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The Women's Treatment Center
                   
breaking the cycle of addiction
mending the bonds between women and their children!
June 2011 - Issue 7
In This Issue
Join us: Journey of Recovery Tour & Talk - free events to learn how we are transforming lives
TWTC to enhance PACT program for children with moms in prison
Teen girls in PACT Program inspired by empowerment workshops
TWTC medical staff shares expertise with community, professional peers
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Greetings! 

   I am pleased to tell you that TWTC's transformative programs are receiving some great press these days in local and national media because of our unique, innovative approach to substance abuse treatment for women. On June 7, TWTC's Alternative Sentencing program was featured on Chicago Public Radio (WBEZ). Freelance audio producer Shannon Heffernan documented the success of the Program. In her piece she noted "Perhaps the most striking part of the (Alternative Sentencing) program is that the women's children can live at the Center with them ... The Program, now in its eighth year, is an alternative for women who would otherwise live in prison. Instead, the women living at the Center receive drug treatment while going to school or working.

   I encourage you to listen to the full story and learn about the effectiveness of this program and its value in providing an alternative to prison.
   Pre-sentencing expenses for women in Illinois average $31,000 and prison costs average $25,000 a year. If these women are mothers, there are additional costs for the care of their children - about $25,000 annually per child. Drug treatment programs such as TWTC are so cost effective that the money saved on crimes not committed just while offenders are in treatment is sufficient to offset the costs of treatment.
   Your support makes programs like this possible. Thank you for supporting our cutting-edge initiatives.  Dr. Oates Signature

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Jewell Oates, Ph.D

Executive Director

Upcoming Events

Journey of Recovery Tour and Talk - Free event to learn how we are transforming lives  

Once again we are offering free Journey of Recovery Tour & Talk events for our supporters, especially those who couldn't attend our Breakfast with the Stars in May. At these events, you will learn about how our comprehensive programs are changing lives. You'll visit the units, meet clients or former clients, talk with the Executive Director, and get your questions answered about our work.
   

So please join us:

What: Journey of Recovery - Tour & Talk

When: Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 2 p.m.  

Where: The Women's Treatment Center

140 N Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL 60607

On the corner of Ashland & Lake, right across from Union Park

Near the Kennedy (94) or Eisenhower (290) expressways

Just below the Green and Pink Line L train stop at Ashland & Lake

    All Journey of Recovery events are free but an RSVP is required. You are more then welcome to bring your friends, family or colleagues to introduce them, too, to a great cause that you support. Just let us know how many people will accompany you. For more information, email Development Director Patricia Broughton or call 312-633-4366. 

Inside Look 

TWTC to enhance program for children with moms in prison Back to School Jam Photo 

    Imagine waking up to find your mother gone, and then to find she's been arrested, and then to find she's been sent to a prison three hours away - and you never had a chance to say goodbye. You go to live with an aunt or grandmother, and you're expected to carry on with your life, like nothing happened. You don't know what to say when someone asks where your mother is. And you feel sad and mad all at once.
    That's the way it is for many of the children in the PACT (Parents and Children Together) program at TWTC whose mothers are incarcerated at Decatur Correctional Center. Only now, because of the PACT program, these children do have someone to talk to - adults and other kids - who do understand how they feel. For the past eight years, through this Program, TWTC has been providing vital support to these Chicago-area children.
    This innovative program - the only one of its kind in Illinois - helps mitigate the effects of maternal incarceration by offering on-site video teleconferencing with incarcerated mothers, groups and activities for children and youth, and support services for the caregivers.
    TWTC now plans to add three new support components to help the caregivers in these expanded families:
  1. A bi-monthly psycho-education group led by the Pediatric Psychiatrist to help them better understand how to promote behavioral and mental health
  2. A bi-monthly support group led by the Case Manager to help them access community resources
  3. A quarterly parenting skills workshop led by the Parenting Director to help them learn to better manage the children in their care.

    Each year this vital program serves more than 250 children from 75 families. Federal funding for the program recently ended, so we are actively seeking private funding and individual donors to bridge this gap.  Donate NOW

  • A gift of $36 will enable three youth to participate in an educational outing.
  • A gift of $75 will provide food and supplies for youth attending one of the bi-monthly support groups.
  • A gift of $1200 will support a whole week of activities during the Chicago Public School's spring break. 

 GIVE NOW to keep this unique program going.

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Teen girls inspired by empowerment workshops
    Earlier this month, teen girls enrolled in the PACT program attended a series of empowerment workshops - Why Do Girls Cry? - in collaboration with Esther's Place of Refuge. These open discussion sessions on relationships and purpose and direction in life gave the teenage girls an opportunity to hear the powerful success stories of other teen girls and young women who have risen above abuse, drugs, rejection and low self esteem. The girls from TWTC were so inspired that they're hoping to continue to go to such workshops. 

Week of the Young Child celebrations at TWTC 

 

Staff members read to the children in Daycare during the Week of the Young Child celebrated at TWTC in April. The children created bookmarks and presented them to staff members as a token of their appreciation.  

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Collaborations
TWTC medical staff shares expertise with community, professional peers
    Medical staff members at TWTC are well-known for their expertise in the field of substance abuse and related fields, and actively share their expertise with community organizations and professional peers in order to advocate, enhance and organize better services, especially for women.
    Last week, TWTC's Medical Director, Dr. Dora Dixie, began a 24 week weight/life management program at Near South Health Center (NSHC) open for all adult male or female patients enrolled at the Center. The program will equip those struggling with obesity with education, tools and resources to combat the problem. Since TWTC has a linkage agreement with the NSHC, clients enrolled as patients there will also be able to take advantage of the program.
    One of TWTC's psychologists, Dr. Kenya Key, was recently elected as Chair of the Illinois Psychological Association's Social Responsibility Section. She also serves on Congressman Danny Davis' Mental Health Advisory Committee and participates in the Illinois Advisory Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Women's Legislative Committee, specifically the Women's Criminal Justice and Training workgroups.
Your feedback is important to us. Please send us your suggestions, questions and comments related to our work at [email protected] or call 312.850.0050 at any time.

We look forward to hearing from you! bottom