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"Famili es, friends, employers -
anyone connected wit h the a lcoho lic
- is brought in to hc lp confront the
pa ti ent with his problcm as well as
be a pa rt in his recovcry."
In a dditi o n , St. Luke Hospital
has es tablished a n o ut paticnt pro–
gram to he lp the a lcoho lic stay dry
in a wet world . " But no one can do
the en tire job a lone, "stresses Hank
Kl ein, chief alcoholic thcrap ist at St.
Luke Hospital. "Wc cooperate with
o ther agencies . We ti e the a lco–
ho lic's recovery into t he community–
based resources."
Recovery Homes
T he first community rcsource that
a lcoho lics are exposed to is AA. The
second is o ften the recovery homc,
the next way station on the road to
sus ta ined sobri e ty fo r tho ·e who are
detoxified. Pasadena has three: the
Grandview Foundation. the Bishop
Goodcn Home, and La Casa (for
women). The setup and program
varics for home to home, but each
provides a minimum ofthree to four
weeks of refuge and rehabi litation.
The Bishop Gooden Home pri–
m ar il y se rves the whitc-co ll ar
worker, the profess iona l man , and
th e prosperous businessman. In con–
tras t, the Grandview Foundation
has a more heterogeneous group in–
cluding the unskillcd, the ind igent .
and thc welfare case. Three o r four
weeks may no t suffice for ma ny of
the less fo rtunate, so a rela tive ly
new no nresidential program has
been dcveloped to provide needy a l–
coho lics with
JO
to 15 months of
counse l and help. "We feel tha t the
alcoho lic nceds to be invo lved for at
least a year in rehab programs -
AA , group therapy, e tc. - to be able
lO
say he has put his ac t together.
Tha t is the bare minimum necessary
to stabi lize fa irly we ll his sobrie ty."
sta tes James Panariello, p rogra m di–
rector fo r Grandview. But even re–
la pses are possible. A number of
a uthorities believe it takes three to
five yea rs of total sobriety to say a n
a lcoholic is truly stab le and recov–
ered.
La Casa, established in 1968, is
something of a rarity in alcohol re–
habilitation - a facility exclusively
fo r women . " l f only thcy had some–
thing li ke this back in New Yo rk
C ity,
1
might havc rec ove red
The
PLAIN TRUTH December 1976
sooner," lamented E. M.. a recov–
ered a lcoho lic.
' ·But they don' t because women
alcoholics a ren' t as visible as men
a lcoholics. l just stayed home all
day a nd drank. Anytime 1 needed
sorne more, 1 just go t on the phone
and said, 'Send over a case.'"
And then, wi thout p rompting. she
gave a bout by bout acco unt of he r
d ri nking career: (Be forewarned!
Ask a r ecovered alcoholic a simple
question, a nd you may ge t a ten–
minute a utobiographical s ketch.
Their candor is a mazing - and re–
freshing.)
" lt
finall y got so bad that
1
was rushed to the hospital vomit–
ing up b lood. My tempcrature was
106°.
1
needed n ine b lood trans–
fusions. 1 stayed in the hospita l for
two weeks living on jello.
"T he day
1
got ou t, 1 wa lked
a round the comer a nd bought a
bo tt le.
1
still had furthe r to go to
reach the gutter.
"1
fina lly ended up in the psychi–
a tric wa rd in Bellevue.. . . In a mo–
ment of clarity, l sa id lo myself,
'You' re in trouble. Do exactly what
they say.' 1 d id and got out. But 1
neve r licked my problem unt il 1
camc west and discove red La Casa."
Carrot and Stick
Fo r the drunken dri ve r, there is a
specia l route to recovery. First-time
offende rs are referred to four.
weekly, 2 Y2-hour educational and
rap sessions on alcohol a buse a nd
ava ilable recovery programs. First–
time offende rs are motiva ted by th e
ca rra l o f a reduced fine for s uccess–
fully comple ting the program o r the
stick of the fu ll fine for no t a tt end–
ing.
Multipl e otfenders are rc fe rred to
the High Road Program. T he High
Road Program provides a minimum
of 12 months fo r the ed ucation and
resocia lization of th c chronic a lco–
hol and othcr drug abuser. The goa l
is thc revamping of the drug of–
fender's life-sty le.
"Th e rate of recovery or life
c han gc is phenome na l," re po rts
Robert Dorris, proj ect director of
thc High Road Program. "We' re
seeing 80% lo 90% of the partici–
pa nts makc a bas ic changc. The
length of the problem is a big key to
its success. We don't cla im to have
more information - just more time
for people to understand and absorb
i
t."
Helen Dorris. personne l director
for the program, points ou t a nother
factor that is lacking in most other
programs: The carro! and stick mo–
ti va tion provided by the courts gives
alcoholics an added incent ive to
comply wi th the program. Fai lure lo
do so could mean no reduction in
cha rges or lega l penalties, and they
a re much mo re serious for multiple
o ffende rs. "They have certain activi–
t ie s th ey a b so lut e l y have t o
complete. They have to visit reha–
bi lita tion centers, writ e book re–
po rts, do community se rvice and
volunteer work. All of these things
a re gea red Lo changing the ir lifc–
sty le."
Cooperation and Care
A recen! development in Pasadena
is the formation of a coa lition of
agencies and programs dea ling with
a lcoho lism in the city. "This had
bee n done befare in name, but unti l
now no t in fact," states C ha rles M.
" Buz" Hamilton, assistant execut ive
directo r o f the Pasadena Council on
Alcoholism. "We strive lo assis t
each o ther and keep the focus on
helping the a lcoholics in Pasadena."
" Oh there are some int e rn a !
squabbles." admits Sean Ham ilton,
" but we' re a ll working for the same
goal. We a ll realize we need coope r–
ation - no t competition."
This spirit o f cooperation is but a
ma nifcstation of a factor that a llthc
diverse programs and agencies have
in common - tha t grea t intangible
ca lled !ove, ca re, concern. Those
three words cropped up again a nd
again as
l
talked with recovered a l–
co ho lics and those invo lved in reha–
bilitation . "You don ' t have to have
a degree to he lp alcoholics," de–
clared Calleen Cervik, who super–
vises th e Pasadena Commun ity
Hospi ta l detox unit. " But it does
takc carc. People who care, who a re
dedica ted to helping o thers, make
a ll the difference in an a lcohol re–
cove ry program."
Epilogue: After writing th e story 1
ca lled Bill Rose a nd asked him
about Larry. "Funny you should
ask," he re pli es.
"1
just saw him a
whi le ago. He's up at G ra ndview.
and is a ttendi ng group therapy and
AA . Hc's coming along fine ."
o
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