Crossroads is open and admitting clients into all levels of care while implementing universal safety precautions in response to COVID-19. Learn More.
The following is an unedited entry from Crossroads center for Women and Children program Hope Book. Women who attend the short-term residential program are encouraged to write their thoughts down in the form of letters and poems for other women going through the program to read. We share these excerpts in hopes of helping other…
Research coming out of the University of Granada shows that there is a genetic predisposition to become addicted to alcohol. According to the study, “although there are no specific reasons to become alcoholic, many social, family, environmental and genetic factors may contribute to its development.” According to Jose Rico Irles, head of the research group…
At Crossroad Back Cove, a halfway house for women recovering from alcohol and drug addiction in Portland, Maine, women in early recovery are learning a special set of skills. Developed by Lisa Najavits, PhD, Seeking Safety is an evidenced-based practice designed to help women with a substance abuse problem and postraumatic stress disorder [PTSD] acquire…
Here are two news stories from this past week regarding teens, young adults and drugs that the public shouldn’t ignore. “Cheese Heroin” CNN had a story about a cheap and highly addictive drug that has killed 21 teenagers around the Dallas area in the past 2 years. The so-called “cheese heroin” is a mixture of…
Rear Admiral Kenneth P. Moritsugu, MD, MPH was on the steps of the Maine State House yesterday warning parents about underage drinking. The Acting U.S. Surgeon General, along with First Lady Karen Baldacci and other community leaders, talked about how research has shown that alcohol can cause damage to the still developing adolescent brain. Research…
Bob Curley wrote an interesting article on the Join Together website about the influence the addiction community has had over big corporations and corporate responsibility. Curley sites Anheuser-Busch’s recent decision to stop selling the controversial alcoholic energy drink, Spykes, as an example. (Read more about Spykes in Anheuser-Busch’s Marketing and Labeling of Alcoholic Energy Drink,…
Chemical dependency is the loss of control over an addictive substance. It is an illness that strikes randomly throughout the population. It happens to people at all income levels, of all races, any age and both genders. It does not result from a lack of willpower or loose morals. Rather, it’s a terrifying, destructive, progressive…
The state of Maine released crime statistics for 2006, and they aren’t positive. In fact, they show the fastest increase in crime since 1993. The overall number of serious crimes in Maine increased 4.6% in 2006 over 2005. According to the stats, which are based on reports from the state’s individual police agencies, the number…
A person’s alcohol or drug addiction affects everyone close to that person. Friends and family members often don’t know how to deal with a loved one’s addiction or even understand it. But when friends and family members get together, understand and address the impact they experience in the situation, they increase their ability to gather…
Today, Wednesday, May 2nd, is National Parity Day. The public can join a wide array of other health advocacy organizations in urging members of the U.S. House of Representatives to pass H.R. 1424, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act. This legislation, sponsored by Representatives Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Jim Ramstad (R-MN), would…