First Step Home - 501c3 Charity

Here it is your Channel nine first warning. Weather forecasts going to be a sunny day to day, less humid than yesterday eighty eight for the high, a few clouds over night sixty six to low independence day, lots of sun high in ninety one. Humidity they say will not be an issue, which is good. Dust temperature eighty degrees perfect for fireworks, and overnight low is sixty eight which

From you see how traffic center. The University of Cincinnati Cancer Center has the most comprehensive blood cancer center in the nation. The future at cancer Care is here called five one, three, five eight five U see c see highway traffic doing just fine. I'm seeing no major time delays to deal with it all, including northbound seventy five slows just a bit into the cut. Cliway Bailey is

Good morning, Thank you for having me.

Well, I'm excited to let my listeners know and let you let my listeners know what you're doing there at the First Step Home, which is I guess you're unique in that you are an addiction treatment center, but you're the only ones in the area that allow children up to age twelve to live with their mothers while they're getting treatment.

We do, we do.

We are providing gender specific care and we have specific programming for our pregnant, postpartum and parenting women.

Well, I suppose, and you can correct me if I'm wrong. A lot of the reason people I'll call it self medicaid and quite often get addicted is because they had some underlying psychological struggle or issue they're dealing with, and so rather than trying to wrestle through it with therapy or which is the kind of thing you're providing, it's easier just to mask it with the booze or the drugs. And I but along those lines, and again correct me

Definitely, And that's absolutely one of the reasons that women don't come into treatment a lot of times is because they don't have care for their children. And so for them to get help, it's very important for them to be able to bring their children and keep their children with them.

Well as a component of them on the path to getting rid of the addiction on their path to becoming well. Don't the children provide some measure of help along those lines, Because you're looking at someone who's dependent upon you. You're in a situation where you found yourself in treatment because you have addiction. I would think having those children there would be an inspiration for you to stay on the right path.

It is absolutely a motivation for the women to do well, and the women want their children with them, and their children want to be with their moms.

Yeah. Yeah, now you arranged for or children are still able to stay in school while they're living there with their mothers.

Yes, And we do our best to keep the kids in the schools that they're going to.

But when that's not possible.

We get the children into school and the schools that are close to us.

Okay, and you are located in Walnut Hills, I guess I should say that we are.

We are in a nine building facility and we're located all within one block in Walnut Hills.

How many women do you serve generally speaking?

On average nearly about two eighty annually and eighty Yeah, and anywhere between thirty to forty children in our care during that time. Wow.

Is there a sort of corollary between something underlying in these women's life? Like you can say, okay, the most of these women have experienced the following, whether it's poor childhood, upbringing, socioeconomic issues, maybe family history, a genetic history of substance abuse. I mean, have you seen a parallel or a trend from your working with these women since nineteen ninety three, Rother.

Yes, absolutely, all the things that you've listed, in addition to a significant history of trauma, lots of women who have been in domestic violence relationships, physical abuse, sexual abuse, sex trafficking, also homelessness.

Definitely, all the things that you listed as well.

Now in terms of addiction happens on every income level. I'm just wondering you see a variety of socioeconomic mix the women that you serve and help.

Yes, definitely, we've had pharmacists, nurses, doctors in our facility before.

Addiction definitely does not discriminate.

Fair enough, We'll pause. I want to bring you back talk about some of the services you offer outreach and this wonderful organization again first step home dot org, and I'm sure they would be more than happy to take a donation. Look right there, upper right hand corner of the website, so you can help them out with these wonderful services. We'll bring Morgan back after I mentioned affordable imaging services so you don't have to pay crazy amounts

Thousand, fifty five KRC.

Channel nine tells us it's gonna be a sunny day, thankfully, Well, no, slightly more humid. I was gonna say that's tomorrow. More humidity today, eighty eight for the high. Sixty six overnight with a few clowns, plenty of sun tomorrows and they're saying humidity not an issue. Tomorrow. Ninety one will be the high about eighty by dust for the fireworks beginning overnight. Low is sixty eight clear sky Saturday hot one ninety

Chuck Ingram from the uc HOW Traffic Center. The University of Cincinnati Cancer Center has the most comprehensive blood cancer center in the nation. The future of cancercars here called five month three five eighty five U see see see highway traffic not all back pads just to bid heaving northbound seventy five Dixie to Kyle's and southbound two seventy

Fifty five KRC the talk station Ban Thomas pleased to have Morgan Gibson, CEO of a wonderful organization called First Step Home, which you can find online at first Tap home dot org. And what they're doing is providing that's a nonprofit, I should point interject. They're providing support for women with substance abuse as well as their children, and the only area facility that allows children to live with their mothers while they're getting this residential treatment or inpatient treatment.

We provide a full continuum of care, so we have residential, intensive, outpatient, and outpatient services as well as recovery housing.

Okay, and I guess you've been around since nineteen ninety three. I did mention that my listeners could help donate to your organization because of what the great work you're doing. But how do you survive? Obviously, it's a very large complex you have there, and that doesn't go without a lot of overhead and maintenance and upkeep and salaries and all that how do you generally cover the cost?

Yeah, it's a mixture of things, for sure.

We're definitely always looking at ways to diversify revenue. So we're primarily Medicaid funded, but we are also supported by by grants and foundations and individual donations.

Good. Obviously folks are aware about you, but to the extent there's some business out there that wants to adopt a charity, I would startally encourage them to reach out to you. We do have a significant substance abuse problem. I mean, I mean, are the numbers on the rise? Do you see any positivity in the numbers or is it a static thing over the years you've been doing this. Where are we right now?

So there's definitely been some increases in different substances, so different substances will be higher at different points. For sure, we're definitely seeing increase in alcohol use in the.

Community and.

Definitely trying to just help in any way that we can with whatever that comes at us.

For sure.

Now you involved with the court system, the family courts for example, are you getting referrals from you know, women that are in front of the judge because well, either it was the substance itself that got them there or a substance related problem that led them on some criminal enterprise. It's got them involved in the criminal justice system. Do they're aware of you in Hamilton County and elsewhere?

Absolutely.

We're also connected with the local drug courts and the family courts and change court and definitely with children's services.

Now, what type of treatments are involved and is there sort of a generally accepted rough time frame that this you'll be involved with counseling if you're a patient or someone seeking counseling there.

It's very individualized, so it really depends on how much treatment someone's had.

In the past, and.

So they can be in treatment anywhere between thirty days to a year or more.

Really, and in terms of overall long term success rate, it's like a cancer diagnosis. You know, you're in remission for five years and that's considered a success. Is there a high recidivism rate in terms of the drug treatment of people entering back into the program.

Definitely.

Statistically speaking, we're looking at individuals entering treatment anywhere between four to seven times before getting long term recovery.

All right, So as opposed to one on one therapy, which and I don't know if you offer that considering the number of women in the facility, but this group being together, all similarly struggling, I imagine that creates a very supportive environment for the women. They're not alone. There's a woman sitting right next to them that's got the same struggles. They talk and interact among themselves. If I have sort of a picture of what's going on there.

Definitely, it's definitely a sisterhood in a community. These are relationships that women are going to have for the rest of their lives. And we do offer individual therapy and group counseling, case management, psychiatric treatment, and all those things while they're in treatment with us.

Now, as for the children, obviously children are quite impacted if their mother has a substance abuse problem, they may have been dealing with neglect or abuse themselves. Do you offer services for the children that are staying with their mothers there along those lines mental health or services.

So we have a childcare on site to help support the moms, but for treatment services, we are partnered with wonderful agencies in the community, including Gladhouse and Cincinnati Children's Hospital, to provide any ongoing care for the kids that they need.

Well that's great. Well, I can encourage, you know, to keep up the great work, and I will strongly encourage my listening audience out there to maybe pass a donation along your way first step home dot org. I wish you didn't have to be in in existence, but thank god there are organizations like you that are out there, Morgan, and keep up the great work on behalf of these women who really I guess they really are truly interested in turning their lives around.

They are. Thank you so much for having me on.

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