Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
ADDICTS find help during pandemic.
Groups offer support through hotlines, teleconferences
SPRINGDALE — Alcoholics Anonymous organizers and other recovery groups working to fight addiction insist help is available despite social distancing required by the covid-19 pandemic.
The Salvation Army offers a phone hotline providing someone to talk to. Ozark Guidance offers teleconferencing with personal counselors.
And local support groups have brought members together virtually.
Very few groups are bringing members together in person, said Kate of Fayetteville, a longtime member of Alcoholics Anonymous. In keeping with the tenets of her group, she requested her full name not be published. Groups meeting follow guidelines listed by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Kate and other members said.
Nearly 50 groups of Alcoholics Anonymous meet regularly in Northwest Arkansas, according to the local website. The website of the national organization lists virtual meeting after virtual meeting and instructions of how to join them.
“Northwest Arkansas has a really alive and welcoming community full of active and engaged individuals whose primary purpose is to help recovering alcoholics,” Kate said.
The anonymous tag keeps Alcoholics Anonymous and similar organizations informal. Roll is not taken, and members aren’t counted.
An average of 991,000 people in Arkansas from 2014 to 2016 reported using alcohol in the last month and 485,000 people reported binge alcohol use in the last month, according to data published in 2018 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Similar groups in the area offer recovery support for other types of addicts and their families, as do other groups not using the 12-step Alcoholics Anonymous plan, said Libby Bier, director of substance abuse and recovery services at Ozark Guidance in Springdale.
“A lot of virtual 12-step meetings were held before the covid-19 outbreak,” Bier said. She said the digital platforms let busy professionals and people who travel frequently join groups. “That’s a great opportunity already there, and it is increasing.”
Capt. Josh Robinett, area commander of the Salvation Army, said the continuation of the recovery groups is important to the community “especially for those in a hard spot, so they can have somewhere to turn.”
KEEPING DISTANCE
About 15 people gathered on a recent Monday evening outside the Alano Clubhouse in Fayetteville, a building used for group meetings. Some sat on benches. Some leaned on poles. All stayed 6 feet apart.
A man, who declined to give his name, said groups with 30 members before the outbreak are now limited to 10. But he also meets with groups through technology.
“We’ve had people from all over the world join in and share their experience, strength and hope,” he said.
Phillip, the leader of a group in Bentonville, said members who moved out of the area joined their former groups digitally. “We get to catch up with them that way.”
“People seem to be grateful for the online meetings, and most of them enjoy them,” Kate said. “The language of the heart comes through as well online as in person.”
Kate said attendance at her virtual meetings has remained steady, but Phillip said not as many are coming to the meetings. He said he misses the fellowship, shaking hands and sitting next to somebody.
She said some people don’t have access to the internet.
“You realize how important that group setting is when your very survival depends on an in-person meeting on a daily basis,” Kate said.
“The folks I got sober with, those are the folks I’m staying sober with,” Phillip said. “If I didn’t have them now, I would want to drink again.”
‘STINKING THINKING’
Jackie Livesay, a peer recovery specialist at Ozark Guidance in Springdale, said she attends her group meetings in person, but they are limited to six people, who spread out in a large room. They meet more frequently with smaller groups, maybe every day, she said.
Livesay said she tried digital meetings but just didn’t get anything out of them.
“I need someone with similar experience beside me when I’m talking,” she said. “We feed off each other. Recovery is about community.”
Livesay expressed concerns about isolation among recovering addicts.
Some chronic users can suffer medically because drugs taken over a long period have wracked their bodies, she said. The addicts might have compromised immune systems, which place them at increased risk when being around people who might carry covid-19.
Some aren’t taking their prescription medications to help them fight the disease of addiction, she said.
“This could lead them to a really dark situation,” Livesay said. “They could go back to that ‘stinking thinking’ and using.
“That’s all they’ve ever known,” she said. “They know their triggers. But if they see just even a little inkling of rope, they will hang themselves.”
Phillip said he finds strength to resist drinking because he has a spiritual tool.
“But I also have a phone loaded with numbers of my sponsors. I’m going fishing with one of mine later today,” he said.
Benton County Circuit Judge Tom Smith has made the move to digital, too. He saw 48 participants of the county’s drug court program via videoconference April 9. He said participants also met with counselors and probation officers digitally.
The program includes 273 offenders, some of whom he orders to counseling and community support groups.
“You can’t let them lose support — or a lifetime — because of the pandemic,” he said.
SOLUTIONS NOT SYMPTOMS
Economic insecurity. Losing a job. Paying rent and bills. Sustaining a household. Members of the family sick or infected.
“Those are everyday things we all stress about,” Robinett said.
Smith said the threat brought by the virus kicked in anxiety for everybody.
“Now throw fighting addiction into that,” he said. “It’s hard to hope when you’re an addict.”
Smith said addicts and nonaddicts alike may fight those fears with alcohol consumption. He hopes drug court participants and graduates have learned better methods for coping with stressful situations.
“They have, at least, identified their triggers and know how to get help,” he said.
Bier said she thinks it’s critical for individuals suffering from any type of addiction to learn healthy ways to cope with stress and practice selfcare.
“Anything can become part of their addictive lifestyle,” she said, giving the example of a compulsive gambler. With casinos closed, the problem gambler might find creative ways of gambling — such as online gambling.
“Or they may turn to other ways of coping — like food, drugs, alcohol or sexual behaviors, to name a few,” she said.
Returning Home in Springdale houses and supports 55 men in their reentry to society after being released from prison. With the outbreak of covid-19, the facility was closed to all but residents and staff, leaving outside the volunteers who led support groups. Staff members have taken up the personal groups, but the facility also developed virtual sessions.
Executive Director Nick Robbins said 80% of the men going through his program have substance abuse and dependency in their backgrounds.
“We work to help them find other ways to cope,” Robbins said. “We also try to help them understand this is our new normal and cope rather than making irrational decisions.”
Robinett said it’s likely someone supported by the Salvation Army has relapsed during the recent weeks.
“It’s not all bees and honey,” he said. “We can call this time an anomaly. But, in truth, life is a mess.”