SEPTEMBER 2006 NEWSLETTER

For Women now as well
Our work at the jail expands

By Cecil Dunn

Thanks to budgetary support from the Mayor and the Urban County Council, our Detention Center Recovery Program is now serving women as well as men.
We began operating the program for male inmates in September 2002. The rationale for such a program is pretty obvious. Our friends at the Detention Center tell us that more than 80% of their inmates are there for reasons related directly or indirectly to the abuse of drugs or alcohol
That percentage applies across the board, to both men and women. That is why we have been seeking for some time now to add a component for women. This fiscal year’s government budget gave us the opportunity to do so.
There is drug-crime cycle that these inmates fall into. That’s why the program addresses both substance abuse and criminal thinking patterns. There are four principles that guide the program:

Dependence on drugs and alcohol is a chronic, progressive, relapsing disorder from which people can recover in an ongoing process of effort and commitment.

Criminal behavior has to be addressed along with dependence in order to make offender thinking change toward pro-social behavior.

The promotion of values that are consistent with recovery, accountability and making good life choices is critical to the process.

Cycles of recidivism, substance abuse and violence can be interrupted in ways that improve the clients’ quality of life and reduce the impact on the community.

Those principles are all sound, and it is in their application that we make a difference. We work with inmates for a minimum of four months. They are all carefully screened before beginning and work together in a single pod.
The program community starts the day at 6:30 with breakfast, exercise, and morning chores. Group morning exercise promotes a positive outlook, effort toward change, and good health habits. The community cleans their living space three times a day to promote dedication to a task, work ethics, and personal responsibility. The community then moves into morning meditation, with the staff, to reflect on specific aspects of recovery and set a personal goal for the day. The community has a full day of programming with AA meetings in the evening and during the weekend.
We teach the Recovery Dynamics curriculum and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention, or CBI. In CBI we teach offenders to change or manage antisocial feelings and thinking. We help them increase self control and self management and improve their problem solving skills. We also enable them to recognize risky situations and develop plans for dealing with them.
We make sure each inmate has established contacts with recovery resources in the community on release. Sometimes, this means joining our own Recovery Program.
While there are fewer women incarcerated than there are men, the women have just as much of a challenge in dealing with the addiction issues that have brought them down. I’m pleased we can address their issues now as well.

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I’m also pleased to report that our Recovery Program for Women received a 1 year $200,000 grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration. This grant supplements our current 5-year Treatment for Homeless Grant. The supplemental grant targets persons who are not just homeless but chronically homeless. Approximately 50% of the women who enter our program meet this criterion. The grant will provide for: an increase in beds so that more women who are at risk of harm can immediately be admitted; increased staff to provide more recovery services; and a closer collaboration with Bluegrass Mental Health-Mental Retardation regarding shared clients with co-occurring disorders.

Join us for a night of Blues and Backslappers: Comedy for a Cause
What:               Regional comedians and live blues music
Where:             Comedy Off Broadway in Lexington Green
When:              October 24, 2006 at 8:00 p.m.
Tickets:            $10 each

Support the Hope Center by enjoying some of the area’s finest comedians accompanied by great blues music. Featuring local comics Audra Meighan, Joe Spinelle, Dave Waite, Darrin Hensley, and special guest Rich Ragains.

All proceeds benefit the Hope Center.

Things we need:
Tooth paste
Tooth brushes
Deodorant
Towels
Washcloths
Shampoo
Shaving cream
Razors
Socks
Large size shoes
Large size clothes
Shower shoes
Work gloves
Winter coats
Winter gloves
Lotions
Small soaps
Cough drops
Cough medicine (no alcohol)
Antifungal cream (tolnaftate1%)
Aspirin
Acetaminophen
Pepto-Bismol
Panties
Twin mattress pads
Feminine hygiene products

Random notes on homelessness in America …

A survey last year of 202 homeless families with 370 children living in 14 shelters in Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina showed that 42 percent of the adults are employed and 28 percent have never been on public assistance.

2006 Rood and Riddle Kentucky Grand Prix – a “Clean Round”

Crowds, horses, and riders gathered at the Kentucky Horse Park on August 19 for the annual Rood and Riddle Grand Prix. The event benefited the Hope Center and the Kentucky Horse Park Foundation. In the Johnson Arena Rood and Riddle presented a $30,000 cup to rider Aaron Vale who rode Mobile U to a “clean round.”
The night before, at Donamire Farm, Don and Mira Ball hosted a Calcutta in conjunction with the Grand Prix for the first time. In a Calcutta, riders and horses are divided into teams. Participants bid on the teams they think will win. In the Rood and Riddle Grand Prix, the pot is divided with half going to the supported charities and half to the highest bidder of the winning team. There was also a live auction that included one-week stays in Vero Beach and Kiawah, a commissioned sculpture and the Keeneland Quarter Pole. Auctioneer for the Calcutta and the live auction was Walt Robertson.
The Calcutta and the live auction were a huge success and raised nearly $24,000 to be divided by the Hope Center and the Kentucky Horse Park Foundation.

Many thanks to Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital for their support of the Hope Center and the opportunity to participate in an exciting event.

Thanks also to the Rood and Riddle Kentucky Grand Prix Sponsors:
Quantrell Cadillac                                      Fort Dodge Animal Health
Shadwell Farm                                           Hawkins Construction Intervet
WKYT-27                                                  L.V. Harkness
Mix 94.5                                                     Mg Biologics
WLAP News Radio                                   Guy-Ezzell Agency
Boehringer Ingelheim                                Creech Services
Butler Animal Health Supply                     ClassicStar LLC

Flowers provided by Louis’ Flower Power Shop

Hope in a Box 2006

For the third consecutive year Hope Center and UPS stores are bringing boxes of hope to the homeless of Lexington with your help during the National Homelessness and Hunger Awareness Week, November 12-18. Hope can be found in a caring gesture of placing personal need items in a shoe box along with a note filled with encouragement and hope, and giving it to those less fortunate.

It’s easy to participate—here’s how it works:

Simply fill a shoebox with personal needs items for either a man or a woman.
Label the box male or female.
Add a note or card with your words of personal encouragement and hope.
Beginning November 12, take the box to any Lexington UPS Store location:

Beaumont Centre, 3070 Lakecrest Circle
Chevy Chase, 838 E. high Street
Wal-Mart Plaza, 3176 Richmond Road
Zandale Center, 2220 Nicholasville Road

Your gift and message of hope will be delivered to a homeless person right here in Lexington. Remember, Hope in a Box can be created at little cost—the most important thing is to include a message of hope.

Suggested personal needs items include the following travel-sized toiletries and cold weather wear:
Soap
Lotion
Deodorant
Shampoo/Conditioner
Disposable Razors
Toothpaste/Toothbrush
Chapstick
White Socks
A Winter Hat
Gloves

Please contact Stephanie Ramsey at (859) 252-7881 or e-mail at sramsey@hopectr.org for more information about Hope in a Box Project and how you can make a difference during National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.

There passed this way …

“Erin” is a client of the Hope Center Recovery Program for Women.

Drugs make you do things that you never thought you could do. I can’t believe that in order to get more money to quench my addiction I staged a robbery at a taxi stand where I worked. Of course, it didn’t work. I was high at the time, and I couldn’t have possibly thought things through enough to be successful.

So I found myself with the police trying to explain a bad lie. Eventually, I gave up with the staged robbery and confessed. Needless to say, it only made what was bad worse.

I was court ordered to come to the Hope Center. This place is strict. SOS is probably the hardest. I warmed up to the way it ran when I saw that it worked. I was ready to come to the Center, and it was a good thing. You have to want it because if you aren’t willing then it won’t work.

This place changed me. It’s a little scary to come here, but I’ve learned that it’s much scarier out there with my old life. I have the skills to stay sober and to hold a job. This 180 can happen to anyone who wants it; the doors of the Hope Center are always open.