MONROEVILLE, Pa. — A first-of-its-kind facility for people recovering from addiction recently opened in western Pennsylvania. It’s within Recovery Centers of America in Monroeville, and it’s already proving to be successful in the path of recovery.
“Somebody said one time, as long as you’re still breathing, that there’s always hope,” said Sara Mesko.
For Sara Mesko, it started with alcohol then it was prescription pain pills after a surgery she had when she was 17.
“It turned into heroin, fentanyl and pretty much everything else you could name,” said Mesko.
This addiction led her to jail, which then became a pivotal point for her to get sober. She’s been clean for four and a half years.
“I wanted to help other people realize that they could do that too,” said Mesko.
She’s now helping people in this new recovery living program within RCA Monroeville.
“The best word to use is to just practice being a human,” said Mesko. “The little things can be very challenging for people.”
This new facility acts as an in-between for people after inpatient treatment. They live here and rebuild basic life skills.
“This program is tied to an outpatient level of care,” said Recovery Centers of America Monroeville CEO David Blenk. “Again to practice the skills of recovery living while they’re finishing up the treatment side of what they do. Gradually gaining strength. Gaining the ability to handle a trigger when they experience it after they complete their full array of treatment with us. Knowing what to do, and how to react when the substance is placed in front of them. Or they’re back in the arena of the people places and things that lead them to addiction in the first place.”
Recovery Centers of America Monroeville CEO David Blenk says this new facility fills a gap.
“The problem is when they leave residential treatment it’s a highly dangerous time,” said Blenk. “Their tolerance to drugs and alcohol are low. If they want to go out and use at the same level they used previously, they’re going to overdose. There are going to be issues because of their drug use. This is intended to work in that gap to where we’ve given somebody the skills to recovery, but we need to give them an opportunity to practice those skills. That’s what we do here.”
Blenk says there’s not a day that goes by that they don’t admit somebody into treatment at RCA Monroeville.
“Addiction is as bad as it’s ever been here in Pittsburgh,” said Blenk. “The primary drug of abuse is alcohol, but we see a significant amount of opiates.”
A big part of the new recovery living program revolves around family.
“Addiction is often a family disease,” said Blenk. “It affects the individual, but it also affects all of the people around them. We have programs built through both our residetnial program and the recovery living program to engage family members and to bring families into the facility. Let them interact with their loved one in a safe and sober environment and talk about how both the patient and the family need to heal together.”
Typically, the patients in the recovery living program stay for three to six weeks. Right now, six people are enrolled, but they have the capacity to help 24. In just a month, Blenk says they already have success stories.
“He was very grateful for the time he spent here and talked about this being one of the longest sober periods that he had since he started his act of addiction,” said Blenk. “That’s the difference that I see. It’s the ability not that life is going to be perfect but to have your life back and have the chance to deal with those issues in a safe and sober way.”
Mesko knows the importance of that first-hand.
“One addict helping another is the best way to keep you in recovery, and they say get in the middle,” said Mesko. “Surrounding yourself with the people you want to be like. The things that they have inside. Not outside.”
“Somebody in recovery is not a bad person,” said Blenk. “They’re a good person. There might be a monster inside that they need to work on and get that monster to come out to let them be the person that they were before the drug was introduced into heir body and who they’re capable of being.”
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