It was a tough time for Katie, after she finished residential treatment at Hazelden Betty Ford's flagship campus in Center City, Minnesota. She'd recently been through a messy divorce and her work schedule made it impossible for her to continue with intensive outpatient care, as her counselor had recommended.
Fortunately, Hazelden Betty Ford had other services that could help, to make sure Katie had the support she needed during that challenging time. She signed up for our Connection recovery coaching program as well as one-on-one counseling and several virtual groups, taking advantage of a variety of resources to set herself up for success in that difficult first year of recovery.
"I'm so grateful for Hazelden Betty Ford's programs for people like me," she says. "My situation was not laid out ideally. But they helped me make it work. Without the accountability of Connection, I don't think I would have made it through the year," she says.
Thanks to generous donors, Katie received extra help to cover the costs of her recovery coaching. "Knowing that people out there cared and wanted to help someone like me get better—that made me want to work even harder," she says.
While Katie was working her own program, Hazelden Betty Ford had services for her family as well—because we know that the disease of addiction affects the entire family. Her 9-year-old daughter came to our Children's Program, and her parents participated in our workshop for family members.
"My daughter loved the Children's Program, and I loved it," Katie says. "She saw that she's not alone and there are other kids and families also dealing with addiction. And it gave us the language to talk about it."
Katie's parents, who cared for her daughter while she was in treatment, experienced Hazelden Betty Ford's Family Program, which she credits as beneficial to the whole family and to her recovery. This unparalleled program is part of our National Center for Families and Children, which was launched with the generous support of the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation.
"We all learned how to have open and honest communication," she says. "Those are things we didn't have before. No more secrets, no more hiding. Now it feels like we're working together."
Katie appreciates everything Hazelden Betty Ford offered—and continues to offer—to her and her family. "It's been a journey for all of us," she says. "Not every day is easy. But I'm sober and present and grateful to have a more beautiful life ahead."
