West Sound Treatment Center Bridges Gap Between Addiction and Treatment

On June 11, 2024By Rgal Nv

After years of battling addiction in Kitsap County, Michelle Lamb knows how difficult it can be to get clean when you don’t know where to turn.

A simple return home, quick access to treatment or having someone to accompany you through the process, she says, can be the catalyst for people suffering from a dementia-related disorder. substance use to finally break the cycle. Lamb, now five years sober, is the head of West Sound Treatment Center’s new program that aims to be that spark.

The five-month-old Supportive Housing and Behavioral Liaison program aims to connect people released from prison or living on the streets with a substance use disorder to people with lived experience who can support them throughout their recovery process.

“Being able to help heal this community that I was walking the streets in, that means a lot to me,” Lamb said. “We’re all different, but you understand the feeling, you understand the pain, that feeling of depression, of not knowing what to do or who to turn to.”

The Liaison works to provide clients with access to substance abuse treatment, housing, transportation, Medicare, job applications, identification, telephones, and any other services including they may need when reintegrating into the community.

“The idea is that people who need a home, who can’t use the system to get treatment, have a place to come, come in and be supported through the process,” said Ken Wilson, CEO of WSTC.

WSTC launched the liaison program in January with a $250,000 grant from Kitsap County. Funds came from the county’s 1/10th of 1% sales tax. The initiative, created in 2013, generates tax revenue specifically to fund mental health and substance abuse programs.

Wilson said the concept for the program came to him many years ago, while he was still working in Oklahoma. Although the program got off to a modest start, he says it has already exceeded expectations and hopes to expand it if he gets additional funding.

The program currently has two dedicated staff members: Lamb, who focuses on behavioral health and harm reduction; and Kalina Harris, who focuses on supportive housing and transportation. So far, they have worked with 206 people.

Program clients are referred by prisons, law enforcement, Kitsap Mental Health Services and Peninsula Community Health Services and a host of other providers. Those in need can also apply through the WSTC website.

Lamb says the program is participant-driven. She works with clients to develop a list of goals and provides transportation and support throughout the process. That includes even simple things like sitting with people during their medical appointment, she said. Most often, that means finding people housing, transportation, and access to drug treatment.

One customer was eager to get on the bus, so Harris rode with her, Lamb said.

On another occasion, Lamb picked up a client in Gig Harbor who was in crisis and had missed a scheduled court date. She connected them with a rehab center. Three days later, she picked them up and took them to WSTC’s Bremerton campus, then presented them to a compliance officer.

“Whatever their needs are, we’re ready to help them get on the right track,” Lamb said.

Liaisons also work directly with patients who will soon be released from prison. They help create a discharge plan that fast-tracks them to doctor appointments or treatment programs and prepares them for their eventual departure.

“That way, when they get out, they don’t go back to doing what they were doing before,” Lamb said. “They have a better chance of succeeding when they leave because they are already engaged in services. »

Lamb says participating in treatment can be almost a part-time job, requiring 18 to 20 hours per week. That often doesn’t include other commitments like going to court, seeing a mental health counselor or connecting with family or friends, she said.

Navigating this treatment, she says, can be both confusing and difficult. This is especially true for those who lack access to transportation or are unhoused.

Wilson said the liaison model is a “true harm reduction program” that meets people where they are. They help those who are still actively using drugs – a barrier that often prevents people in need from accessing services.

Wilson said the goal is recovery, not continued use. But he emphasizes that there must be an element of harm reduction. It’s difficult to force someone to resign when they’re not ready, he said.