ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Those dealing with substance abuse issues may soon have a new option for sober living thanks to action by the Liberal City Commission at its most recent meeting Tuesday evening.
Up first for the commission in its new business was discussion of an Oxford House facility.
“I would like to start off by saying we’re doing a bit of rebranding. Our program will now be called Treatment Court instead of Drug Court – it takes a little bit of that stigma away and it also allows the people going through the system, when they’re applying for jobs and other stuff, it’s an easier sell to say you’re in Treatment Court,” Municipal Court Judge Jason Maxwell said. “We currently have 10 active cases in Treatment Court right now, and five of those cases have been in a fairly long-term stay of at least 90 days. Those five cases right now have a combined 2,000 days of sobriety and are doing really well. Where we struggle is with the people who are coming in early – we have five more applications pending, and we anticipate new clients coming in pretty steadily throughout these next several weeks. We’re growing, which is a good and bad thing, but it is what it is, and it’s necessary. We don’t have housing for our people, and I know the commission has heard me say that before. In particular, we don’t have structured/supported housing for people coming out of treatment and starting on their sobriety. A lot of our clients go to inpatient treatment to start off, and that gives them a good start, but for a lot of them, their next stop is Stepping Stone Shelter, which is just not a good, structured place for them to go. And that’s not just a Treatment Court issue, it’s an issue for all the people with the District Court who are going through substance abuse issues and everyone else with the Municipal Court program, so we need to find a way to give these people some support and give them a good start. If we can’t give these people housing and a structured place to live, they’re going to have a really hard time focusing on maintaining their sobriety and everything else. With the grant we recently received, we do have built in the ability to help people for the first couple months, but we don’t have a place for them to go. That’s where Oxford House comes in, and it’s an option for these people to get started and have a new chance.”
Oxford House has a presence in a few other communities in the area, Maxwell said, and they do a lot of good and have many rules in place for clients. Oxford House representative and alumnus Nathan Guile then spoke to the commission about the program.
“For some time now, there has been a desperate need for recovery and a recovery community, and we would like to try and bring the Oxford House model to the Liberal community,” Guile said. “I know from experience what it’s like to not have enough help and support toward staying sober, and I watch individuals daily who struggle when they come out of treatment with nowhere to go. Oxford House can give the Liberal community and Seward County the opportunity to have a safe and clean place to live as well as help the clients learn the necessary tools to be productive members of the community. The recovery/success rate for individuals who have lived in an Oxford House for six months or longer is 80 percent, and the overall model remains the same as the program’s inception in 1975.”
Guile then outlined the Oxford House model.
“The Oxford House was developed as transitional living for individuals facing struggles with addiction and needed a clean environment they could call home,” Guile said. “The number of residents in an Oxford House may range depending on the facility, and there are houses for men, houses for women, and houses which accept women with children. Oxford House is a democratically run, self-supporting and drug free home where everyone gets a say, and everyone is equal. There is no manager, but the chapter holds each house accountable and will step in if there are any issues that arise. Individuals who come to an Oxford House learn discipline, accountability, structure, loyalty, unity and service. In order for an Oxford House to be successful, they must be run democratically, be financially self-sufficient, have absolutely no drug or alcohol use, have Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and follow the structures and guidelines when it comes to disruptive behavior. We would very much appreciate the commission’s support with this program.”
With City On A Hill having closed, the need for sober housing programs is more prevalent than ever, Maxwell said.
“What kind of timeline are you thinking as far as integrating an Oxford House into Liberal and getting everything going?” Liberal Mayor Jose Lara asked. “Has a property been found or any of that?”
“The Friends Of Recovery group is a really big force in helping get Oxford House locations open, and they’re who we would contact for any particularly necessary needs,” Guile said. “They’re a non-profit that would provide the seed money to start. The property would still be rented, but they would help with the down payment and things like that.”
“I remember it was a few years ago when someone else was trying to start an Oxford House program, and it ended up not happening because people were nervous about neighborhood safety and things like that,” Commissioner Ron Warren said.
After a few more questions, the discussion was concluded.
In other business, the commission continued discussion of the establishment of the Ortuño Addition Rural Housing Incentive District (RHID) and also approved Ordinance No. 4616 concerning the vacation of a portion of Seneca Street. The commission also approved Resolution concerning the abatement of a nuisance vehicle on a property at 23 W. 3rd Street and approved entering into a contract with Oasis Water Playgrounds and for the City Manager to sign the contract for a splash pads project, which will be funded through the Housing and Community Development portion of the One Cent Sales Tax, and not to exceed $550,000. To conclude the meeting, the commission approved the Liberal Police Department entering into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to to join a regional Drug Task Force, which would include Haskell County Sheriff’s Office and the Seward County Sheriff’s Office. This goal of the task force is to address the use of illicit drugs within Haskell and Seward counties.
