HEALTH The Cost of
Addiction An all-female rehabilitation center offers support and hope for women struggling with drug abuse. BY JESS DEYO | PHOTO PROVIDED BY MORGAN HAAS
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n 2017, Ohio had the second highest drug-overdose rate in the nation, averaging 39.2 deaths for every 1,000 residents. The explanation for the disastrous statistic may be tucked away in the empty pockets of the 13.9% of Ohio’s population living in poverty. Drug abuse is known to cling to impoverished regions, and Athens is the poorest county in the state, with an alarming 30% of its population below the poverty line, according to the 2018 Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE). Cathy Chelak of Athens Health Recovery Services [HRS] is aiming to put a stop to the drug use that is caused, in part, by the county’s lack of resources. She serves as the program director for the Rural Women’s Recovery Program, an allfemale in-house recovery program under the HRS located minutes from Ohio University. The residential center houses a staff of nearly 25 people who are certified to treat both substance disorders and mental health disorders, Chelak says. Sitting on 40 acres of land and offering 17 beds, the center is ideal for women to get in touch with the mind, body and soul. Athens is one of many counties in the state to have allwomen rehab facilities. According to studies, such as those funded by the Center on Addiction, women become addicted to drugs like cocaine, heroin and meth quicker than their male counterparts. To be admitted to the residential center, Chelak says potential patients must satisfy a specific criteria listed in a diagnostic manual. The center has a high level of care that falls right below psychiatric hospitalization, and patients must prove that they are dependent on their drug of choice for such a facility. Chelak, who is also the director of quality improvement
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for HRS, agrees there is a correlation between drug use and poverty in Athens, saying the desire to use drugs stems from a lack of resources, motivation and ambition. “The women that come into residential facility are using non-stop and pretty much dying as they’re using,” Chelak said. “Their bodies are deteriorating, often their mental status is declining and they’ve often also had really poor life goals and achievements throughout their life.” Chelak says that Athens women have stressors in their lives and lack the coping skills that may prevent them from drug use. The temporary numbness received from a drug is used to cover up problems like financial instability or trauma, she says. The soothing effects of drugs can become so problematic that the only motivation to enter the rehab center is through ultimatums offered by probation officers, and the exchange often involves the opportunity to keep custody of children. Over the nearly 30 years that Chelak has worked in the health profession, she is most shocked by the increased likelihood of a mother losing custody during their rehabilitation process. “Way back in the day, if a woman had children, they would really sometimes help move her through going into recovery because she knew she was going to lose them,” Chelak says. “Now, women are losing most of their children.” The center offers a program for women to bring their children if they are under five years old, but Chelak says the center has been silent with the absence of children today. Instead, she says, children are being placed with aunts, sisters or are taken by children’s services to be placed elsewhere. “They’re all gone from those families and what’s going to happen? What’s that going to mean for the next generation? What’s that going to mean for those kids? How is it that
