Dream Is Realized As Detox Centers Prepare To Open Doors On Monday

By Tammy Gray-Searles
   When the doors swing open on June 30, they will symbolize both an opportunity for a better future and the fulfillment of a long-awaited dream for residents of both Holbrook and Winslow.
   The doors that will be opening are those of the Holbrook and Winslow detoxification centers. Both centers will open for their first day of business on Monday, June 30.
   “We are on our way,” remarked Northern Arizona Regional Behavioral Health Authority (NARBHA) Business Manager James Steinshouer. “It’s been a total group effort with getting everything done.”
   The June 30 opening date brings the facilities into compliance with the grant deadline of being open for business by the last day of June.
   “We dodged that bullet for possible sanctions,” Steinshouer remarked.
   Sidewalks still need to be poured at the Holbrook facility, and an asphalt parking lot completed at the Winslow center, but construction of the buildings is complete. Landscaping will be added later.
   NARBHA has been administering the grant funds and overseeing construction of both facilities. The Cities of Winslow and Holbrook, as well as the Navajo Nation, NCI treatment center of Gallup and numerous local charitable organizations have been involved in planning and preparing for the detoxification centers. The Holbrook Alcohol, Transient and Drug Issues Committee spent more than two years meeting to come up with solutions to the city’s alcohol problems, and played a vital role in securing a detoxification center in Holbrook.
   Steinshouer explained that the Holbrook facility passed its licensing inspection on June 24.
   “It passed 100 percent,” he remarked.
   The Winslow facility had a few deficiencies in policy that had to be corrected before licensing was completed, but Steinshouer noted that the process is complete and the Winslow center is now also licensed.
   Construction is complete on the interior of both facilities and they have both been furnished. Clients and staff members of the Holbrook Bread of Life Mission built the beds for the detoxification centers as part of a job skills program.
   NCI, an organization that has successfully operated an alcohol treatment center in Gallup, N.M., will provide treatment services and staffing for both detoxification centers. NARBHA will continue to serve as the administrative body, ensuring the facilities remain compliant with regulations and are functioning well.
   Steinshouer explained that the two facilities will operate the same way. Clients will stay only a short time, until they are stabilized and ready to be transferred to a long-term treatment program. The Bread of Life Mission in Holbrook will serve as a “step-down” facility, and clients can also transfer to other treatment centers, such as the one in Dilkon.
   The detoxification centers will offer treatment to anyone over the age of 18 who is suffering from a problem with alcohol or drugs. A multi-pronged treatment approach will also be used, with treatment being tailored to each individual. Traditional Native American healing methods will be used alongside Christian-based recovery programs and Western medicine.
   Eventually, a sweat lodge and Hogan will be built near the facilities, to allow traditional Native American ceremonies to take place during the stabilization process. Treatment will focus on giving clients what they need to make it through the first few days of recovery by catering to clients’ respective cultures and religions. Case managers will help clients through the process, and assist them in finding an appropriate long-term treatment program.
   Steinshouer noted that even after both detoxification centers are up and running, NARBHA will still be actively seeking solutions to drug and alcohol programs in both communities.
   “We will never leave the communities on their own,” he remarked.
   He explained that he is researching other ways to help address the issue of alcoholism in Holbrook and Winslow, such as changes in city codes.
   “We appreciate all the positiveness portrayed by the citizens to get this in their communities to make it happen,” Steinshouer said. “This will be a really good thing.”