In the Fight Against Drug Addiction, What Is the Next Step After Detox?

In the Fight Against Drug Addiction, What Is the Next Step After Detox?

In the Fight Against Drug Addiction, What Is the Next Step After Detox?

When I was in jail, my brother got arrested, and he was in there for about four months,” Owens said. “And he shot up heroin, more or less. It was OxyContin and stuff… and while he was in there, he was trying to get help. He was wanting to go to rehab when he left there. ”

However, Owens’ sibling was not accepted into a rehabilitation facility. Owens claims he died of an overdose two days after being discharged and was discovered behind a tire store.

“People are dying left and right.”

The first step is to stop using the substance

Owens was in and out of prison for 20 years as a result of his addiction. He’s now clean, but he claims that a lack of resources leads to many others becoming addicted or overdoing it. He claims he saw the same individuals in and out of jail, and now that he’s out, he’s getting phone calls from people who want to be clean.

“People are looking for help all the time,” he says. I can’t help ’em.

The first step is to stop using the substance. Opioid withdrawal symptoms might linger for up to a month. A detox center can assist, but only if a bed is available. Owens recalls contacting his probation officer about getting into rehab at one point, only to be informed that it would take four months. He was never admitted to the institution; instead, he was arrested and imprisoned.

When detox is completed, the effort does not end

Another major issue in Owens’ hometown of Southern Illinois is a shortage of services for individuals who do manage to quit using them. There is little employment and few places to go in this remote area, as in many others. This makes it simple for users to revert to the same friends and behaviors they had when using it.

Even after nine months of being clean and sober, Owens claims he is constantly contacted by friends who ask if he wants to get high.

Sherry Gibbens, a substance abuse counselor, refers to it as “people, places, and stuff.”

“All that stuff that brought them in,” she says. “They have to turn their mind and just get away from that again.”

Gibbens works as a counselor with Centerstone, a Midwest-based provider of behavioral health and other services. As a result, she is on the front lines of Illinois’ opioid crisis, which is only growing worse. Based on emergency department visits, the CDC recorded a 66% rise in opioid overdoses in the state in 2017. According to preliminary data from the Department of Health, 2,199 individuals died from opioid overdoses last year, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Gibbens characterizes addiction as follows:

“Imagine a tornado coming through, destroying everything: your home, all of your belongings. Your life is so unmanageable and you just look around and you don’t know where to start. ”
Only 43 state-licensed institutions provide what the state refers to as long-term residential treatment, which extends beyond the first detox phase. As a result, many counties in Illinois lack a single long-term treatment center.

These facilities are required because substances such as heroin and prescription medications alter the circuits in the brain. Decision-making, problem solving, and remembering are just a few of the abilities that might be harmed. Just wanting to be clean isn’t often enough; patients must relearn those abilities.

In certain areas, community groups such as Herrin House of Hope have stepped in to fill the need.

The soup kitchen is not like others. It’s set up like a restaurant, with volunteers coming to tables and taking orders from a menu that includes two main options, as well as sides and dessert. Other services provided by the group include a thrift store, food bank, GED programs, and job training for people starting over after jail or addiction.

“We were just trying to not be the ministry where you just put a bandaid over it,” said director John Steve. “We really want to get in there with peroxide and alcohol and really, really help someone be successful.”

Giving back to the community

Steve founded the group after serving time in jail for gang violence and drug trafficking. He relocated to southern Illinois to avoid reverting to previous behaviors.

Steve was raised on Chicago’s south side, where he joined a gang at the age of 11. He also said that after going through treatment programs in jail, he realized that if he went back to his old neighborhood, where his family still lived, he was afraid he would go back to his old ways.

“The odds were going to be stacked against me even if I was to return with the right intentions,” he said, explaining why he decided to move to Herrin, a place he had never been before.

Support like that may be a lifeline for those in recovery, but there aren’t as many alternatives in regions like Franklin County, where Loran Owens resides. He wishes to alter this.

He believes that the most vital aspect of becoming and staying clean is support. A devoted team that will be available to help, especially if it includes people who have struggled with addiction themselves.

His vision is known as Operation Archangel Army, and he is collaborating with local organisations to secure donations and sponsorship to establish a facility. He sees a location that can provide seminars and training for individuals, community resources such as a kitchen and daycare, and a safe and sober hangout for people.

Counselor Sherry Gibbens feels that community support is essential. Addiction cannot be overcome on one’s own.

“They’re just going to go right back to their old habits and those old behaviors if the community doesn’t rally to support them and get them on their feet,” she says. “If you want them to change, then you have to show them the change.”


Vanderburgh House was established as a resource to provide secure and stable recovery-based accommodation for those looking for one-of-a-kind experiences throughout their recovery journey. All of our Illinois houses are overseen by caring house managers whose primary purpose is to help our clients live a healthier life free of drugs and alcohol.

All of our sober living houses are run by self-employed, mindful operators who have collaborated with Vanderburgh House to provide unique sober living in their communities. As a member of our sober living Operator cooperation, Vanderburgh Communities gives Charters to Operators who want to manage their own sober living facility in conjunction with us. If you’ve always wanted to open your own sober house, now is your chance! We strongly advise you to attend a meeting to learn more about this fantastic chance to help your community. 

We encourage you to read through the Vanderburgh House Sober House Directory, which was created as a resource for anybody seeking for a sober house anywhere in the United States. With well-detailed images and locations, one may quickly choose what suits them best, especially if any of our Vanderburgh House houses isn’t quite suitable.