| List of cities in North Carolina Charlotte Raleigh Greensboro Durham Winston-Salem Fayetteville Cary High Point Wilmington Asheville Jacksonville Gastonia Greenville Concord Rocky Mount Chapel Hill Burlington Wilson Goldsboro Hickory Kannapolis Fort Bragg Salisbury Monroe Huntersville Kinston Statesville Sanford New Bern Havelock Matthews Asheboro Lumberton Apex Lexington Thomasville Shelby Mooresville Garner Morganton Elizabeth City Kernersville Roanoke Rapids Lenoir Carrboro Henderson Eden Laurinburg Albemarle Mint Hill |
1-888-891-4385
NORTH CAROLINA PROGRAM OFFERS HOPE FOR ADDICTED MOTHERS
PITTSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA -- "Theresa" came to Hope Meadow on a superstitiously ominous day in December.
"It was Friday the 13th, but it wasn't a bad day," recalled the 34-year-old. "It was the best day of my life."
Eight months ago, the mother of three entered Hope Meadow, a residential treatment facility for pregnant women suffering from substance abuse in North Carolina, when she was pregnant with her fourth child. That 2-month old infant now coos gently, cradled on her mother's lap.
Another resident of Hope Meadow, a 27-year-old who asked that she not be given a name, relaxes with her own baby, a 4-month old, next to "Theresa" in the common area. They are waiting for a group parenting therapy session.
"I was pregnant and didn't really have a home, just a drug place to live," said the woman, who has been at the North Carolina facility for seven months. "I heard about Hope Meadow through a drug counselor, and after I called and talked to a therapist, I thought I could see God's hands moving me here."
The two women each had been substance abusers for nearly a decade before coming to Hope Meadow. They had been addicted to, among other drugs, crack cocaine, marijuana and alcohol. The women came to the North Carolina facility with a common goal -- to become clean, to give birth to clean children and to function again in a society in which they had previously struggled.
"Theresa" lives at Hope Meadow with two toddlers and her infant; her oldest, a 12-year old, lives with relatives. She said that one of the most important aspects of her recovery has been working on the once severely strained relationship with her eldest child, who now comes to visit regularly on the weekends.
"I really wasn't feeling anything when I was using, but I remember feeling guilty when I used to smoke up my baby's Christmas money," she said. "There was two sides to me, and my daughter grew up with that. When I was using crack cocaine, I used to act out a lot, but my daughter likes me now. She actually talks to me."
"Theresa," who was referred to the program through the North Carolina health department, said the transition to Hope Meadow was rough at first. She was shy and slow to open up to staff and other residents, and she was going through a bad relationship with her mother.
"My mother didn't tell anybody I was here, and hasn't told anybody about my baby. Only a couple of friends know about this," she said, her baby now fast asleep on her lap. "But I'm clean, and it makes me feel really good about myself."
In contrast, the mother of the 27-year old drove her to the North Carolina facility. "Substance abuse was a way of dealing with my past," she said. "I kept using to keep from being responsible and deal with growing up."
Hope Meadow, which currently houses six women, three infants, and two toddlers, was incorporated in the summer of 1996 and first began accepting clients in 1997. Jean Sutter, who has served as executive director for 13 months, said the idea first stemmed from a study that revealed a high level of pregnancy among substance abusers in North Carolina.
The 1994 study prompted state officials to begin the North Carolina Perinatal and Maternal Substance Abuse Initiative, which created programs throughout North Carolina, including Hope Meadow. A program of Family Wellness and Recovery Services of North Carolina, Hope Meadow is a private nonprofit organization.
Thirteen staff members and more than 30 volunteers supervise and conduct services 24 hours a day. Hope Meadow has served a total of 65 women and 42 infants, and also has conducted childcare and psychiatric services for 16 children who have lived with their mothers on the property.
Women are referred to Hope Meadows from a variety of places: local health departments, public health nurses or other North Carolina perinatal programs. They participate in four groups a week -- two substance abuse groups, art therapy and parenting therapy -- while also attending treatment groups through the Horizons program at University of North Carolina Hospitals. In addition, Hope Meadow requires clients to participate in four Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meetings a week.
"Our primary goals are to ensure drug-free children and mothers, successful engagement in recovery, establishing parent-child relationships and to complete a sustainable return to independent and responsible community life," Sutter said.
For the women of Hope Meadow, who must be 18 or older to be accepted into the program, the yearlong treatment plan begins immediately upon arrival. At first, they are required to spend 12-18 weeks attending the programs at Horizons four days a week. Then they move down to a two-day-a-week program, while still going through the levels at Hope Meadows. Each new level brings more freedom for the women, but each level is longer and more involved than the previous one. The women complete assignment worksheets at the end of each level, with approval from therapists. Each client applies for the next level, and all staff and residents vote on whether they should move up.
"Through our substance abuse therapy groups we address what is going on in their lives, family relationships, cravings to get drugs and relapse prevention," Sutter said. "They are exercises to work on issues about safety and developing their own abilities."
Sutter, who facilities many of the programs herself, can relate to the women at Hope Meadows. She was a drug addict for 20 years, from 13 to 33, using cocaine, marijuana and alcohol.
She considered herself a functioning addict. She had a career in the petrochemical industry in Texas and an undergraduate degree in psychology.
"After I got help, I realized what I wanted to do was help women with their own substance abuse problems," she said.
Sutter traveled to North Carolina on business and "fell in love" with the state. With a new master's degree in social work, she worked with social service programs and as a substance abuse specialist before becoming the Hope Meadow executive director.
"This job is very difficult and at the same time very rewarding," she said. "The best part is when a woman here gains awareness and significant insight about herself or notices a behavior and begins to see herself change."
In the next five years, Sutter said Hope Meadow wants to expand services to provide an after-care program, to ensure that mothers who leave the residence remain drug-free. Another goal is to develop a transitional housing program on the property. Currently, Hope Meadow occupies only five of the 38.4 acres that the group owns in Chatham County, North Carolina.
PITTSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA -- "Theresa" came to Hope Meadow on a superstitiously ominous day in December.
"It was Friday the 13th, but it wasn't a bad day," recalled the 34-year-old. "It was the best day of my life."
Eight months ago, the mother of three entered Hope Meadow, a residential treatment facility for pregnant women suffering from substance abuse in North Carolina, when she was pregnant with her fourth child. That 2-month old infant now coos gently, cradled on her mother's lap.
Another resident of Hope Meadow, a 27-year-old who asked that she not be given a name, relaxes with her own baby, a 4-month old, next to "Theresa" in the common area. They are waiting for a group parenting therapy session.
"I was pregnant and didn't really have a home, just a drug place to live," said the woman, who has been at the North Carolina facility for seven months. "I heard about Hope Meadow through a drug counselor, and after I called and talked to a therapist, I thought I could see God's hands moving me here."
The two women each had been substance abusers for nearly a decade before coming to Hope Meadow. They had been addicted to, among other drugs, crack cocaine, marijuana and alcohol. The women came to the North Carolina facility with a common goal -- to become clean, to give birth to clean children and to function again in a society in which they had previously struggled.
"Theresa" lives at Hope Meadow with two toddlers and her infant; her oldest, a 12-year old, lives with relatives. She said that one of the most important aspects of her recovery has been working on the once severely strained relationship with her eldest child, who now comes to visit regularly on the weekends.
"I really wasn't feeling anything when I was using, but I remember feeling guilty when I used to smoke up my baby's Christmas money," she said. "There was two sides to me, and my daughter grew up with that. When I was using crack cocaine, I used to act out a lot, but my daughter likes me now. She actually talks to me."
"Theresa," who was referred to the program through the North Carolina health department, said the transition to Hope Meadow was rough at first. She was shy and slow to open up to staff and other residents, and she was going through a bad relationship with her mother.
"My mother didn't tell anybody I was here, and hasn't told anybody about my baby. Only a couple of friends know about this," she said, her baby now fast asleep on her lap. "But I'm clean, and it makes me feel really good about myself."
In contrast, the mother of the 27-year old drove her to the North Carolina facility. "Substance abuse was a way of dealing with my past," she said. "I kept using to keep from being responsible and deal with growing up."
Hope Meadow, which currently houses six women, three infants, and two toddlers, was incorporated in the summer of 1996 and first began accepting clients in 1997. Jean Sutter, who has served as executive director for 13 months, said the idea first stemmed from a study that revealed a high level of pregnancy among substance abusers in North Carolina.
The 1994 study prompted state officials to begin the North Carolina Perinatal and Maternal Substance Abuse Initiative, which created programs throughout North Carolina, including Hope Meadow. A program of Family Wellness and Recovery Services of North Carolina, Hope Meadow is a private nonprofit organization.
Thirteen staff members and more than 30 volunteers supervise and conduct services 24 hours a day. Hope Meadow has served a total of 65 women and 42 infants, and also has conducted childcare and psychiatric services for 16 children who have lived with their mothers on the property.
Women are referred to Hope Meadows from a variety of places: local health departments, public health nurses or other North Carolina perinatal programs. They participate in four groups a week -- two substance abuse groups, art therapy and parenting therapy -- while also attending treatment groups through the Horizons program at University of North Carolina Hospitals. In addition, Hope Meadow requires clients to participate in four Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meetings a week.
"Our primary goals are to ensure drug-free children and mothers, successful engagement in recovery, establishing parent-child relationships and to complete a sustainable return to independent and responsible community life," Sutter said.
For the women of Hope Meadow, who must be 18 or older to be accepted into the program, the yearlong treatment plan begins immediately upon arrival. At first, they are required to spend 12-18 weeks attending the programs at Horizons four days a week. Then they move down to a two-day-a-week program, while still going through the levels at Hope Meadows. Each new level brings more freedom for the women, but each level is longer and more involved than the previous one. The women complete assignment worksheets at the end of each level, with approval from therapists. Each client applies for the next level, and all staff and residents vote on whether they should move up.
"Through our substance abuse therapy groups we address what is going on in their lives, family relationships, cravings to get drugs and relapse prevention," Sutter said. "They are exercises to work on issues about safety and developing their own abilities."
Sutter, who facilities many of the programs herself, can relate to the women at Hope Meadows. She was a drug addict for 20 years, from 13 to 33, using cocaine, marijuana and alcohol.
She considered herself a functioning addict. She had a career in the petrochemical industry in Texas and an undergraduate degree in psychology.
"After I got help, I realized what I wanted to do was help women with their own substance abuse problems," she said.
Sutter traveled to North Carolina on business and "fell in love" with the state. With a new master's degree in social work, she worked with social service programs and as a substance abuse specialist before becoming the Hope Meadow executive director.
"This job is very difficult and at the same time very rewarding," she said. "The best part is when a woman here gains awareness and significant insight about herself or notices a behavior and begins to see herself change."
In the next five years, Sutter said Hope Meadow wants to expand services to provide an after-care program, to ensure that mothers who leave the residence remain drug-free. Another goal is to develop a transitional housing program on the property. Currently, Hope Meadow occupies only five of the 38.4 acres that the group owns in Chatham County, North Carolina.
