B5
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, JULY 24, 2021
Treatment center: ‘I promise it’s going to be better’
Continued from Page B1
“I was so overwhelmed
I couldn’t really speak,”
Mathews said. “Then, I
identifi ed as a newcomer,
and everyone cheered for me
and hugged me. I would hug
someone and they would tell
me, ‘I promise it’s going to
be better.’ So I just stayed
and kept coming back.”
At that point, Mathews
knew he wanted to work in
the recovery fi eld. He began
working as a support staff of
a treatment center one year
later. He started a consulting
fi rm with his wife to assist
treatment centers.
Years later, Mathews
became the CEO of his own
treatment center, Stillwater
Behavioral Health in South-
ern California.
Stillwater
Behavioral
Health operates detoxifi ca-
tion and mental health pro-
grams out of a facility in
Santa Barbara, California, as
well as other inpatient resi-
dential buildings.
On any given day,
patients can see Mathews
wandering the facility, sit-
ting in on support group
meetings. Interacting with
patients on a personal level
is exactly what he wanted
while he went through his
own recovery.
Throughout his work
Mathews has noticed a
lack of support services
for patients experienc-
ing addiction. He says sub-
stance abuse cases have sig-
nifi cantly spiked during the
pandemic.
“We’ve seen an increase
in overdose deaths, suicide
attempts, mental health and
substance abuse. All of it,”
Mathews said.
According to the Cen-
ters for Disease Control and
Prevention there were more
than 81,000 drug overdose
deaths in the United States
in the 12 months end-
ing May 2020, the largest
number ever recorded for a
12-month period.
Mathews recommends
top quality care when it
comes to achieving long-
term sobriety, but acknowl-
edged the cost to check into
ABOVE: Stillwater Behavioral Health in Southern California.
LEFT: The backyard of the Stillwater substance abuse
treatment center.
ACCORDING TO THE CENTERS FOR
DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
THERE WERE MORE THAN 81,000
DRUG OVERDOSE DEATHS IN THE
UNITED STATES IN THE 12 MONTHS
ENDING MAY 2020, THE LARGEST
NUMBER EVER RECORDED FOR A
12-MONTH PERIOD.
a facility like his is not fea-
sible for everyone.
On the North Coast,
eff orts are being made to
off er more inclusive treat-
ment options to historically
oppressed and marginalized
groups and communities.
The Lower Columbia Q
Center off ers weekly meet-
ings of Queer Edge Sobri-
ety Support Group for the
LGBTQ community.
Tessa Scheller co-founded
the center and serves as the
facilitator of Queer Edge
Sobriety Support Group.
Scheller said the meetings
give people a chance to
speak freely.
“We have members tell
us, and people from the
community tell us, that
they were not comfort-
able as queer or trans peo-
ple, at some of the meet-
ings that you weren’t able
to talk about their relation-
ships comfortably,” said
Scheller. “They weren’t able
to talk about who they are.”
Scheller said.
Awakenings by the Sea in
Seaside provides treatment
exclusively for women.
Virtue at the Pointe in
Astoria provides services
for both behavioral and sub-
stance addictions.
Mathews said being
around others with similar
experiences can be critical
for recovery.
“For me, that was so
wildly important, you know,
when I was talking to some-
body, and they were trying
to help me, if I could believe
that they had been through
what I had been through and
had experienced something
similar,” Mathews said.
Isa Kaufman-Geballe is
a contributor for The Asto-
rian and Coast Weekend.
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