HCFW Executive Director Mary Bazie
For 31 years, we at Hitchcock have stayed the course of Women’s treatment, recognizing the importance of speaking out as a voice and acting as an advocate for women from addiction, and providing them with “wholistic” treatment. During those three decades, our organization has faced many challenges in order to keep pursuing our mission, and 2010 was no different.
Difficult financial times produce special challenges for those in our field. Certainly the reduced capacity for people to give to non-profits in tough times affects us, as well as reductions in government support. But what many may not realize is that as financial stresses increase on people, susceptibility to addiction is also on the rise. When other stressors raise their heads, the lure of substance abuse as a coping mechanism or escape is always a threat. So, during these tough times, we at Hitchcock face not only the challenge of diminishing support, but also a simultaneous increase in the need for our services.
But we have not withered under these challenges. Instead, we have rededicated ourselves to building a stronger organization and continuing to offer our women the “wholistic” care they so desperately need. In 2010, we continued to provide a continuum of care which is both residential and outpatient, long term or short term, which offers a variety of care approaches, and addresses addiction, trauma, housing, self sufficiency, and self determination.
We have rededicated ourselves to building a stronger organization and continuing to offer our women the “wholistic” care they so desperately need
Mary Bazie - HCFW Executive Director
One of our greatest challenges of late has been addressing the epidemic of opiate addiction. With the abundance of prescription pills available through ostensibly legal means, opiates are now the drug of choice for many addicts. And this abuse can been seen across all ages, regions, and socio-economic status. We have opened our doors to women from across the state in the last year as they have struggled to regain control while fighting opiate addiction.
Over the past few years, we all have seen the crisis in housing sweep our nation. But we at Hitchcock also know that stable housing is a key to sober living. So our transitional housing for homeless women, bridge housing for women who have unstable and unsafe living conditions, and half-way housing at the front and back end of treatment continuum are even more important than ever.
We also recognize the impact of trauma on women and their ability to achieve and sustain sobriety. We offer a model of trauma treatment we believe complements addiction treatment as well as life management. Our services are both educational and skill enhancement based.
Even as they suffer from addiction, the mothers who come to us are still focused on making sure that their children are cared for. We continue to provide treatment opportunities for families, with larger families being welcomed into our home, and more services being offered to children. This year we were able to provide child specific case management services which have allowed us to link children to community-based services that support their special needs. We understand the need educational support and have developed a Literacy Room which allows for homework assistance, encouraging reading, and delivers educational support. Living at Hitchcock ensures that all children served have stable and supportive surroundings which allows for normalization of their lives and ensures they are linked to appropriate services if needed.
And our family services have evolved beyond just child support services, as we provided family education and support to facilitate healing for the whole family and have provided supportive services which allow families to participate in the recovery process for the woman and for the families, as they have been injured by the woman’s addiction and need help getting a recovery process of their own.
The coming year promises new challenges as financial and treatment needs encourage us to look for even more effective and efficient approaches to treatment, recovery, and self sufficiency. Staying the course is our response to these difficult and challenging times. We believe in treatment, we know it works, and will continue our work to provide the best and most responsive care possible. We are the place where healing begins and that healing is designed to meet the complex and special needs of women and the communities in which they live.
So we ask for your support to help us continue our mission. We know times are difficult, but we remain dedicated to staying the course and answering the call for help by offering a way for women to make the changes necessary for recovery from both addiction and trauma.
