Partners in Recovery Concert & Benefit Event Featuring The Locust Fork Band

May 13, 2024/in Fund Raising, News

PARTNERS IN RECOVERY CONCERT & BENEFIT EVENT

Featuring The Locust Fork Band

FOR EACH $50.00 DONATION YOU’LL RECEIVE A TICKET TO THE BENEFIT CONCERT!

SEPTEMBER 27, 2024 7PM @ THE VENUE IN TUSCALOOSA, AL

JOIN US FOR AN UNFORGETTABLE EVENING OF MUSIC AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT AS WE WELCOME “THE LOCUST FORK BAND” TO THE VENUE IN TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA.

Renowned for their electrifying performances and soul-stirring melodies, The Locust Fork Band promises to deliver an experience that will leave you tapping your feet and singing along all night long.

With their unique blend of folk, rock, and Americana influences, The Locust Fork Band captivates audiences with their heartfelt lyrics and infectious energy. Whether you’re a longtime fan or discovering their music for the first time, their dynamic sound is sure to leave a lasting impression.

But this event is about more than just music—it’s about making a difference in our community. We’re proud to partner with “Partners in Recovery” to support the vital work of Phoenix House in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Phoenix House provides essential services and resources for individuals and families struggling with addiction, offering hope and healing to those in need.

For every $50.00 donated to Partners in Recovery, we’re offering a complimentary ticket to the concert as a token of our appreciation. Your generosity not only grants you access to an incredible night of live music but also directly contributes to the success of Phoenix House and the countless lives they touch.

Join us at The Venue on September 27th for an evening of music, meaning, and making a difference. Together, we can support a program that’s changing lives and building a brighter future for our community. Don’t miss out—get your tickets today and be a part of something special.

Phoenix Trail Fest Set For This Weekend At Lake Lurleen State Park

April 18, 2024/in News

The Patch (Original Article)

By: Ryan Phillips

The Phoenix House of Tuscaloosa on Saturday will once again host its annual Phoenix Trail Fest at Lake Lurleen State Park.

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The Phoenix House of Tuscaloosa on Saturday will once again host its annual Phoenix Trail Fest at Lake Lurleen State Park.

Phoenix House Executive Director Ted Sexton said 170 runners from across the country have registered for the second annual installment of the fundraiser event.

Proceeds from the Phoenix Trail Fest will go to benefit the Phoenix House, which is a transitional residential substance abuse treatment center.

Participants can choose between the following distances for the event: 4, 12, 25, 37, 50, or 62 miles.

Click here to sign up. Registration will close just before midnight on Thursday.

Visit From Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall

March 18, 2024/in News

We appreciate Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall visiting with us today at The Phoenix House of Tuscaloosa.

Pictured from Left to Right: Jon Tyler, Phoenix House Clinical Director; Ted Sexton, Phoenix House Executive Director; Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall; & Bob Weatherly, Phoenix House President of Board of Directors.

Phoenix House looks to take next step in rehabilitation

February 21, 2024/in News

Gary Cosby Jr.

Tuscaloosa News

Phoenix House looks to take next step in rehabilitation

Few people in Alabama have ever heard of Dave Durocher, but he may soon have a dramatic impact on Tuscaloosa.

Durocher describes himself as a drug addict, a liar, a thief, a manipulator, a cheater and a violent man. He had done four terms in prison and was looking at what amounted to a jail sentence for the rest of his life when he persuaded a California judge to give him a chance and enter a therapeutic community program known as Delancey Street.

It changed his life.

Durocher is now the director of The Other Side Academy, a therapeutic community in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he is helping others turn their lives around and he’s the inspiration behind what Ted Sexton, director of Phoenix House in Tuscaloosa, hopes to do here for people recovering from drug and alcohol addiction.

Oct. 19, 2023; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Feb 5, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Ted Sexton, director of Phoenix House in Tuscaloosa, left, listens as Dave Durocher, a former addict and repeat offender who now directs The Other Side Academy, a therapeutic community in Salt Lake City, Utah speaks to local and state officials during a visit in October.

“What can we do to actually help people recover long-term? Anyone can get someone clean and sober. You throw their butts in jail and get them clean and sober. The question is, when they come back out, what are we doing to keep them from going back?” Sexton said.

The problem that rehabilitation programs like Phoenix House have is that the time is too short to effect lifelong change for many who come through the program. Sexton, a former Tuscaloosa County sheriff who came on board as director three years ago, said they have made great strides in getting Phoenix House back on track. A previous director had embezzled money and ruined many relationships in the community.

Sexton said they have made major improvements to the Phoenix House’s physical building and gotten the programs back on track. The problem they face, a problem that many rehabilitation programs face all across the country is that insurance and government regulations dictate the length of time a person can be in the program.

Building a long-term therapeutic community through Phoenix House could be the solution, Sexton says.

‘Like high school with knives’

Durocher, who compared the jails in California to high school with knives, said that every trip to jail just made him a better criminal and rehab programs with brief visits with counselors did him no good.

“We are indoctrinated in this country now to think that one-on-one therapy is the answer. Well, I’ve got news for you, if you think some geek who went to college is going to help Dave after 27 years of drug addiction and four prison terms, anybody who believes that probably needs more help than I did,” Durocher said during a visit to Tuscaloosa in October.

Feb 5, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Jim Jones, a certified recovery support specialist, conducts a meeting at Phoenix House in Tuscaloosa for men who are in the program.

Durocher advocates a completely different way to address the problem and it is a solution he found in the Delancey Street program. Durocher had been in and out of rehab programs, he had said and done all the right things to get out the program, but immediately returned to his old way of life as soon as the counselors released him. It took the long-term approach at Delancey Street to get him free from his ingrained way of life.

Delancey Street requires a minimum of two years in the program. Durocher ended up staying for eight years, the last five as director of the Los Angeles location. He was recruited to begin a similar program in Salt Lake City that is named The Other Side Academy (TOSA). It is one of several different therapeutic communities in the nation and all of them are highly effective. The problem is that insurance companies and governments will not pay for such long-term and highly intensive care. Successful long-term communities such as TOSA have found the solution.

They take no government money and no money from insurance. They are entirely self-sufficient through their organization running businesses in the local communities, from thrift stores to a moving company, in the case of TOSA.

“When I am going to jail, who is paying for it? You are. I am exploiting you. When I went to jail, you paid my rent. I was a burden on you. Think about what I’m telling you. When I am an adult and doing something wrong and you have to pay for it, there’s something wrong with that,” Durocher said.

The benefit to long-term programs is that they not only get a person clean and sober, they also retrain them and teach them how to live life in a responsible manner. Part of the value of the program is that it gives a person who has been a drug addict and known little else the ability to step out of the lifestyle and begin living as a responsible member of the community.

Recidivism ‘nearly zero’

Durocher quotes some impressive statistics.

“If you stay for the full two and a half years, there is a 76% rate of drug-free, crime-free and employed life thereafter. Recidivism goes from 100% to 12%. If you stay three years or longer, 85% don’t use again. If you stay four years or longer, its upwards of 95% and recidivism is nearly zero,” Durocher said.

Sexton and Durocher quoted numbers of less than a 5% success rate in typical rehabilitation programs. At Phoenix House, with the improvements they have made, the numbers are better.

“We are trying to do this all in 12 weeks, but we are finding out that we have improved the graduation rate by 25%. It was less than 50% three years ago. We are up to about 70% now. Of that 70%, 90% are going out the door with full-time jobs with benefits. We can show evidence based data that you can be successful,” Sexton said.

The problem these programs face is recidivism. After the 12 weeks, they are releasing people back into the same environment that got them in trouble in the first place and many people fall back into the same cycle, which puts them back in jail or in prison for the same crimes.

Sexton and his associates at Phoenix House are working to change that. They face a daunting challenge with more than 80% of people coming to them with criminal records. Most have drug and alcohol problems, many more come with domestic violence issues, children who are left parentless while their parent is incarcerated, the inability to get and hold a job, most are unemployed and many are either homeless or have only temporary access to housing.

Sexton believes a long-term therapeutic community in Tuscaloosa is the answer. Like other long-term therapeutic communities in the country, it would be funded by the businesses established to support it. Phoenix House is to the point in development that they are looking for property to purchase.

‘A Band-Aid on a bullet wound’

Phoenix House case management supervisor John Brinson said, “Short term is like trying to put a Band-Aid on a bullet wound.” Brinson is a graduate of Phoenix House. He spent 14 months in the program rather than the 90-day maximum that most are limited to.

In like manner, Jon Tyler, the clinical director, also spent 14 months in the Phoenix House. He shares the view that short-term care is largely ineffective for long-term change.

“Overall, we are trying to help a whole population of people, people who have drug and alcohol issues. We are trying to help them get a footprint in society. If you don’t do that, you are not going to be able to survive,” Tyler said.

That, in short, is the goal of a therapeutic community. The programs require a two-year commitment during which time clients live in housing provided by the community, are taught life skills, and helped to gain employment with benefits so that they can make a decent living and have a chance to change their life. The live-in counselors are there 24 hours a day and work not only to teach life skills, but they also help resolve old criminal issues that could drag them back into the criminal justice system.

Always Striving to Improve

February 12, 2024/in News, Uncategorized

Our leaders and staff at The Phoenix House of Tuscaloosa are constantly striving for Knowledge & Improvement for our clients. Ted Sexton, Phoenix House Executive Director, along with Jon Tyler, Phoenix House Clinical Director, recently paid a visit to The Other Side Academy in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Other Side Academy is an alternative program for those facing long-term incarceration as well as those seeking a change from the life they’ve chosen in the past.

Sexton & Tyler gained many valuable insights touring the facilities and meeting with an awesome group of leaders.

Photographed Left to Right: Jack Carruth (South Salt Lake Chief of Police), Ty Hansen (Steps Recovery Pres. & CEO), Lt. Andrew (Salt Lake Police Chief Asst.), Mike Brown (Salt Lake City Chief of Police), Brian Redd (Utah Dept. of Corrections Exec. Director), Ted Sexton (Phoenix House Exec. Director), Jon Tyler (Phoenix House Clinical Director), Dave Durocher (The Other Side Academy Exec. Director), Erin Mendenhall (Salt Lake Mayor), Cam Ward (Director of AL Pardons & Paroles), Rebecca Bensema (Re-entry Pardons & Paroles Assoc. Director), Joseph Grenny (Chairman of the Board of The Other Side Academy and The Other Side Village), Scott Howell (Former State Senator and Minority Leader), and Tim Stay (The Other Side Academy CEO)

We are so excited to share our continued growth.

Celebrating!

February 8, 2024/in News

Phoenix House Toy Drive

December 11, 2023/in News, Uncategorized

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