Letty Owings Center - Central City Concern

Letty Owings Center
The Stork Delivery
December 2009
Women & Addictions: What has Changed?
T
wenty years ago, the Letty Owings Center
was created by two determined women who
met in a parking lot. Program manager Nancy
Anderson, in pursuit of treatment for her sister, was
angry and frustrated to find that no program would allow her sister to keep her child with her while undergoing treatment. She got Letty Owings’ ear that day
and in 1989, a residential treatment for women and
children was born.
Both Nancy and Letty were modern women who had
personal experience with addictions themselves. They
were educated and assertive and knew how to make
things happen. Both had come through the women’s
movement of the 70s but at that time, addictions were
still considered “a moral failing, a lack of will over
one’s actions” as reported by the National Institute of
Health in a 30-year retrospective document. If addictions were acknowledged at all, they were thought
to be an issue seriously impacting men only. Women
were expected to be quiet on the matter.
And then came First
Lady Betty Ford. In
1978, Ford disclosed
that she had an
addiction to alcohol
and painkillers. Mrs.
Ford’s own children
were among those
who urged her to
seek treatment.
Betty Ford, of
course, went on to
open the now famous
Betty Ford Center
in 1982 and she
became an outspoken
advocate for
addiction treatment
and recovery.
As the Letty Owings
Letty Owings Center
Center reflects on 20 years of serving women and
children, as well as the cultural milestones that have
been achieved for women at large, it celebrates how
much has changed since the 70s and 80s.
Addictions are increasingly recognized as a
brain disease with genetics contributing to about
50% of a person’s propensity to becoming addicted.
(Advances in brain imaging technology support this
premise and have aided scientists in developing new
treatment approaches.) Diane Lia, Program & Policy
Development Specialist in the Addictions/Mental
Division for the State of Oregon credits advances in
neurobiology over the past ten years for this shift.
“Each person’s brain circuitry is different when it
comes to craving, motivation and memory. These
all impact addiction and recovery,” said Diane.
“Fortunately, with the proven plasticity of the brain,
we know that circuitry can be rewired.”
continued on page 2
Drug of Choice
LOC Clients - Inception to 2009
Chart reflects drug of choice among those women who gave birth to their children while in residence at LOC
www.centralcityconcern.org/loc.htm
Phone: 503-235-3546
Letty Owings Center
Behavioral treatments are now widely employed
in addiction treatment. “Particularly for women
who tend to be more relational,” said Diane, “it is
enormously beneficial for them to live and interact
with other women during treatment and to access
regular support from other women throughout
recovery.” Learning new coping strategies and
working with peer mentors are increasingly embraced
in many recovery programs.
Frequently, the whole family is treated in the
addiction process. The devastating effects that drug/
alcohol use can have on children is recognized and
addressed more directly. In Oregon in 2007, alcohol
& drug abuse was responsible for 55% of cases where
children were removed from their parents/guardians.
In 1997, the State of Oregon mandated that children
must be placed in permanent housing situations
within 12 months of being placed in foster care. This
has created urgency for women seeking to overcome
addictions. It has also raised the importance of
parenting education as part of their recovery process.
“My child was a huge motivator for me,” said a recent
LOC graduate. “She made me want to create a better
life for us both.”
Overall drug use in the United States has been
declining in past years. In a recent national study by
the National Institute of Health, illicit drug use among
teens has declined 24% from 2001 to 2007. Marijuana
use has declined steadily, cocaine use has remained
stable and crack cocaine use has declined. The State of
Oregon reports that current red flag areas are increased
abuse of prescription drugs and the remaining threat of
methamphetamines.
“When LOC started, we saw a lot of cocaine use and
some spikes in heroin usage. For the past ten years, we
have seen meth skyrocket as the drug of choice,” said
LOC program director Nancy Anderson. Multnomah
County echoes this, reporting a 44% increase in the
percentage of pregnant women entering treatment
from 2001 to 2005.
Attitudes about women seeking addiction
treatment have improved. In 1983, when Nancy
Page 2
was voted to serve on the board of directors of her
recovery club, she was the only woman in the room.
Several older men in the club scoffed at her and said
that alcoholism was a disease for men only. Today,
there are hundreds of Alcoholic Anonymous, Narcotics
Anonymous and other similar groups meetings in the
Portland metropolitan area with women welcomed.
Across the country, there is an increased willingness
to allow women to continue to parent while they
undergo treatment. One of LOC’s earliest clients
reflects, “To enter treatment, I needed someone to
watch my son. I had no one. In order to get treatment,
it would have meant giving up my child to the state.
That was absolutely not an option for me. Even
though I knew I was not a healthy mother and that
my beautiful son deserved far better than me, I did
not believe he would be better off in state care. Folks
looked up to the addicted man who had to take care of
the child because the terrible mother was out using. To
be an addicted mother meant I was less than scum...
Worse than the injury inflicted by others, was my own
sense of shame.” Today, this mother is a working
professional and her son is in college studying
environmental engineering.
“We believe that programs like LOC where women
keep their children during treatment and recovery have
improved access and increased the number of women
who are willing to seek help,” said Nancy. “And
what’s better for mom turns out to be better for the
baby as well.”
In a 2001 study that reviewed 50 similar residential
treatment centers for women and children, the Center
for Substance Abuse Treatment found that the risk of
premature delivery among clients in treatment was
reduced by 70% and 75% of clients retained physical custody of one or more children six months after
completing the program. The study’s conclusions were
that centers like LOC “reduce otherwise high risks of
adverse pregnancy outcomes; help women overcome
long-standing chemical dependencies and associated
life problems; and assisting women to strengthen their
parenting skills and increase their capabilities to maintain/regain custody of their children.” Furthermore, of
continued on page 7
Letty Owings Center
Individual
Donors
Richard and Nancy Anderson
Lloyd and Pauline Anderson
George Anderson
Terry Anderson
Anonymous
Don and Gaile Baack
Joan Lamb and Gregory
Baldwin
Chelsea Barbour
Constance Beall
Dorothy Benson
Ralph G. Bliquez
Maki Border
Debbie Borgelt
Janet Brandt
Theresa M. Brugato
Marc Caplan
Kathleen A. Carmichael
Carol J. Carpenter
Latvia Cash
Laurie Chatman
Angela D. Chisholm
Nancy Church
Jan & David Consoli
Helen Cooper
David & Kimberly Curtis
Steph Dailey
Kim Northcott Dewey
Kathleen Dixon
Mickie S. Duval
Melissa Dvorak
Dale C. and Jean L. Eggers
Sharon and Daniel Fako
James Scott Ferris
Jeffrey Fish
Linda L. Fluker
Jennifer Gates
Louise Gilman
Joannne Gilmore
Dean P. & Susan T. Gisvold
Susan Evans Grabe
Nic Granum
Sarah Haas
Grace Hafdahl
Earl W. and Sally J. Haggart
Jim Hall
Susan R. Hanson
Marie & Eric Harris
Page 3
Donor list reflects gifts made from November 15, 2008 through November 6, 2009.
Martin and Sylvia
Hart-Landsberg
Karen Haverley
Alice Herrell
Thomas Holland
Kimberlee M. Hungerford
Robin & Kip Huntting
Alyce and Steven Irving
Sig-Linda Jacobson M.D.
Jeff & Robin Jensen
Karl Jensen
Emily Jo and John Jensen
Susan Johnson
Emmylou Johnson
Pat A. Jones
Chai Josie
Winona Joy
Robert Katchmark
Maureen Patricia Kenny
Raymond A. and Beverly J.
Kestek
James Kinniburgh
Sheila A. Kirk
Brad Kiser
Veralyn Klosterman
Cynthia D. Klug
Sara Kosicki
Lorraine Larsen-Denning
Brent C. Lawrence
Brian Lee
Teddy Leiser
Adrienne Levin
Ruthanne Lidman
Brian Lindstrom
Elaine Linne
Darrell and Ann Manning
Heidi Marmen
Kathleen Marquart
Parvaneh Mazhar
Sherrie McCann
Paul and Sally McCracken
Ann & Thomas
McGranahan
Meghan McLaughlin
Jacqueline McQuiston
Lionel & Margot Miller
Pamela J. Mitchell
Gregory & Rebecca Mowe
Joanne M. Nawrocki
Gary and Sara Anne Nees
Roger and Susan Newell
Gina Newman
James and Sheila Nichols
Mark and Janell
Niemann-Ross
Jerry and Corrine Notham
Steven O’Neill
Marilyn Opatz
Ray and Letty Owings
Carol R. Palo
Jenny Pando
Ted Papas & Alexei Castalano
Katherine Parsons
Mary Ann Phillips
Neil Plein
John Powers
Bruce Eric Richards
Michael P. Rienecker
Charlene Rogers
James and Susan Ross
Robin and Karen Saunders
Charles Sauvain
Jim and Margot Schell
Herbert and Esther Seaman
Greg Selby
Molly Seaverns
George and Carla Serrill
Heather and Josh Simko
Saundra Singhose
James Sjulin
Robin Smith
Carol Smith Larson
Pat A. Smythey
Charlann Snider
Dr. Duane Starr
Valorie Starr
Edward W. Stites
Garlinn Story
Molly Jo Strang
Patricia Sweet
Kathleen K. Taylor
Donald L. and
Geraldine W. Tisdel
Russell F. Tromley
Greg and Jenny Tunstall
Ellen Luoma Ullrick
Richard and Marjorie
Van Zante
James and Susan Waddell
Arnette Walker
Jam Wade Wall
George & Marilyn Walters
Harvey M. Watt
Merri Watts
Randi J H Weling
Sarah Wetjen
Jennifer M. Wilson
Thomas Wilson and
Kathleen Buell Davis
Mike Witham
Alex Wolfe
Walter & Connie Wood
Organizations
Adobe Systems Incorporated
Alliance of Nonprofits for
Insurance
Anonymous (Foundation)
Baltic Avenue Properties, Inc.
Bazaar of the Bizarre
Benson Family Foundation
Bliss Salon & Day Spa
Burpee Family Charitable
Fund
Christ United Methodist
Church
Daughters of Penelope, Troy
Chapter
Dental Kinetics
Desco Industrial Group Inc.
Emmanuel Presbyterian
Church
Employee’s Community
Fund of Boeing Portland, Inc.
Frederick K. Erickson, CPA
Hanna Andersson
Intercultural Fellowship
Group II
Lake Grove Presbyterian
Church
Lake Oswego Junior
Women’s Club
Lake Oswego United
Methodist Church
continued on page 4
Letty Owings Center
LBC Franchising Corp
Moreland Presbyterian
Church
Newcomers Welcome Club
Oregon Community Fdn.
Parkrose United Methodist
Women
Portland Women’s Fdn.
Providence Plan Partners
Rose City Park Presbyterian
Church
Solution Motorcycle Club
St. Andrew Lutheran Church
St. Luke Lutheran Church
Sunnyside Family Playground
Unitarian Universalist
Alliance
United Methodist Women
United Methodist Women of
First Untd. Methodist Ch
Varitz Foundation
Vermont Hills United
Methodist Women
Westminster Pres. Church
Wilshire Utd. Methodist
Women
Thomas R. Wilson Living Trust
In-Kind Donations
Individuals
Suzi Bennett
Maggie Bienapfl
Tracy and Rick Bienapfl
Niquaja Burns
Nichole Dewson
Jason Gandee
Trisha Just
Fredrick Kinyon
Robbyn Leventhal
Heidi Nestler
Brigid O’Kane
Ethel & George Saltzberg
Kathey Shaw
Lizzie Slommer
Denise Spacal
Dr. Duane Starr
C L Strong
Kristin Wells
Thomas Wilson
Page 4
In-Kind Donations
Organizations
Church Women United
Clackamas Cty Medical
Alliance
Emmanuel Presbyterian
Gethsemane Lutheran
Church
Hanna Andersson
Lake Grove Pres. Church
Les Schwab
Marina’s Kafe
Oregon Episcopal School and
Church
Our Savior’s Lutheran Church
Per La Cara
Powell’s Books
St. Luke Lutheran Church
Westminster Pres. Church
Wilf’s Restaurant /Piano Bar
Honorary/Memorial Gifts
In Honor/Memory of
Thad & Kristi Brill
Dr. Ed Elkin
Adrienne Lomley
Donor
Raymond & Beverly Kestek
Constance Beall
Patricia Sweet
Jack O’Brian
Robin and Karen Saunders
Harvey Watt
Randi J H Weling
Red & Diane Gilbert
Lake Grove Presbyterian
Church
Auction Donors Raise Funds for Laura’s Place
Individuals
George Anderson
Lloyd and Pauline Anderson
Richard and Nancy Anderson
Terry C. Anderson
Micaela Angle
E.V. Armitage
Liza Asner
Don Baack
Janet Bain
James J. Barry
Georges & Mary Birenbaum
Rebecca Birenbaum
Edward Blackburn
Carolyn Blanchard
Debra Borgelt
Michelle Boyle
Jon Bridenbaugh
Gregory Byrne
Echo Cain
M. J. Cherkauer
Christopher P. Colburn
Maribeth Collins
Kathleen Buell Davis
Karin Dufault
Ruth Fischer
Cornelia Frank
Richard and Carol Gibson
Linda Girard
Dean P. & Susan T. Gisvold
Sarah S. Goforth
Rolaine Grandey
Nic Granum
Sandy Haffey
Richard L. Harris
Martin and Sylvia HartLandsberg
Gina Hemming
Patricia Kim Johnson
Barb Colton Juelson
Adrienne Karecki
Katherine Keniston
Cynthia D. Klug
Bo Kontas
Danielle Lawrence
Janet Larios
Brian Lee
Priscilla Lewis
Tamara Lindemann
Maureen Morrison Long
Daryle Maddock
Traci Manning
Parvaneh Mazhar
Jennifer McDonald ‘Mac’
Ann & Thomas McGranahan
Theresa McMahill
Martha Strawn Morris
Susan O’Donnell
Carol R. Palo
Maggie Pastro
John and Anne Pearson
Sarah Porter
John Powers
Julie Redford
Carole Romm
Kathleen Roy
Dianne Sather
Cheryl Scarcelli
Saundra Singhose
Eileen A. Sorensen
Kristin Steele
Constance Strawn
Pat Thomas
Donald & Geraldine Tisdel
Claudia Toth
Casey Waage
Bruce Watt
Sarah Wetjen
Jay Wurscher
Auction donor list continues on page 5.
Letty Owings Center
Auction Donors, continued
Organizations
Anderson Pots
Desco Industrial Group
Legacy Health System
Payless Drug Stores, Inc.
Professional Benefit
Auctions
Providence Plan Partners
In-Kind Donations
Organizations
21st Avenue Bicycles
Artists Repertory Theatre
Associated Business
Systems
Baker and Spice Bakery
Bicycle Repair Collective
Broadway Rose Theatre
Company
Bullwinkles Family Fun
Center
Cargo
CASA for Children
Coastwide Laboratories
Columbia River Maritime
Museum
Dobbes Family Estate/
Wine by Joe
El Gaucho
Elephants Delicatessen
Enchanted Forest
Fit Right Northwest
Foot Traffic
Friendly Smiles Dental
Group
Furever Pets
Grand Central Baking
Company
Integrated Therapeutic
Massage
Lakewood Center for the
Arts
le bistro montage
Lloyd Center Ice Rink
Mama Mia Trattoria
Marine Discovery Tours
Massage Envy
Meat
New Renaissance Book
Shop, Inc.
Northwest Women’s Fitness
Club
Oaks Park
Office Depot
Oregon Children’s Theatre
Oregon Coast Aquarium
Oregon Shakespeare
Festival
Oregon Zoo
Paloma Clothing
Pastini Pastaria
Payless Drug Stores, Inc.
Pendleton
Performance Bicycle
Pet Samaritan
Pittock Mansion
Pix Patisserie
Portland Beavers and
Timbers
Portland Center Stage
Portland Classical Chinese
Garden
Portland Nursery
Portland Spirit
Portland Winter Hawks
Portland Youth
Philharmonic Association
Providence Health Plans
Rejuvenation, Inc.
RV Northwest
Seal With A Bead Jewelry
Creations
Sisters of Providence
Stash Tea Company
Stumptown Coffee Roasters
Tears of Joy Theatre
The Children’s Course
The Joinery
Typhoon!
Wildhorse Resort and
Casino
Willamette Valley Soaring
Club
Page 5
WorldMark by Wyndham
Yoga in the Pearl
In-Kind
Donations
Individuals
William and Rona Amadon
George Anderson
Donald Austrum
Carolyn Blanchard
Shannon Fuller
Ben Gates
Dean P. & Susan T. Gisvold
Nic Granum
Sean Hubert
Priscilla Lewis
Daryle Maddock
Jennifer McDonald ‘Mac’
Martha Strawn Morris
Andrea Murdock
Diane Myers
Kathy Pape
Jean Pearce
Jeff and Jan Poeschl
Renee Renfrow
Constance Strawn
George and Stephanie
Watson Bettirae Willis
Pictured below: Letty Owings
Center residents with their
children in front of Laura’s
Place, a transitional housing
fourplex building for families
completing treatment. Auction
proceeds, as well as a grant
from Portland Women’s
Foundation, have funded
renovation work on the building. To date, Laura’s Place
has been home to nine women
and seven children.
photo by Harry Connolly
Letty Owings Center
Page 6
How to Honor a Life-Changing Teacher
Lakeridge High School Alumni
& Friends Organize a Party for a Purpose
Pictured above: Robin Jensen
and Duane Starr. Below is
George & Carla Serrill. Other
Party for a Purpose committee
members were Chris Barrar,
Susie Borg, David Curtis, Brad
Harlow, Marie Harris, Greg
Hausken, Kim Hayworth, Jeff
Jensen, Margy Kiser, Marc
Caplan Jack Miller, Bob
Schmidt, Bob Seid, Valorie
Starr and Anne Torget.
There’s no question that Letty
Owings makes
an impact. She
helped create the
Letty Owings
Center (LOC)
which has aided
more than 1,200
families in reclaiming their
lives from the
ravages of addiction. What some
people don’t know is that she also
impacted thousands of lives before
LOC in her role as a teacher in the
Lake Oswego, Oregon district.
Former student of Letty’s - Duane
Starr, DMD - would agree. “Several of us think of her as our surrogate mother. She was a great
teacher; she wanted you to learn.
Outside the classroom, she was
generous and accepting of us,” he
said. Duane recalled many Friday
night trips with friends to Letty’s
house to get some of her homemade bread. Letty and her husband
Ray were known to occasionally
take in students whose families
were having a tough time. Duane
continued to consult with Letty for
help on English papers throughout
his college career.
So when several members of the
Lakeridge High School Class of
‘76 got together to celebrate their
50th birthdays, and talk turned to
getting together more often, an
idea was born that made an impact,
Alumnus George Serrill suggested
they have a party with a purpose
and talk swiftly turned to benefiting the Letty Owings Center. The
group also decided to benefit the
Oregon Food Bank, an organization
they had done food drives for back
in high school.
A committee came together to
organize the Party for a Purpose
which was held on August 2nd.
Duane offered the use of his farm
in Boring, Oregon as a location.
Others took on organizing food,
securing a donated band and comedians. Still others organized donations for a silent auction. Sponsors,
Starr Alpaca Farm and Danielle’s
Sauces - signed on. Party day
turned out to be gorgeous and the
event raised more than $2,500!
More than 400 pounds of food was
also collected for the Oregon Food
Bank.
Duane also honors Letty’s impact on his life by donating dental
services to LOC clients who are in
need and have few resources. “I try
to practice golden rule dentistry. If
this was my situation, what would
I want to have done? For instance,
doing a root canal instead of an
extraction. I want them to graduate
with their teeth,” he said. Several
LOC clients have benefited from
this service.
Letty Owings Center
Page 7
continued from page 2
the clients assessed six months following discharge, a
full 60% remained alcohol & drug free. The widelyheld typical successful recovery rate is 30-40%.
What Remains the Same?
Recovery remains a challenging process. Raising
children holds many challenges as well. Tackling
both simultaneously is extraordinarily difficult and
can seem insurmountable at times. And yet, for 1,245
families and 214 babies born drug-free at LOC since
its inception - as well as the 48 women and children
currently in residence - it is an achievable and
rewarding goal.
“What our clients are addicted to has changed
over time, but the hard work of recovery is the same,”
said Nancy. “We still have waiting lists for women
who need treatment, we still sometimes struggle to
find transitional housing and we still scramble to
connect these families to resources that will help them
attain self-sufficiency.
We are truly blessed to have many individuals
and organizations that understand the unique
challenges these women face.
“They help us fill some very important gaps that
government funding doesn’t cover. Church groups
make quilts for our babies and come in weekly
to teach the moms how to sew. Individuals and
organizations keep us supplied with diapers, new
clothing and gifts during the holiday season. We truly
couldn’t provide the high quality of programming
without them. That, I’m pleased to say, has stayed the
same since LOC was formed 20 years ago. Our clients
see that depth of community support and I think it
makes a positive difference in their success. It takes all
of us.”
What we love to receive during the holidays!
Gift cards, gift cards and more gift cards! Remember how quickly children go through shoes? And how
they need a new coat every year? Most coveted gifts cards are Fred Meyer, Wal-Mart and Target.
Personal care items: shampoo, deodorant, feminine hygiene products, tooth paste, etc.
New bath towels & sheet sets!
Stationary supplies, pens, pencils, journals, writing tablets, greeting cards.
Narcotics Anonymous® basic texts such as “It Works, How and Why” and 12-step meditation books
Clothing for women (all sizes) and clothes for children up to size 6 or 7.
Gently used strollers, baby bouncers, exercise saucers, high chairs, cribs and dresser drawers.
Novels, non-fiction and children’s books can be taken to Marina’s Kafe at 814 NE 28th Avenue in Portland.
This business sells the books and gives all proceeds to LOC’s Mother Day Luncheon for graduates and
their children.
New Federal regulations do not allow us to accept any used car seats.
Every time I worry that we are not going to have enough
funding to get through the year (or through the month),
I receive a check from a regular, occasional or new
contributor. We are truly blessed here at Letty Owings
Center to have so many caring people helping us. A
new contributor, the Newcomers Welcome Club of
Lake Oswego, West Linn and Surrounding Areas
adopted us this year and next year too! Their donation
makes it possible for us to partially fund our monthly
alumni dinner/speaker’s meeting and to purchase items
like shoes, underwear, hygiene products, car seats, high
chairs and other items our families need.
Most of our clients are from seriously dysfunctional
families and they have unhappy childhood memories of
the holiday season. They worry very much about what
they are able to provide for their own children. In the
past ten years, I have had the pleasure of connecting
with many adults who were once children in residence at
LOC. They tell me that their holidays here at LOC were
the best of their entire childhood.
We are expecting identical twin baby girls any day now
and six more newborns in the next few weeks or months.
Thank you for helping us provide our families with a
wonderful holiday season and an opportunity for new
lives as contributing and caring members of our society.
Gratefully,
Co-Founder & Program Manager
P.S. Special thanks to Bill & Marge who always send a
very generous check just at the time we really need it!
Letty Owings Center
2545 NE Flanders
Portland, OR 97232
Dear Friends,
This is the time of year that I like thanking each and
every one of you for your continuing support.
I especially want to thank the three churches that,
for more than twenty years, have sent us quarterly
donations: St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, Lake Grove
Presbyterian Church and Westminster Presbyterian
Church. We use these funds to admit as many as ten
extra infants, toddlers and preschoolers for whom we
do not have government funding. I am humbled by the
generosity of the members of these churches.
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Permit No. 1739
Portland, Oregon