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Gains made in addiction treatments for women
BY CHARLOTTE TUBBS
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
The turn of a few shovels of dirt Thursday morning
marked the first efforts to fill a "desperate" need in Little Rock.
Members of the board of directors of Serenity Park Inc., an alcohol and
addiction treatment facility for men, broke ground for an $800,000 women’s
facility. Founder Joe
McQuany said there has been a need for such a facility since the 1980s,
when a longtime Little Rock women’s program closed.
"It’s desperate now," he said.
The nonprofit agency has raised nearly $200,000 of the needed construction
money so far. Much of it has come unsolicited, said board member and Chief
Operating Officer Don Blair.
"We’ve gotten $10,000 checks in the mail," he said.
Getting addicts turned around ultimately saves the state money, Blair said.
"This is a community thing," he said. "It would be nice if they would help
pay for it."
All of the money raised will go directly to the expense of building the
women’s facility. None of it will be used for salaries,
McQuany said.
Theodoshia Cooper, who spoke at the groundbreaking, said she met
McQuany more than 40 years ago at the State
Hospital. McQuany, who is black, had been
admitted because of his alcoholism; Cooper was a psychiatric social worker.
At the time, black alcoholics were admitted as mental patients because they
were not allowed to join treatment programs. Later, she started an Alcoholics
Anonymous group for blacks and worked with McQuany
to start Serenity Park, she said.
"I am so excited today, I could just fly," Cooper said during the ceremony.
"I said, ‘Joe, your dream is going to come true
some day.’"
Planners are designing an 8,500-square-foot facility that will stand apart
from the men’s 11,600-square-foot facility. The new building will have 20 beds,
common toilets and showers, a laundry room, a classroom, a living room and
counselor offices.
"It’s gonna be a nice place," McQuany said.
"It will be clean, ladylike and have nice curtains. It will be a special place
in the city."
McQuany said he realizes a lot of money must
be raised to pay for the new building, but he’s faced similar challenges in the
past.
"I had $300 [when I started]," McQuany said.
"People said, ‘How are you gonna do it?’ I said, ‘I don’t know,’ and I stepped
out."
"You’ve got to step out sometimes," he said. "I’ve always stepped out into
things, and people have always helped me."
This story was published Friday, March
11, 2005
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