Beyond Rehab

Hooray, Beyond Shelter!! (Beyond Rehab… ring a bell?) “Beyond Shelter is a non-profit organization founded in 1988 in response to increasing numbers of homeless families in Los Angeles and the need for a more comprehensive approach to serving them.”

That is what I’ve been saying about drug and alcohol addiction, drug and alcohol rehabs: We see an increasing number of rehabs and addicts, yet, we mechanically prescribe the same method of “help” to people struggling with addiction—clearly, there is a need for a more comprehensive approach to the problem.  (I’m currently working on a project that addresses that issue, some of which dates back to the early 1980′s when drug rehabs began popping up everywhere throughout the US along with their misleading approach to recovery. Most rehab programs continue to base their treatment on that largely ineffective approach to addiction recovery. More on that in future posts.)

Beyond Shelter (…relate strategies 1, 2 & 3 to addiction in society): “Today, the mission of the agency is to develop systemic approaches to combat poverty and homelessness among families with children, and to enhance family economic security and well-being. Beyond Shelter accomplishes this mission through the following strategies: (1) responsive service delivery, (2) people-centered community development, and (3) the creation of knowledge for social change.” Beautiful.

The Housing First Project, based in Los Angeles (Skid Row), is another brilliant development which was “created as a time-limited relationship designed to empower participants and foster self-reliance, not engender dependence….” (This is an opposite approach to that of Alcoholics Anonymous, which, no matter how desperate I became or how hard I tried, never taught me to walk on my own two feet.)

I want to drop one more gem into this mix of fantastic people who truly care about people struggling with addiction. Here is a snippet of a fabulous, critical interview with My favorite M.D., Dr. Gabor Maté:

AMY GOODMAN: What do you mean, it takes people off the hook?

DR. GABOR MATÉ: Well, if people’s behaviors and dysfunctions are regulated, controlled and determined by genes, we don’t have to look at child welfare policies, we don’t have to look at the kind of support that we give to pregnant women, we don’t have to look at the kind of non-support that we give to families, so that, you know, most children in North America now have to be away from their parents from an early age on because of economic considerations. And especially in the States, because of the welfare laws, women are forced to go find low-paying jobs far away from home, often single women, and not see their kids for most of the day. Under those conditions, kids’ brains don’t develop the way they need to.

And so, if it’s all caused by genetics, we don’t have to look at those social policies; we don’t have to look at our politics that disadvantage certain minority groups, so cause them more stress, cause them more pain, in other words, more predisposition for addictions; we don’t have to look at economic inequalities. If it’s all genes, it’s all—we’re all innocent, and society doesn’t have to take a hard look at its own attitudes and policies.

Please read the entire interview or watch the complete video here: http://www.democracynow.org/2010/12/24/dr_gabor_mat_on_the_stress

Tags: aa alternatives, addicted society, addiction, addiction help, alcoholic, alcoholics anonymous, Beyond Shelter, building courage, change, childhood trauma, Dr. Gabor Mate, helping people with addictions, recovery, rehab, rescue, Skid Row, substance abuse