Drug addiction, also called substance use disorder, is a disease that affects a person’s brain and behavior and leads to an inability to control the use of a legal or illegal drug or medication.
There is HOPE. Let YWCA Northeast Indiana walk with you on this journey.
Drug addiction can start with experimental use of a recreational drug in social situations, and, for some people, the drug use becomes more frequent. For others, particularly with opioids, drug addiction begins with exposure to prescribed medications, or receiving medications from a friend or relative who has been prescribed the medication. Alcohol is also considered a drug. When you’re addicted, you may continue using the drug despite the harm it causes.
The risk of addiction and how fast you become addicted varies by drug. Some drugs, such as opioid painkillers, have a higher risk and cause addiction more quickly than others.
As time passes, you may need larger doses of the drug to get high. Soon you may need the drug just to not feel ill. As your drug use increases, you may find that it’s increasingly difficult to go without the drug. Attempts to stop drug use may cause intense cravings and make you feel physically ill (withdrawal symptoms).
You may need help from your doctor, family, friends, support groups or a residential recovery program to recover from substance use disorder.
About YWCA’s Addiction Recovery Program:
Our program is an intensive, residential treatment program in a sub-acute medical facility tailored to treat adult women living with substance use disorder. Certified by the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction and the Commission for Accreditation of Residential Facilities (CARF), we provide a high level of support and structured wrap-around services for residents. The program provides 24-hour living support with 38 beds and is structured with professionally trained personnel. Our diverse treatment options include multiple levels of customized programming, including weekly group sessions, personalized individual sessions, daily in-house Narcotics Anonymous meetings, and connection to a variety of community resources. Women living at YWCA have the opportunity to learn valuable skills, mend relationships, and begin setting personal and financial goals for their lives based on integrity, dignity, and self-respect.
Our Addiction Recovery Program is one of only six programs in Indiana that allow women to have their children live with them in recovery services. Out of those six programs, we allow the most children, accept the widest age range of children (up to 12), and offer space to women and their children for the longest amount of time. The core of our program is tailored treatment that recognizes each woman’s unique circumstances.
Click here to download our insert with more information on our Addiction Recovery Program (formerly Hope & Harriet).
Client Criteria:
Our program is designed for:
- Single women without children or those who are working toward family reunification but require time to reestablish relationships.
- Women seeking addiction recovery who are involved with problem solving courts or other criminal justice entities.
- Women with children and women who are nearing reunification with their children that are seeking addiction recovery.
YWCA’s services focus on a six-county area in northeast Indiana that includes Allen, DeKalb, Noble, Huntington, Wells, and Whitley counties, though we accept clients from around the state.
In order to enter our program, you must fulfill the following application requirements:
- Female, 18 years of age or older with an identifiable drug / alcohol dependency
- Willing to explore learning how to live in recovery
We offer priority bed placement to residents who meet one or more of the following criteria:
- Pregnant
- IV drug users
- Homeless living status
- Have rights to dependent children
For those with a DCS referral, family recovery options are available.
Evidence-Based Practices:
Staffed by licensed and master-level clinicians, residents can receive an array of services such as:
- Assessment and treatment
- Therapy such as:
- Individual therapy
- Group therapy
- Marriage & family therapy
- Music therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
- Twelve Step Facilitation Therapy
- Family education and support
- Alcohol and Other Drug Services (AOD)
- One-on-one Substance Use Disorder Case Management Services
- Housing counseling and placement
- Contingency Management
- Daily meditation and mindfulness
- Motivational Interviewing
- Nutrition coaching and cooking skills
- Seeking Safety
- Skills groups
- Yoga and exercise
Program Details:
Our clients work through a tiered recovery program with the end goal of recovery from substance use disorder and reunifying with their children, family, and friends. “Recovery” is considered ongoing abstinence from drugs or alcohol as well as a commitment to rebuilding one’s life each day and for the years to come.
Upon arrival, clients are assigned a case manager and a therapist who will work with them to create an action plan and set goals. Through intensive, individualized case management and personalized relationships, case managers help clients learn to foster growth in mind, body, and spirit so they can regain confidence in themselves. Clients learn the importance of self-respect and that they are capable of contributing to their community and pursuing recovery. As clients complete curriculum and meet plan criteria, they advance through program levels until they achieve successful graduation.
There is no required number of days or months to complete each phase; each person has their own recovery timeline that is unique to them, and YWCA staff support clients as they move from phase to phase at their own pace.
What to expect:
Phase 1 of the Hope & Harriet program is designed to help women add tools to their recovery toolbox so they can build a foundation for recovery that lasts.
During Phase 1, residents engage in daily 12 Step meetings as well as complete participation in groups offered onsite, including New Client Orientation, Self-Esteem, Healthy Relationships, Addiction & Recovery, and 1-2-3 Magic (parenting).
Residents are restricted from working during the first 45 days and also have some restrictions on their ability to come and go from the recovery residence during Phase 1 to ensure that residents are maintaining their focus on recovery. The Hope & Harriet program focuses on fostering holistic well-being for clients; during Phase 1, residents are also assisted in getting a physical examination completed with a doctor, testing for TB, and starting individual therapy, which will continue throughout the program. Residents will develop a personalized relationship with their case manager, who will provide ongoing support throughout the program and help clients understand how they came to be in the program and define personal goals for a life in recovery.
After all Phase 1 requirements are satisfied, clients can move on to Phase 2. In Phase 2, restrictions on working and coming and going are removed as residents have more ownership over their recovery. Attendance at 12-Step meetings moves from daily to four times a week, and during Phase 2 residents find a sponsor to support them in recovery. The sponsor-sponsee relationship is a tenant of the 12-Step process; a sponsor becomes a client’s primary accountability resource for maintaining their recovery and avoiding relapse.
Participation in individual therapy continues in Phase 2 as well as support groups, including full participation in Seeking Safety, an evidence-based support group for people recovering from substance use disorder. Case managers continue to help clients define their goals and find their personal motivations for recovery.
When Phase 1 and Phase 2 are complete, women in our program are able to move on to Phase 3. In Phase 3, clients focus on preparing for sustained recovery after graduating from the program. Case managers help clients prepare relapse prevention plans and assist with helping clients budget and find housing. All clients must also have employment or a plan for employment to graduate. Attendance at 12-Step meetings continues at four days a week, and clients will identify a home group that they will continue to attend on their own after they leave the program.
One of the most important activities in Phase 3 is that case managers will help clients write out their recovery story. Part of being in recovery is discovering what recovery means to you and reminding yourself why you choose to live in recovery; helping clients tell their story facilitates healing and gives them something to hold on to after they leave.
For more information about our Addiction Recovery Program, please contact our intake coordinator at intake@ywcaerew.org, or 260-424-4908 ext. 109. or fill out Admission Application: View and download
Completed applications can be mailed to 5920 Decatur Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46816 or scanned and emailed to intake@ywcaerew.org.
Hope & Harriet is partially supported by grants from:
Funding for the Addiction Recovery Program of YWCA Northeast Indiana has been provided in part by Indiana Family and Social Services Administration’s Division of Mental Health and Addiction.