Women in treatment face unique hardship as two facilities close
Aug. 14—TRAVERSE CITY — The new CEO of Addiction Treatment Services understands what it takes for a woman to take the first steps on the road to recovery from alcohol and drugs.
In the Traverse City region, that road is more precarious with the closing of Phoenix Hall, a 12-bed women's residential unit at ATS, and a 14-bed co-ed residential unit at Munson Medical Center.
Paula Lipinski was named to the ATS top spot in July. She has been clean and sober since March 4, 2018. She knows from her own experience that many women get clean to be a better mom to their children. She also knows those children are often the biggest barrier to recovery.
"I'd rip my own heart out for my children," Lipinski said. "I'd jump in front of a bus for my children. But I could not stop drinking for my children ... That's how strong this disease is, that I would choose alcohol over the two things in my life that I would die for."
Those kinds of feelings lead to the shame of admitting addiction and opening their lives, and especially their parenting skills, to the judgement of others.
"Being a woman in recovery, not only is there such significant shame that is connected with having children and you have to leave them and go into treatment, or someone judging your parenting because you're the drunk mom, or automatically thinking you must have drank throughout your whole pregnancy," Lipinski said. "There's way more judgement being a mom."
She said she had the support of her parents and her ex-husband while rebuilding her life, but many women don't have that and feel that recovery may not be worth losing their children, she said.
"So many times that's our identity, that's who we are, that's how we live our life and to have that taken away, what's the purpose?" she said.
Susan Kramer is the outpatient behavioral health manager for Munson. The residential treatment unit closed permanently about two weeks ago because of lack of staffing.
With the closure of Phoenix Hall and Munson centers, the closest programs for women are now more than an hour away, at Harbor Hall in Petoskey, which opened an eight-bed women's unit in Feb. 2021, and Bear River Health in Gaylord, which has 60 beds for women.
Kramer says women often have financial barriers to treatment, as many are the only earner in a one-parent household. They also lack childcare and do not have transportation to get to a rehab center.
The stigma of addiction is a huge barrier for men and women, but women tend to seek treatment for Substance Use Disorder less often, Kramer said. Women also feel additional stigma, especially if they are pregnant, she said.
"The level of shame is so great that they don't even feel worthy of deserving help," Kramer said. "There's not a lot of motivation to seek services."
Lipinski, a former state supervisor for Children's Protective Services, first went into treatment in 2012, but was in and out of recovery for several years. That changed in 2018, when she was charged with felony resisting and obstructing police and misdemeanor drunken driving after attempting to leave a downtown tavern. She swore and kicked at officers during her arrest.
Lipinski said she was in a blackout and only remembers bits and pieces of the night. When she woke up in a jail cell, where she spent the next few days, she knew it was the end of her addiction.
"Call it a spiritual awakening, depending on where you come from, but that's when I truly surrendered," Lipinski said. "Literally I can say that's the moment that everything changed for me."
She has a master's degree in social work and had 16 years experience with CPS at that time, the last nine as supervisor. She resigned from the job and began looking, but people wouldn't hire her, that is until Chris Hindbaugh, the former CEO of ATS, took a chance on her. She was hired to work part-time in the Access Center answering phones and worked her way up to manager of the detox unit and chief impact officer.
Hindbaugh left at the end of June to take a job with a national nonprofit and Lipinski was named CEO.
The separation of men and women in treatment began about 10 to 15 years ago and has become more normal, with women able to speak more freely about the the stigma, as well as any trauma they may have been through, Kramer said.
Research has shown a significant link between addiction and trauma that can include physical or sexual assault, domestic violence, emotional or verbal abuse and parental neglect.
Phoenix Hall closed in late December because of a lack of staff, Lipinski said. It soon reopened under a new model, offering an intensive two-week program rather than the 30 to 90 day stay that is the norm for most residential programs. It soon closed again, this time because of empty beds. Clients said the program was too short and too intense, Lipinski said.
She said ATS is hoping to reopen Phoenix Hall in late fall under a program that would allow moms to bring their children with them.
"There's always been a need for women and children and that's where we want to put our focus," Lipinski said.
April was the 11th month in a row that more than 4 million Americans left their jobs, according to statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The most recent employment report by the bureau shows that unemployment dropped to 3.5 percent, with the number of unemployed people down to 5.7 million, or pre-pandemic levels.
A February survey by the Pew Research Center indicates that people are not just leaving the workforce, they are finding jobs that pay better, have more opportunities and are a better fit for their lifestyles.
Lipinski said it is very difficult to compete with other places, like fast food restaurants that pay better, sometimes $20 per hour. ATS has increased its pay, but it is a nonprofit with very slim margins, she said.
"We don't have a product to sell, all we want to do is get people help," she said.
Lipinski said ATS has a core staff and she can't overwork them or they'll leave too.
For now ATS has a responsibility to women who need residential treatment and will reach out to Northern Michigan Regional Entity, which manages Medicaid funding for 21 counties in northern lower Michigan. The agency also keeps track of available beds in the region.
Daniel Hartman, executive director for Bear River Health, said it's very difficult for smaller residential units to stay open because the costs to run a rehab center are top-heavy. Bear River opened six years ago and about a year ago purchased a school that is now a residential treatment center.
"We had to expand to a bigger size or die," Hartman said. "And we barely break even on any given day."
Hartman said ATS has been a strong partner in the battle of recovery and addiction, but no matter how big your heart is, it's not cost-effective to serve 12 clients.
Bear River has a 24-bed detox unit and 140 male beds in Boyne Falls. The women's center is in Gaylord and takes clients from all of Michigan. It has an occupancy rate of 80 percent to 90 percent.
"Part of that is because we do offer transportation," Hartman said.
Top priority is given to IV drug users who are pregnant, with pregnant women being the second priority, he said. Bear River coordinates with obstetricians for their care.
Treatment goals for all women is reunification with their families, which can be a trigger for relapse. Many have not seen a doctor for a long time and have health issues. Many have legal problems or are on probation or parole. There are also the basics — housing and jobs.
In general there are fewer services for women, Hartman said.
"It's because they have so many family needs that they have to get in order before they can get into treatment," he said.
Huston Mayer, communications director for Bear River, said once women do get into a program they are very committed and tend to stay longer.
Lipinski said it has taken a lot of hard work and counseling to deal with her shame. But she has always been brutally honest about her addiction.
"I lived a long time in the shadows with my disease. I made a decision when I got sober that I would no longer live in the shadows. That is what has kept me well."
