- THE COUNSELING CENTER ISN’T LIKE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS. The Counseling Center is non-profit offering a comprehensive solution with services aimed to give those who seek treatment the best odds at success.
o This means not only counseling and treatment interdiction but help and training for healthy living (food and exercise), putting a roof over your head, and getting a job.
o These things don’t guarantee success for every participant in the program, but it gives them the best chance to overcome and positively contribute to our community.
- Our model works: From acute treatment to transitional housing into holistic recovery, The Counseling Center has deep roots in our community and a record of achievement. The Counseling Center didn’t create the drug problem in Southern Ohio, but the employees – our neighbors – work every day to help people recover. Most for-profit treatment options simply can’t charge or pay for wrap-around services that help people in a program stay sober and equip them with the tools to re-enter society successfully. TCC makes these services a priority. Few for-profits can provide comprehensive care.
- THE SUCCESS CENTER – The Counseling Center is not a conveyor belt – admitting, pushing people through a program, and washing our hands of them at the other end. Our Success Center is a one-of-a-kind service that provides classes and one-on-one guidance on life skills like applying for a job, money management, building good credit, getting a driver’s license, and renting or buying a home. These are the difference makers – giving people real tools to help them move forward instead of back-sliding.
Myths:
- TCC BRINGS ADDICTS INTO OUR BACKYARD
The addicts are here. The drug epidemic hit our rural area hard, it is literally ground zero of the epidemic. We help the addicts who are already here recover and give them the tools that best prepare them to re-join the community as contributing members. 80% of our clients are our neighbors. The other 20% are justice referrals and mothers with children who desire our Stepping Stones Program, a rare program within the state where children can remain with their mother while she is in our care.
- TCC GIVES PEOPLE TOO MANY CHANCES – HOW MANY CHANCES DO WE GIVE THESE PEOPLE?
Our clients need and deserve our services. Addiction is serious, and it impacts everyone differently. We celebrate everyone trying to recover and don’t judge those who might experience relapse. How many chances at life would you give the person you love the most?
- HAVING A TREATMENT HOUSE IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD HURTS PROPERTY VALUES
What hurts property value is a run-away drug epidemic that isn’t addressed. Less treatment means more addicts and more crime. Our treatment helps people recover and become contributing members of our community. That helps our economy, it reduces public safety costs and helps property values. TCC’s commitment is to establish and maintain the nicest property in the neighborhood regardless of location, we take pride in that.
- TREATMENT DOESN’T WORK – DRUG OFFENDERS SHOULD BE SENT TO JAIL
Jail was long the answer, and statistics show clearly that it did nothing to reduce drug use or drug-related crime. Treatment – counseling, learning life skills, equipping people in recovery to hold a job and find housing – these are solutions. Law enforcement says jails don’t help addicts quit, they know this is true.
- YOU’RE MONETIZING TREATMENT – YOU NEED ADDICTS
We truly hope to go out of business, every employee here has skills that are applicable in another industry and many times, a better-paying one. As a non-profit, we get by mostly through Medicaid or other insurance payments. We also go far beyond what other facilities offer because we’re committed to successful treatment and the long-term health and well-being of our clients. We don’t owe owners or shareholders a profit margin.
We don’t want to see clients walk through the door in the first place, and we certainly don’t want to see them back – but we will work with anyone seeking help because we know that treatment is the only long-term solution to the drug epidemic. We aren’t better because we are bigger, we are better because we are comprehensive.
- YOU’RE BRINGING DRUG ADDICTS FROM OUTSIDE OUR COMMUNITY TO PORTSMOUTH
As a large and comprehensive provider (one of the only in the state), we do see some clients from outside of the Portsmouth area (about 20%). Many are in long-term recovery and have become contributing members of the Portsmouth community or returned home safely. Portsmouth has always been a place that is welcoming to outsiders, and residents here should be proud of the leading role we play in addressing the drug epidemic. TCC is working aggressively, however, to establish self-contained satellite operations throughout the region, reducing further the need for individuals to come to our area for help. TCC operates a satellite in Adams County and is preparing the same in Lawrence. Jackson County will likely be established within 1 year.
- YOU’RE INCREASING HOMELESSNESS AND OVERWHELMING SOCIAL SERVICES
We’re not. This is false. The drug epidemic has increased homelessness and overwhelmed social – and public safety – services. We are seeking solutions – treatment for drug addiction, roofs over heads, and jobs. These are the tools for success. In addition, TCC has its own security and medical teams and is in the process of establishing emergency medical technicians in-house to further supplement our area’s resources and lessen the demand on regional providers. TCC policies prohibit allowing a client to walk away from services – they are taken to their place of origin wherever that may be, or are handed over to their justice referral. Interestingly, TCC’s 4 surveys at the local homeless shelter have found 0 individuals who were brought to the area for treatment by any agency. And less than 10% have ever admittedly been in addiction or treatment of any form. TCC does, however, help support the shelter by providing services whenever called.
Summary Statement
TCC is one of the most successful behavioral health providers in the state as a result of its wrap-around services and strong aftercare model. Our zero tolerance stance against allowing clients to leave care on foot, as well as our strong relationship with justice referral sources, makes us truly unique. The fact that TCC is seen as a destination of hope for many individuals in our region is something we should take pride in as a community.
TCC is the 3rd largest behavioral health provider in the state, and this should not be surprising given that we are living in the epicenter of addiction in the 21st century. TCC brings $40MM into the local economy, provides opportunities for clients to give back to the community in various clean-up and maintenance initiatives, gives generously to local athletic, recreational and civic agencies, and initiatives, and is led by your neighbors. We are from Scioto County, we live in Scioto County, and we love Scioto County.