Fill them up with something new, but don’t, just don’t flush them down the toilets or throw them down the garbage disposal.

Kathy Williams: Please don’t.

Tim Kelly: Those types of things end up in the drinking water.

Kathy Williams: Right.

Tim Kelly: They literally soak into the earth.

Kathy Williams: Long-term they… everything is affected.

Tim Kelly: Yeah.

Kathy Williams: Tim, other ways that they can find out information about the Drug Take-Back?

Tim Kelly: You already mentioned it, but the primary way’s through DrugPreventionLenawee.com, or through links on WLEN – on their webpage. So, yeah, those are probably the two prominent ways, but again, throughout the year, contacting law enforcement is a real solid way to figure out where you can drop-off stuff.

Kathy Williams: Alrighty. Well, thanks Tim. We hope to see a lot of people drive by and drop off their drugs. Saturday, April 30th at the ProMedica Hickman Hospital from 10 o’clock to two o’clock. Thanks for being with me.

Tim Kelly: Thank you.

Mar

2022

WLEN Interview with Parkside Family Counseling Peer Recovery Coach Elizabeth Kelly

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Kathy Williams: This is Kathy Williams. And with me on tonight’s program is Elizabeth Kelly, and Elizabeth is a Certified Peer Recovery Coach with Parkside Family Counseling. Elizabeth, we appreciate you taking time out to talk with us about your story and Parkside tonight.

Elizabeth Kelly: You’re very welcome. Thank you for having me here.

Kathy Williams: So we want to, you know, we’ve had some other peer support people on the program before that are involved with Inter-Connections and things like that. Of course, Parkside offers a little bit different spin on peer support, and having a history with a substance problem, you are able to bring a different perspective, I would say to that kind of counseling.

Elizabeth Kelly: Absolutely. I am an addict in long term recovery and when introducing myself to new individuals, I say, you know, I am a Certified Peer Recovery Coach and the most important word in that title being peer.

Kathy Williams: Right.

Elizabeth Kelly: I am just like anyone else. So, that is definitely… I’m able to bring the “I’ve been there, done that” to the situation. So, you know, there’s no judgment involved and just a little bit more of the insight because I’ve been there on a personal level.

Kathy Williams: Yeah. You know, in lots of different things that happen in our lives, that the person who has been there is usually the most helpful because they can relate to your exact circumstances. Would you like to tell us a little bit about your history then? How things kind of went south on you?

Elizabeth Kelly: How things went south – well… No, I actually was predisposed to become an addict. Both of my biological parents were addicts themselves.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Elizabeth Kelly: But I did have a wonderful childhood. I grew up here in Lenawee County. I’m a graduate of Onsted High School. You know, I was involved in sports, did well in school. And then once I got to college, you know, and the… a little bit of the experimentation stage started and it is a very slippery slope from there, especially when you have parents that are battling the same issues. It makes you just that much more likely to become an addict yourself. So it was very quick for me to go from, you know, alcohol to marijuana, to prescription pills. And it’s just a very slippery slope.

Kathy Williams: It is. And how did you, how did you pull yourself out of it? What kind of help did you get at the time?

Elizabeth Kelly: I went to a residential treatment facility myself, but without family and friends to support, I would not be here today. Support is absolutely one of the most important parts of recovery. I highly encourage individuals to reach out to support systems by going to meetings or, you know, going to sober events, whatever that they can do. But the more supports the better – you can’t have too many.

Kathy Williams: Exactly. Well, and I think that that’s sometimes the hard spot for people is admitting to themselves, maybe that they need some help, that they’re not gonna be able do this on their own. And it’s not a defeat to say that.

Elizabeth Kelly: No, not at all. Addiction does not discriminate. Unfortunately, there is that stigma that comes along with it, and that is what we are trying so hard to help end that stigma. You know, there should not be shame associated with that. It doesn’t matter, you know, your age, gender, religious backgrounds… I mean…

Kathy Williams: Economic status, none of it.

Elizabeth Kelly: None of it. Yes. It does not matter. Like I said, I had a great childhood and I had loving parents that took care of me, you know, all these opportunities, but that doesn’t mean that I was completely safe from addiction. Yeah.

Kathy Williams: Right, right. It didn’t blind you to a genetic issue even.

Elizabeth Kelly: Absolutely.

Kathy Williams: And sometimes that’s what it comes down to is a predisposition. People struggle with mental health issues in lots of different ways. And so now that you’re at Parkside, what kind of support groups do you offer there? How does that process work? How do people get involved in it?

Elizabeth Kelly: Well, there is many ways to become involved over at Parkside. We work with the drug court. We work with CMH. We do self-referrals. You know, the first level I would say is our engagement groups. And I facilitate those every week. We do them Monday evenings, Wednesday evenings, and Friday mornings.

Kathy Williams: Okay.

Elizabeth Kelly: So, we do those weekly and that’s the easiest way to, you know, kind of ease way into it if you’re not quite sure where you’re at. But Parkside absolutely offers a variety of services for both adults and most importantly teens because not very many agencies around offer it for…

Kathy Williams: The younger generation.

Elizabeth Kelly: For the younger generation. And let’s be fair, that’s a very important generation.

Kathy Williams: It is, especially with the extra stress that they’ve been under the last couple years. I mean being a teen is always stressful, I think.

Elizabeth Kelly: Right.

Kathy Williams: But the isolation and all these other extra things that have come into play have really exasperated people’s mental health on many, many levels. Is Parkside something that… do they offer insurance coverage? Do, is it a sliding scale?

Elizabeth Kelly: Yes.

Kathy Williams: How does a person, you know, find out what their benefits would be of going there?

Elizabeth Kelly: That is a great question. And my best answer for that is I know that we, while we accept many insurances, there’s also the self-paced sliding scale that is available for those who do not have insurance.

Kathy Williams; Okay.

Elizabeth Kelly: But your best option absolutely would be to contact Parkside directly.

Kathy Williams: There you go.

Elizabeth Kelly: Calling the office or we have a website that you can go to that is ParksideForFamilies.com.

Kathy Williams: Okay. And the phone number?

Elizabeth Kelly: And the phone number is (517) 266-8880.

Kathy Williams: So, basically you could call or check out the website and just see where they fall in, what kind of services might be available for them, and explore.

Elizabeth Kelly: Absolutely.

Kathy Williams: There’s always no commitment.

Elizabeth Kelly: No, absolutely no, no commitment. And just checking it out, the website has an incredible amount of information on it, ranging from all of our services, including, you know, family services, mental health services, the youth services, and the substance use disorder services.

Kathy Williams: Elizabeth, we appreciate you sharing your story tonight with us and helping us become more aware of what Parkside offers. What’s the address of Parkside?

Elizabeth Kelly: Parkside Family Counseling is located at 805 West Maumee, which is right across the street from Hungry Howie’s.

Kathy Williams: Oh, there you go. So easy to find. And again, the phone number and website?

Elizabeth Kelly: The phone number is (517) 266-8880. And the website is ParksideForFamilies.com. And we are also on Facebook.

Kathy Williams: There you go. Thanks so much again, Elizabeth. We appreciate you and all you’ve been through and the help you’re giving our community.

Elizabeth Kelly: Thank you so much.