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Recovery in the News
Former addicts urge continued state support
Andrew Perlot
Myrecordjournal.com
September 29, 2008
MERIDEN - Since getting out of prison in December of 2007, Trevor Robichaud of Meriden has found a steady girlfriend, gotten a job, bought a car and signed a one-year lease on an apartment - things that once seemed like distant possibilities.
But most surprising of all, the 32-year-old said, is that through the ups and downs of the intervening months, he hasn't revisited the cocaine addiction put him in prison and dominated his life after his discharge from the Marine Corps in 1998.
Robichaud, and other recovering addicts in the city, spoke to state officials Monday during a meeting at the recovery center, P. Faith Lives, LLC, 74 Grove St. Organizers of the event wanted to know if legislators would support the elimination of insurance and job discrimination for recovering addicts, funding programs to help addicts recover and shifting the emphasis from sending addicts to prison to placing them in settings where they can get help.
Phillip Valentine, executive director of Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery, a nonprofit group that helps addicts and advocates for them at the state level, said people aren't aware how many of their peers are recovering addicts.
Across the United States, it's estimated that one in 10 have an alcohol or drug problem, he said.
"We're anonymous," said Valentine, who has been drug-free since 1987. "We don't know it's our pastor or our lawyer (that has a problem). We need to offer ourselves to show that recovery is really possible."
State services are critical for addicts, who would otherwise get out of prison and have no place to go and no program to keep them sober, said Jaime Simmons, a recovering addict living in Meriden.
"If it wasn't for the state I wouldn't be where I am today," said Simmons, adding that she quit using drugs in 2005. Since then, she's been certified as a paralegal, bought a car, and gotten married.
Her recovery wouldn't have been possible if the state hadn't paid for her treatment and housing for the first few months, she said.
In Meriden, there are 13 certified sober houses where the state pays for addicts to stay for one to three months while they recover, said Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction spokesperson Wayne Daily. There are none in Cheshire, Southington, or Wallingford.
The department does not know how many recovering addicts live in Meriden, Daily said.
Sen. Toni Harp, D-New Haven, said Connecticut is known for being a national leader in helping addicts recover and offering support services.
"It's important for people to know that recovering is a process," she said.
Harp, co-chair of the legislature's Appropriations Committee, will support the group's legislative goals, she said.
Rep. Christopher G. Donovan, D-Meriden, agreed that continued effort in the legislature is necessary.
There is sometimes a not-in-my-backyard mentality when it comes to recovering addicts, said Donovan, who expects to become House speaker when the legislature reconvenes in January. He added that it helps the whole community when a former addict puts their life on track.
"It's going to take all of us working together" to improve services for addicts, he said. "We need to keep swimming."
© www.MyRecordJournal.com 2008