Crossroads for Women e-Newsletter

October 2009
TopGreetings!

1974 Crossroads ArticleCrossroads for Women opened its doors 35 years ago this month, in October of 1974. At the time, the nonprofit agency in Windham was known as a safe place for women to "dry out." Alcoholism was treated, as drug problems were not widely addressed (or prevalent) at the time.

Over the years, the agency has identified the specific needs of women in the state of Maine and developed programs and services that address those needs. We started our Children And Mothers Program (CAMP) in 1995, which remains the only program in Maine that provides on-site living arrangements and child care services to minor children of mothers in residential treatment for drug or alcohol addiction. In 1997, we opened our first outpatient office in Portland, offering counseling and an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP). Cumberland Commons, an 8 unit, independent, transitional living apartment complex opened in 2000. We added a the long-term Halfway House program, known as Crossroads Back Cove, in 2001. We introduced the Kennebunk Counseling Center, our satellite outpatient office in Kennebunk earlier this year and now offer both substance abuse and mental health counseling, as well as medication management, at the outpatient level.

Today, we continue to house our short-term Residential Rehab and CAMP programs in the same beautiful farmhouse in Windham. Our treatment approach has grown leaps and bounds since 1974, incorporating both mental health and substance abuse treatment (for alcohol and drugs) and addressing the issues that women uniquely face using a relational model. This issue of the e-Newsletter is dedicated to our continued commitment to helping women remember who they wanted to be.
Clients Reflect on what Women-focused Treatment Means to Them 
Crossroads for Women Crossroads for Women talks a lot about substance abuse and mental health treatment that is specifically geared to women and their unique issues. We recently took some time to talk to clients in our outpatient, halfway house and residential rehab programs about what women-focused treatment means to them. Here are some of the responses:
  • It means women working with a staff of all women trying to better their lives and figure out how to live life for the first time, being the people we want to be, the women we are on the inside, not who we turned into while using/drinking.
  • "Women-focused" treatment attends more to emotional problems...there are certain "expectations" that come with being a woman, so "women-focused treatment" helps and attends to that area in life too.
  • Treatment that involve women issues, like children, work, relationships, etc.
  • A place where women feel safe, whether it's talking about their addiction or their mental health issues.
  • It means women with women, working together in our struggles. A lot of women go through the same difficulties and have been in the same situations in life, different than men.
  • It means that men and women are not emotionally the same, so being with just women I can get the emotional responses I need to recover and be honest enough to share my deepest memories without being judged and not focus on good, nice looking men!
  • It means treatment geared toward women's issues - a women's environment  - geared to understand the conflicts a women with addiction faces. It feels good to not feel alone - that other women are struggling with many of the same issues.
  • It's about feeling safe and not alone. Not feeling like you are the only woman who is struggling with this disease and that other females deal with the same issues.
  • A program where you can express your deepest, darkest secrets; not having judgment that sometimes women feel with men around. I am learning to trust women and see myself in a lot of them. 
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What I Have Learned About Being A Woman
The following poem was written by Rachael O'Donnell, LCSW, LADC, an outpatient counselor at Crossroads for Women. Rachael provides mental health and substance abuse counseling on an individual and group basis at Crossroads for Women's outpatient office in Kennebunk and can also be found leading IOP groups in Portland.

I have learned that other people's judgments can keep us from doing a great deal of things, including loving ourselves, being who we truly are, and taking chances.

I have learned that regret is a river that runs deep and that forgiving ourselves can be our greatest challenge.

I have learned that a woman's power is not measured by how loudly she speaks or how confident she appears -
It is measured by how much pain she can endure, how much disappointment she can take, and yet still have the capacity to love, to dream, & to hope

I have learned that sometimes just surviving means you are doing the best that you can

I have learned that the thoughts we think and the words we speak have the power to propel us forward or
keep us stuck

I have learned that other women can be both our greatest allies & ...Read the entire poem on our blog

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Crossroads for Women
Crossroads for Women addresses substance abuse and mental health so that women and their families can live healthy lives. FMI, call 207.773.9931 or visit our website.

Sincerely,
Jennifer Barbour
 
Jennifer Barbour, communications specialist
Crossroads for Women
In This Issue

Clients Reflect on what Women-focused Treatment Means to Them

What I Have Learned About Being A Woman

Crossroads for Women has openings for outpatient services in Portland and Kennebunk. Call about one-on-one or group counseling (including IOP) and get an appointment right away!

Portland:
207.773.9931

Kennebunk: 207.467.3369

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From our Blog
Women & Substance Abuse blog
Parents: Hearing About Your Past Acohol and Drug Use May Make Your Teen More Responsible About Their Own Use

Hazelden, a national nonprofit organization that helps people reclaim their lives from the disease of addiction, recently launched a campaign called "Four Generations Overcoming Addiction." The campaign was inspired by a national survey, conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs for Hazelden, that found parents' honesty about their own drug and alcohol use when they were young actually made the teens more responsible about their drug and alcohol use. Read More

STAR-SI Accomplishments in the State of Maine

Crossroads for Women recently wrapped up its participation in the Strengthening Treatment Access and Retention-State Implementation (STAR-SI) Initiative. STAR-SI, funded by SAMHSA Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, was initiated in 9 states, including Maine, over 3 years with the goal of improving access and retention in outpatient (OP) substance abuse treatment. Read More

Crossroads Links

Local Links

21 Reasons
211 Maine
AA Maine
Al-Anon Maine
MaineParents.net
ME Office of Substance Abuse
NA Maine
Nar-Anon Maine
MAAR
Substance Abuse Prevention, Portland

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