Polly Haight Frawley, COO and Project Director of Crossroads’ $1.5 M federal SAMHSA grant for residential substance abuse treatment for pregnant and postpartum women, recently attended a conference in Washington DC. The conference was for grantees from across the county that are implementing this innovative model of providing family-centered services for women suffering from a substance abuse disorder.
Polly worked with SAMHSA officials on a presentation and facilitation to obtain input from grantees on how to document their work and tell their collective story to a national audience.
In addition, as a separate part of the program, grantees were asked to submit a creative piece describing their work. Polly submitted the following poem. We loved it so much, we had to share!
Refrain:
CAMP—Children and Mothers Program—CAMP
Breaking the cycle
Strengthening families
Saving so many lives
Cabin 1: Story of a CAMPER
32 yr. old female, attended CAMP,
she referred herself to treatment.
She came seeking help with children in tow,
2 years and a week old infant.
Relapse prevention and coping skills,
she learned self esteem and empowerment.
But clearly her motivation entailed
sober parenting and child attachment.
60 days later our mother departs
with car seats and Goodwill resources.
Sober housing and supports were found to assist,
and skills to make healthy choices.
6 months go by, mom calls to report,
aftercare, AA and jobs are in place,
thriving children with pictures to share.
Success for the mom, success for CAMP,
success in the Maine fresh air.
CAMP—Children’s and Mother’s Program—CAMP
Breaking the cycle
Strengthening families
Saving so many lives
Cabin 2. Story of a CAMP
A residential setting in Windham Maine
population about 15 thousand.
A farmhouse locale with beds for 15.
40 years of providing time to “come clean”.
Grant funding comes in, the program’s made stronger,
Gender specific and focus on trauma.
Service plans, group work and appointments are set,
and wait, there’s family engagement.
Day care‘s established,
the children get schedules
health visits, assessments and care.
Thru parenting skills, they learn to cuddle.
Collaboration improves, partnerships strengthened,
evaluations developed and shared.
The program grows, our numbers increase.
The state of Maine takes notice.
Read more about the grant HERE.
