By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
Oftentimes those who get sentenced on lower level drug crimes in Crawford County Common Pleas Court end up going to one place in town that has been quietly waging its own battle against drug addiction: Maryhaven.
Formerly located in the second-level offices of FC Bank, Maryhaven, a provider of behavioral healthcare for adults and adolescents, moved to its new location at 137 Stetzer Road South in Bucyrus. Nestled beside the Hibachi and Sushi Buffett in the East Point shopping area, Maryhaven now has a more visible presence in the community.
The big glass windows and plain white walls don’t say much right now, having only been at the new location since May 2, but Maryhaven is still growing into its significantly larger space. Since coming to the area in 2012, Maryhaven has outgrown its home at Community Counseling Services and FC Bank as it responded to the drug addiction running rampant in the county.
Not only does the new space offer a lot more room to spread out, but Paula Brown, lead counselor for the Bucyrus office, said they are no longer hindered by maintaining banking hours. She does regret, however, the easy access Maryhaven had to the courthouse at its former location.
Brown believed a service like Maryhaven is vital to a community, especially one that is neck-deep in addiction.
“When people are addicted to opiates, it’s so hard to break that cycle of addiction because it’s such a strong grip,” Brown stated. “Some people need the medication to get off the heroin, then we can taper them down safely to get off the medication.
“If we didn’t have that service available, if we did not have a safe place for them to go and see what help is available, they’d still be addicted – or dead. People are overdosing and dying at a rapid rate across the state. We need more treatment options for people.”
Maryhaven receives referrals from a variety of sources, including Job and Family Services and Crawford County Common Pleas Court Judge Sean Leuthold, and now partners with the VA and doctors from various hospitals. Sometimes, however, showing up at Maryhaven is not a requirement.
“Some people are self-referral,” explained Brown. “Some people just want to come in on their own accord – they’re just tired of using and they want help.”
The wide of variety of people that walk through Maryhaven’s doors does not place a burden on the office. In fact, Maryhaven tailors its program and services to each individual.
Brown said Maryhaven does offer medically-assisted treatment, but very few of the participants actually take up that option.
“Some need it to detox off the heroin, some detox through quickly and need it through treatment. Some people choose no medication and they do fine with that,” Brown said. “It depends on the person. Treatment in general is going toward a more person-centered treatment, so it’s not a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all anymore.”
Maryhaven does offer Vivitrol, which blocks opioids, and Revia, a precursor to Vivitrol.
For those who do come to Maryhaven on their own, especially if they were actively using heroin, Brown said they would show up for a walk-in process in the morning on certain days of the week. While there, the person would be screened and would sit down with a counselor, a nurse, and a doctor. Maryhaven has two doctors on staff that rotate throughout the week. Those who pass the screening process would be required to attend group therapy five days a week where they will be dosed.
“They do not hand out scripts here at all,” Brown affirmed. “We monitor our medication very closely.”
Clients will also be put through random urine screens and go through individual counseling.
Maryhaven also focuses on the problems that are often caused by drug addiction, such as housing, food, and mental health. Though the office does provide some mental health services, Maryhaven often partners with Community Counseling Services for more in-depth service. Brown said Crawford County Public Health works with Maryhaven, visiting every six weeks to conduct anonymous screenings for STDs, HIV, and Hep-C.
Maryhaven is also a part of Leuthold’s Intensive Supervision and Treatment program, a selective group of people who are placed there specifically by Leuthold. Every two weeks, participants have direct access to Leuthold, Maryhaven counselors, parole officers, and other services that the judge believed would be beneficial to each person.
“He’s (Leuthold) been pretty good to work with and it’s been great to be part of helping the community,” Brown said. “It can be heartbreaking, though, when someone does well for a while and then relapses, kind of fall off the radar and things happen.”
With numerous office spaces now available and rooms for group therapy, Brown is looking forward to seeing Maryhaven grow in the community. She hopes to get an adolescent program running and start up women’s and men’s groups.
Right now, Maryhaven has over 130 clients, a good percentage, Brown said, of which are one-year sober.
“To me, that’s a great milestone,” said Brown. “They continue to go on their recovery journey. And even if they successfully complete treatment, they’ll still come in and say, ‘hey, I’m doing well. I bought a house; here’s my car; I’m working.’
“That’s what we want to do,” Brown added, “is have members of community be successful members of the community. Work, be tax payers.”
Brown believed that was exactly what the clients wanted, too.
“I don’t think anybody wakes up and say I want to be a heroin addict and have to chase this every day and be sick every day. They want their families to be restored. I think that’s the key part that Maryhaven does – we help restore their lives. That’s what we’re here to do.”
With a home office in Columbus, Maryhaven also established satellite offices in Delaware, Morrow, and Union counties, along with its Bucyrus office. There is also interest in expanding into Chillicothe while a branch recently opened in Marion. The ADAMH Board helps funds Maryhaven.
For more information, contact 419-562-1740.