Alcohol Awareness: Imani House Supports Recovery 

April is Alcohol Awareness Month, designated by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD).

Since 1987, April has been named as a month to raise awareness of the disease of alcoholism. At Swope Health Services, alcohol awareness and treatment are year-round activities, centered at the Imani House, our center for alcohol and drug treatment.

The NCADD reports that 17.6 million people — one in 12 adults — suffer from alcohol abuse or dependence. More than 7 million children live in a household where an adult is dependent on or has abused alcohol. Each year, 88,000 people die from excessive alcohol use, according to the organization.

“Alcohol is easy to get and it’s cheap and legal, to anyone over 21,” noted Adrienne Powell, MSW, LCSW, manager of Imani House. “It’s also very dangerous.”

Alcohol abuse can impact all aspects of life, damaging a user’s emotional stability, finances, career and family and social relationships. It also can cause health complications.

“Alcohol withdrawal can cause serious issues — heart palpitations, increased blood pressure, cardiac arrest, even death without proper treatment,” Adrienne notes.  “People who use alcohol heavily and daily can experience significant issues when they try to stop. They may need medical detoxification.”

Imani House, located at 3950 E. 51st St., Kansas City, offers medically assisted treatment for the disease of alcoholism, including a regimen of monthly injections to prevent the effects of alcohol and opiates. This prescription treatment takes about a year and works best in tandem with counseling and treatment activities to learn coping skills and overcome urges for alcohol.

Imani House also offers residential services and is developing plans to expand. The residential services are provided in a partnership with the Healing House Inc., a non-profit faith-based substance abuse recovery organization at 4420 Saint John Ave., Kansas City.

So far this year, Imani House has enrolled 250 people in its services, which include screening and assessments, case management, group and individual counseling, psychiatric services and year-round education and training in healthy lifestyles.

“We teach the truth about drugs — what they do to your health and to your brain, why they are addicting,” Adrienne said. “We educate about co-dependency, healthy relationships, nutrition, anger management, parenting, relapse prevention and more.”

Adrienne and the Imani House associates bring understanding and empathy, drawing from experience with a family member or loved one or a personal recovery journey.

“We provide support to people who are making a change,” Adrienne said. “We give a lot of encouragement and validation. We know they are not their addiction. Alcoholism is a medical condition that needs to be treated.”

Breaking the cycle of addiction can be a long journey, but Adrienne and her team know it can be done.

For example, Imani House hosts Alcoholics Anonymous meetings every Friday, with a Clean and Sober Celebration on the last Friday of each month. The counselors and sponsors provide motivation and encouragement, celebrating milestones small and large. The group also models how to have a good time, surrounding yourself with recovery-minded people.

“We see each of them as a human being, with worth and dignity,” Adrienne said. “We help them change the language that they use about themselves. We help them change their environment and behaviors.”

She continued: “It’s hard. It’s NOT easy. But it is possible. Everything you want in your life, you can get if you work for it.”

RESOURCES:

• Imani House brochure
• National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc.
• April 2016 Toolkit — Alcohol Awareness Month
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Have a question about alcohol or drug treatment programs? Please call Imani House at 816-599-5858 or leave a message in the comment box below.