An Unconventional Model
Sarah Khayat
The Healing Place Women’s Campus, on S. 15th Street, was renovated in 2010
A
n egalitarian system boasting peer accountability and genuine camaraderie
plus a sustainable economic model is a
tall order. Some would say that it is downright
impossible. A system like that would be fraught
with corruption and abuse. How would order
be maintained? Could one hope that established metrics of efficacy and success be met
in such a free-for-all working model? It doesn’t
seem likely; I agree. The closest approximation, however, I believe
exists in our very own Louisville community.
The Healing Place is a rehabilitation program that opened its
doors 15 years ago and serves more than 600 men and women on
two campuses. It’s a ‘twelve-stepper’ that has put Louisville on the
map for its remarkably low rates of recidivism, high rates of recovery
(65% by most estimates), and for its impressive lineup of services
tailored to getting addicts to a level of independence that enables
full immersion in a regular daily working life after completion of
the program. It espouses a model that does not charge its clients for
its services, in stark contrast to the high-brow beach escapes that
promise would-be clients resort worthy accommodations tacked
onto a drug-free recovery guarantee with mere weeks of treatment,
and which cost, on average, $3-6,000 per day. Services offered by The
Healing Place include emergency overnight shelters, non-medical
detox, long-term addiction recovery programs, financial counseling,
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LOUISVILLE MEDICINE
job placement, and parenting and child care development programs.
Clients live together, oftentimes in intimate (read: cramped) quarters
depending on their current stage in the program. They also share
meals that they have cooked, wear clothes washed by fellow clients,
and seek guidance and advice from one another in group therapy
sessions led by- you guessed it- other clients. One could call it a
commune of the actively rehabilitating.
After undergoing detox (which does not include any opiate substitution therapy or medical interventions), those seeking a spot in the
program share two bunk beds cordoned off in a cubicle with three
other aspirants and schlep to several meetings a day- by foot- in
order to prove their level of commitment to recovery. If they make
the cut, they then begin formal participation at the beginner level
with the designation of ‘Off the Streets 1’ or OTS1. After completion of OTS1 and OTS2, clients go on to start “Phase,” which is the
12-step component of the program. As they advance, they earn