Delta STAR is seeking to make a difference with persons who battle alcohol addiction in Washington and Sunflower counties.
The goal of the program is to formulate a pipeline of services to ensure that more patients are identified, treated and afforded assistance and continually monitored as they transition to a life of sobriety. And with a year of service knocked out, the new program has already recorded some success.
One of the program’s first participants, Stephanie L., a Washington County resident, considers the program and her association with the program’s navigational coach, Angela Bowman, a godsend. Referencing her initial encounter, she said, “I was in a big slump, I had no focus.”
Stephanie fought back tears during a recorded interview as she reflected on feeling as though she was sinking in quicksand until she met Bowman who shared a smile and offered her a way out of her emotional mire. She mentioned being pressured to fill the needs of other family members. “And I had a lot of needs for myself,” she said.
Continuing through sniffles, Stephanie admitted to making some bad life choices and being in a place of distrust. However, she credits Bowman with simplifying a lot of things for her and exposing her potential. “She made a way for me to see all of the different good things I was capable of,” she said.
Sha’Ketta Davis, Director of Mental Health & Behavioral Health Grants, affirmed the importance of Bowman’s role as a navigator and added that she also assists clients with setting goals aside from the goals they set with their therapists.
Davis said their therapeutic aim is to reduce and eliminate the use of the controlling substance; however, since alcoholism affects the person’s entire life, the additional objectives become necessary.
Stephanie said her daughter also suffered emotionally and educationally as a result of her addiction and this caused Stephanie additional concern. However, her daughter is being assisted in getting a high school diploma and other counseling. Davis said that as a Delta STAR navigator/coach, “Whatever the parent’s concerns are is what Angela is going to help them with.”
Delta STAR, which stands for Systems of Treatment and Rehabilitation, seeks to improve access to and the outcomes related to alcohol recovery and treatment. The organization provides clients with an opportunity to receive detoxification, addiction therapy, counseling and other services including access to a coach who will be able to connect them with outside resources when necessary.
“It is a grant-funded project that is a three-year networking initiative that was implemented to bridge the gap between the community and healthcare when it comes to alcoholism,” Davis said.
She added that access to detox opportunities and the navigational coach, who can assist the clients with different community recovery support services, such as housing in addition to educational and employment opportunities, is what makes the difference between the STAR program and other substance abuse and alcoholism initiatives.
She said some lose custody of their children and suffer the loss of employment, which creates a snowball effect that launches other problems. In that instance, the navigator’s role becomes that of a link that helps connect the client to resources that can assist in gaining employment and rehabilitating back into the community as a “sober individual.”
Another facet of the process provides clients with a pre and post liver analysis. “They can tell all they want to that they are not drinking anymore, but we actually draw labs to see, at the beginning of their time with us how affected or impacted their liver has been.” Davis said the assessments also help them gauge the success of their detoxification process.
Delta STAR has formed partnerships with the Leland Medical Clinic, the Desoto Family Counseling Center and Parkwood Behavioral Health Systems in Olive Branch to provide outpatient and in-patient services respectively.
Davis said the STAR initiative also provides teletherapy sessions through a live video connection where individuals can get the same treatment they would normally get in person. It is designed for those who may have confidentiality or privacy concerns dealing with local therapists and coaches.
Delta STAR is based on the Recovery Oriented Systems of Care model, which is a patient-centered framework of care. So, it is not hindered by time constraints. “Everything that we do is at the discretion of the patient. No two people’s treatment plans will look alike,” said Davis. She said it would depend on the severity of their usage.
This applies more specifically to self-referrals and clinical referrals. Other clients who come to the program through the drug courts will have a court-ordered treatment plan that has a specified term. Davis said the goal of the program is to reach at least 100 persons and so far they are assisting 12 clients.
There are no stringent eligibility requirements; participants simply have to be residents of Sunflower or Washington counties with an alcohol abuse issue and age 18 or over. It is funded through Health Resources and Services Administration a division of the Department of Health & Human Services.
For more information on the program and how to enroll, call the office at 662-686-3905.
