New Life Option – Residential and Recovery Program

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Giving away turkeys and spreading holiday cheer is Lee Shepard, owner of Diamond Janitorial Services. Says Shepard, “I just want to be a blessing to others this holiday season.”

By Johnnie Grant

The residential recovery program New Life Option was initially organized in 1991 by Mathew Bacoate, III and Billy Gardenhight, Jr.

The program, then called Life On Life’s Terms, got off the ground in 1993, its mission to help people recovering from alcohol and substance abuse by providing “a holistic, healthy, and life-fulfilling integration back into mainstream society.”

Gardenhight is Executive Director of the program, now called New Life Option, designed to provide clients with a structured system of services including mental health counseling by a license psychologist, employment assistance, legal services, and “No-Nonsense” life-skills.

The New Life Option
in-house residency program provides accommodations for as many as 16
men, although the normal head count of live-in residents is 10 or 11.
But, says Gardenhight, “We have a large non-residential client base who
participate in the programs daily.” The non-residential clients include
men and women from all walks of life and socio-economic backgrounds.


Substance abuse counseling is a particularly demanding form of
community outreach that requires patience, compassion, and a keen
desire to help others who are in crisis. It is considered one of the
most challenging areas of human/social services. Much of the addicted
population comprises people who need help in many areas of their lives.
Homelessness, mental illness, AIDS, and other chronic illnesses often
accompany drug addition, and death at a relatively young age is common
among addicts.


Gardenhight says, “You never know what will come up, and the staff here
spends a lot of time counseling and making referrals, but most of what
we do is crisis intervention.” Crisis intervention, he explains,
demands a sympathetic, nonjudgmental attitude and a supportive
approach, “no matter what situation the resident is in.”


Gardenhight believes that everyone is at risk, either directly or
through family members, of being affected by drug addiction. “Daily our
youth and adults alike feel the pressure to try ‘gateway’ drugs such as
tobacco, alcohol and marijuana,” he says. “Many substance abusers look
at their substance abuse as recreational, not addictive. However,
research has shown that each of these drugs is associated with the
increased risk that the user will someday turn to more dangerous drugs.

 

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Lee Shepard (right) gives turkeys to residents of the New Life Option program. Above, Lee gives a turkey to Billy Gardenhight, Jr., Executive Director of the program.


While Gardenhight is realistic about the individual’s responsibility
for his or her own addiction, he asserts that families, parents,
schools, and the community at large must also address the problems of
substance abuse. “The war against drugs,” he says, “will be won in
hundreds of individual homes.”


One of the great challenges of fighting substance abuse is for
intervenors to learn to control their anger and frustration, and to
maintain bonds of family or friendship; walking away or expressing
anger can undermine the rehabilitation efforts. At the same time,
Gardenhight believes that friends and family members have to be
“arm[ed] with the truth about drugs.”


He outlines some of the symptoms of drug abuse using an acronym that can serve as a red-flag to drug abuse: “I-R-R-I-T-A-B-L-E.”


✔ Impulsiveness. Drug-abusive children become increasingly selfish and impulsive.
✔ Recent drop in grades.
✔ Resistance to authority increases.
✔ Inability to keep promises or commitment.
✔ Tough new friends. Peer pressure is often the main reason children use drugs.
✔ Ambivalent feelings, low self-esteem, diminished interest.
✔ Blaming and belligerent; turning situations around, inappropriate anger, hostility, irritability.
✔ Lying, dishonesty.
✔ Escape or withdrawal from the family and close caring friends.


Physical signs of substance abuse may also occur, including memory
lapses, shortened attention span, difficulty in concentration, poor
physical coordination, unhealthy appearance, lack of hygiene and
grooming, bloodshot eyes, dilated pupils.


“New Life Option” is a non-profit 501c3 organization, struggling to
provide needed services in our community. If you would like to become
involved by volunteering your time, skills, or making a tax-deductible
charitable contribution, contact Billy Gardenhight, Jr. at (828)
216-1179.