More than 20 million people in the United States are recovering from drug or alcohol addiction. There are 3 million people living in the state of Mississippi.
Keenyn Wald likes to use that statistic to put the scope of substance addiction in this country in perspective.
Wald is the clinical coordinator at The Pines and Cady Hill Recovery Center in downtown Columbus, where he works closely with counselors and clients helping individuals overcome their addictions to drugs and alcohol. His job is to make sure the center runs smoothly, that the residents staying there for treatment are properly taken care of, that counselors and other employees have everything they need to help clients and to be there for the up to 44 individuals who come to the center to beat addiction.
The center is run by Community Counseling Services which supports individuals with mental illness in Lowndes and surrounding counties. CCS includes group homes, day treatment programs, outpatient services and alcohol and drug services like The Pines and Cady Hill Recovery Center, according to Martha Allen, who is in charge of marketing and business development at the center.
The therapists who work there all either have or are in the process of getting a master’s degree or doctorate, according to Allen. The center is split between The Pines, where men stay, and Cady Hill, where women stay, but they come together for some group sessions and other events. Clients have the option of undergoing primary treatment, which lasts about 30 days, or secondary treatment, which lasts 90 days. The center includes individual therapy, group therapy, 12-step programs both in and outside the center and educational services. Family and friends can visit every weekend.
Wald has worked at the center for seven months, following a nearly three-year stint as a counselor at Mississippi State University. Originally from Montana, he studied at Montana State University and Syracuse University in upstate New York. He likes the Pines and Cady Hill because it’s more affordable than a lot of other recovery centers but still provides quality care for its clients.
“I love to be a part of somebody who is trying to make their life different,” Wald said. “It’s a pretty special thing because addiction is a hidden, lonely affliction. And when somebody is willing to invite you into their life to help them with it, that’s a profound thing.”
The problem
People tend to think of DUIs, jail time, disorderly conduct and other consequences of alcohol problems when they think of addiction. But those are byproducts of an already-existing problem, explained Wald. Anyone who drinks heavily is going to make bad choices.
“Addiction is sort of defined on the back end of that,” he said. “What is our thinking process when it comes to that substance? What happens when we use it? Why do some people seemingly have a problem with it while others don’t?”
The telltale signs of addiction include drinking or using more than intended or being unable to stop drinking or using, even when you try, he said. He added that anyone concerned about how much they drink should reach out to a trusted friend, pastor or counselor.
And the actual cause of addiction?
“Man, if you can answer that question I will hire you,” Wald laughed.
He admits to not being a scientist, but he does love to delve into the research surrounding the disease. It’s commonly accepted that genetics affect addiction — individuals with an alcoholic parent are four times more likely to be alcoholics themselves. But there are plenty of children of alcoholics who don’t have a problem with their drinking.
“We used to think it was genetics verses environment, the whole nature-nurture argument,” Wald said. “But now with a better understanding of genetics, we know that genetics … need to be somehow impacted by (the environment). The genes need to be activated. They need to be turned on.”
Some people with addiction are raised in environments where they see heavy drug and alcohol use, Wald said.
Many people in recovery have been through more than their fair share of difficult situations and events. Wald is impressed with the resilience of the clients he spends his days with.
“We hear some pretty tough stories,” he said. “I sort of feel like that shouldn’t surprise me, but we have some folks that have been through a whole lot.”
Substance addiction can go hand-in-hand with mental illness, according to Allen. Some of the center’s clients also suffer from a mental illness, she said. It’s one of the reasons it’s good to have employees like Wald who have a background in therapy.
Connections
One of Wald’s goals as clinical coordinator is to bring more programs and activities to the center. He wants the center to have an educational component so that clients can start working to get their GEDs or achieve other educational goals. Currently the center’s employees take clients to the Greater Columbus Learning Center.
The Pines and Cady Hill center already works closely with the wider Columbus recovery community, Wald pointed out, especially with people who have already gone through recovery themselves. It’s invaluable for those people to talk with the center’s clients and tell their stories, he says, so that individuals and families still struggling know there is hope out there.
But Wald wants to do more to bridge the recovery community with the wider Columbus community. He wants everyone to know the success stories that he knows — not just the stories of stumbling celebrities and DUIs that are common in the news. He wants the clients at the center to interact more with teachers, artists or other people in town who can spend time with them or give them something fun and interesting to do.
“If people have something — a hobby, a skill, an activity, something that they think would benefit the folks here — I want to hear from them,” Wald said. “When alcohol and drugs become a part of the people who end up here, it completely dominates their life and it pushes everything aside. So if somebody wanted to come in and just sort of interact in any way, I love the idea of them contacting me and trying to figure out how that would work.”
Everyone has been affected by addiction, he said. Everyone knows someone — a family member, a friend, a casual aquaintance — who has a drinking or drug use problem. But it’s still a taboo subject, which means people who could be addressing the problem are keeping silent.
“We’ve got to realize that one in four Americans suffer or will suffer in their lifetime,” Allen said. “So it affects almost every family. And the more we can talk about it, support each other, and seek help, the better treatment will be and the better … life we’ll all lead.”
Mostly Wald wants people, especially people suffering from addiction, to know that recovery is possible.
“We do really neat stuff here, and I want the community to know that,” he said. “I want the community to be a part of it.”
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