Smoke Signals June 1990
PageS
Nanitch Sahallie Feature
By Brent Merrill
This is part III b a three part scries about the
Tribes' Youth Residential Drug Treatment Center
in Kcizcr, Oregon. Part III of this scries will focus
on the Food Services Coordinator, the Intake
Specialist, aftercare policies and a conversation
with a client the day before she graduated from
the center.
I I At Nanitch Sahallie, special emphasis is placed on a
client's need for a balanced, nutritional diet. According
to the center's Food Services Coordinator Kathy Aicher
a client's diet plays a big part in the recovery process.
"The diet that we have here is just a basic nutritional
diet. We have a real low sugar or no sugar diet because
of the nutritional levels of the clients that are recovering.
Nutrition plays a big part because they are going
through withdrawal from the sugar, the alcohol and the
drugs and it can be tough on them so we try to give them
good nutrition without the sugar."
Aicher explained that she tries to impress upon the
clients just how important their diet is to their recovery.
"We're here to help them recover from what they are
going through."
Aicher oversees a limited staff of just herself and two
other cooks, one full-time and one just part-time.
During one typical month at the treatment center Aicher
and her staff (Karen Scharf and Grand Rondc Tribal
member, Carol Nelson) served 2,134 meals to 28 clients.
Aicher is proud of her staff and the work that they are
able to accomplish. "Karen is a wonderful food service
person and she is a great cook as well."
Scharf is studying to be a counselor and will be missed
by the kitchen staff. "I can't tell you enough about her,
she just docs a great job and she will be an outstanding
counselor," said Aicher. Aicher is equally pleased with
the abilities of Carol Nelson. "Carol and I were the first
cooks hired on here," explained Aicher. "She is really
concerned about the kids and she has an excellent
repore with them. I'm very lucky to have two good
people."
The center operates on a six-week menu that is posted
so the clients can see what they are going to be eating
each meal. Aichcr's philosophy for quality food service
is simple. "I think that good health and good nutrition
go hand in hand."
Kathy Tom Aicher
Josephine Bigelow is an Intake Specialist at the center.
INTAKE SPECIALIST
Intake specialist Josephine Bigelow has been working
at Nanitch Sahallie since October of 1989. Bigelow, who
was born on the Sioux Standing Rock Reservation in
North Dakota, brought a wealth of experience in a
variety of fields with her when she began working at the
Treatment Center.
According to Bigelow, she has accomplished a degree
in nursing, has worked as an L.P.N., and she has been
working in the alcohol and drug treatment field for
several years. She has gained valuable experience while
working at the Carlton House in Eugene and Red
Willow treatment center in Gervais, Oregon. While she
was in Eugene she served on the Lane County Board of
Health and she has also traveled to Germany where she
taught workshops to German women about Native
American women.
"Our children deserve treatment. Tliey deserve
good treatment because they deserve to live.
- Josephine Bigelow
Despite all of her travels, Bigelow echoes many of
Nanitch Sahallie's employees when she says that she
feels she belongs at the Tribe's treatment center.
"Working here has given me a renewed sense of self
worth. We need more of our Native American people
to work with our youth. A lot of our people need to be
taught to retrieve our power through self esteem
building. It is a very important part of the treatment
process."
BigekWs duties at the center range from working with
referrals to deciding if the center is appropriate to help a
particular client. She talks to people who want to get
their kids into treatment, she docs their paperwork and
she interviews all potential clients before she helps them
through the intake process.
Bigelow feels her job is very important and she does
her work with pride. "Our children deserve treatment.
They deserve good treatment because they deserve to
live."
AFTERCARE
When a client completes the treatment process and has
earned graduation, the work isn't over, in fact, it's just
beginning. That is where Nanitch Sahallie's aftercare
program begins.
First, the client meets with their counselor for an
individual session to receive information about relapse
warning signs, a relapse prevention plan and a relapse
prevention workbook.
Next, the client has a second individual session where
their materials on relapse are reviewed and the client is
asked to complete the workbook and the prevention
plan. The clients then begin attending weekly sessions
with their counselors and devote the time to aftercare
work like problem solving. They also work on develop
ing coping skills. Aftercare is very important to main
taining sobriety and special emphasis is put on aftercare
counseling of Nanitch Sahallie.
In the future, counselors at the center would like to be
able to network with other rehabilitation workers and to
use the information they gather to establish realistic and
measurable relapse prevention plans. They would also
like to open communications and stabilize and broaden
the scope of the current aftercare program.
CLIENT DISCUSSES TREATMENT
When you are 17 years old and addicted to drugs and
or alcohol the world can be a scary place. It can be even
worse if you live in a dysfunctional family and have no
foundation of support. Add to that combination parents
and other family members who are also addicted and
you can end up with a highly volatile situation.
Accepting the fact that you need to get treatment is just
the first step in the recovery process - often it can be the
most difficult step. Clients who are lucky enough to get
into a treatment center must begin by accepting the fact
that they do have an addiction problem.
"Now I have a weapon to use against my addic
tion and that means alot to me.... It feels good
to have people trust me.
A Treatment Center Client
One of the young clients at Nanitch Sahallie (whose
identity is confidential) explained that it took her awhile
to accept her problems. "I came in here in denial. Big
time denial. My problem was marijuana and alcohol,"
explained the client. "I was willing to give up everything
to be with people who partied."
The client explained that her realization of her prob
lems came during a group counseling sessions when
another client shared what had happened to her.
"During group there was a girl who talked about her
problems and it really made me realize a lot of things.
That's when I realized I had a problem too. I had so
many things blocked out and being here in the treatment
center has allowed me to deal with them."
The client explained that the guidance she has received
at Nanitch Sahallie has given her a renewed sense of
strength. "Now I have a weapon to use against my
addiction and that means a lot to me."
When asked what was the most important thing that
she learned while at Nanitch Sahallie she responded by
saying, "Probably to respect other people and most
importantly to respect myself. It feels good to have
people trust me."
Healthy Lifestyle and Baby
Sitting Workshop
June 15th, 1990
9:00 cum. to 3:00 p.m.
At the Depot Office
This workshop is for students
8 years old and up
For more information
and to register please contact:
Camille Van Vleet
or
Margaret Provost
at 879-5211