Mosaic Place continues helping despite COVID crisis
One of the ways that COVID-19 is having an impact on the community is for those who need help recovering from another disease entirely: substance abuse and addiction.
Cedartown’s Mosaic Place is one of those places that is feeling the impact of the COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions due to the global pandemic, unable to provide the group therapy and support structure at their West Avenue home as they have before.
Lydia Goodson, who now heads up Mosaic Place as the Program Manager, said the organization is still making a difference in the lives of their clientele despite the hardship of being unable to have groups of 10 or more gather for meetings that is part of the program.
“While many things in our community were being put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic Mosaic Place was quickly finding new and creative ways to keep recovery services going,” Goodson said.
She said that the staff at Mosaic Place jumped into action and found a way for people to meet online via videoconferencing software.
“We were actually the first in the state to implement the Zoom meeting platform in response to support meetings being canceled in person,” Goodson said. “Recovery does not take breaks, it cannot and we will not.”
Addiction is sneaky and fast disease that requires an even quicker treatment response to keep it in remission, Goodson said. The stress of the current state of the world adds pressure onto those who are going through addiction recovery since it cuts off a variety of needs — work, stable living conditions, having safe and drug-free environments to gather in.
“I have been in recovery for 5 years now and I can tell you that my disease will try and use any way it can to creep back into control of my life,” Goodson said. “Our conversations at Mosaic became focused on how can we support each other.”
So in the various ways that Mosaic Place was making a difference in individual lives, Goodson said the staff has worked to find ways to fill those voids without huge impacts on people’s recovery. Zoom meetings for group sessions is one thing, but services are another.
That’s where partnerships have come in with others in the county that have made a difference. Goodson said that Mosaic Place worked with Victory Baptist Food Pantry and start delivering food to door steps once a week in order to help with food insecurity.
“We added a virtual cooking show live from my kitchen, game night, various support meetings virtually, and a bible study once a week,” she said. “Mosaic supports all pathways to recovery. It is not a cookie cutter situation, what works for me may not work for someone else but I can still support them.”
Yet sometimes, it is just about the one on one that people need when they are going through the emotional turmoil of overcoming their substance abuse issues.
“Addiction is a selfish disease, but recovery is one we have to share with others. Having all services switched over from in person to virtual was definitely a learning curve and uncomfortable at first. Now it seems to be our new normal, we choose daily to adapt and overcome,” Goodson said. “Listening is one of my favorite things to do in recovery, having another peer share with me reminds me of why I want to stay in this lifestyle. When we share with others in recovery we allow them to bear some of the load. If we all had someone to help carry the weight the climb does not seem so bad then.”
Ultimately, Goodson said that recovery doesn’t has to be about being together in a physical space, but about having connections with people who are going through the same thing, or have before.
She also thanked organizations that continue to partner with Mosaic Place to help people with addiction recovery, even during these unusual and uncertain times.
“Recovery is alive and well in our rural community and no pandemic is gonna hold us down,” Goodson said. “The way that the recovery community has united in Polk County during this time is not surprising to me. I expect the unity during times of uncertainty to grow.”