Journey to Recovery Community Center has an important message for our community:
By Lila Bennett, Executive Director, JTRCC
There are times of day that if you ask us for help, it’s a lot easier for us to help you. There are other times of day that will preclude us from same-day care.
If you are drunk, if your loved one is drunk, if you are using, or your loved one is using, and everything is falling apart, call us as early in the day as you can.
If you wake up in the morning lost, feeling terrible, knowing you need help, or you have a family member or friend who you even suspect might need help, call us, message us or come in as soon as possible.
If you aren’t sure what you or a loved one needs, call us. We can help.
Figuring out what a person needs sometimes takes a few hours or more. We need all the time we can get to help.
If you arrive either to us, to the hospital or the police station after 4 pm on a weekday or anytime on the weekends, we will have to create interim safety plans to get you through to business day if you are seeking any in-patient treatment or you are looking to enroll in a Suboxone or Methadone MAT program.
People in crisis generally wait until it’s really really really bad before reaching out for help. We are asking that even if you are questioning whether you need help, you call us as soon as you think of it.
The hospitals are overloaded with Covid patients. Everyone is doing everything we can to help all the people we can.
Help us help you by calling or coming in earlier in the days.
If you are homeless, or your power is about to be shut off, or is shut off, there may be options for how to help. Call us.
If you want to go to rehab, we will help you. Rehabs are also full right now with waiting lists of about 7 days so it’s really important you let us know so we can start the process ASAP.
If you need us on the weekends we will help but we will not be able to get the process for in-patient started until Monday. We can do a lot of support and help while you wait. But it’s really sad to watch people come in on Saturday night at their breaking point and be so disheartened because we can’t get them where they need to go immediately.
Yes it would be nice if we could do rehab intakes 24/7 but like everywhere staffing is a major barrier, covid is kicking everyone’s butt and we are ALL doing the best we can.
If you come in over the weekend, that’s okay! We are here for you and we will help. Just know it will take us a few extra days to get you all set with everything you need.
The suffering of so many people is real. There is not a single human being who set out to let drugs or alcohol ruin their lives. Fentanyl and opioids change brain chemistry and people to behave in ways they never would have before. If you are struggling to understand, watch the series Dopesick. It’s true. Or check out resources on our website.
It is time for our community to step up and realize that the only way we are going to get ahead of the addictions that are taking over so many lives, is to insist your loved ones seek help. Hold them accountable without shame or anger. The young children growing up dealing with this is not okay.
For those who say the nursing staff at North Country are not helpful- we urge you to put any previous experience behind you. We watch them care, they do care, and as the drug and alcohol and mental health crisis grows along with the pandemic, health care workers are learning about compassionate care. We are working hand in hand to support those struggling with supportive care. We might tell you what you don’t want to hear but that’s not being mean, it’s helping you to be better. There’s a big difference. Also try to remember that the nursing staff are at their own breaking point. Let’s all work together to extend each other grace. There’s no crisis big enough that we should forget that.
Let us help you. Your life matters. You have not failed so much that you don’t deserve help. You deserve help. We can help you. Call us, go to the hospital or to the center early in the day as you can. We also have free Narcan no questions asked.
802-624-4156
Visit our website to learn more about substance use.