theeffect just celebrated its fourth anniversary of operation as a recovery community, but the principals of theeffect have been working together in the area of recovery for over eight years. With the formation of our Counseling Center and Day Treatment programs, theeffect is launching a new services to further the work we’ve been doing by adding a foundation in day treatment and the RecoveryLine addiction helpline.

What does your group offer besides these new services?
Over the past four years, theeffect has created a real recovery community, a safe, physical space and relational connection for people of all ages struggling with addiction and alcoholism. More widely, with the realization that everyone is recovering from something, theeffect as a faith community also presents a view of Christianity focused on recovery and transformation. theeffect offers daily programs and events such as Sunday worship gatherings, Tuesday night Recovery Gatherings, studies, workshops, classes, and hosting of daily AA, NA, OA, and Al-Anon meetings. theeffect offers ongoing relationships with and pastoral counseling by board certified pastoral counselors and access to recovery specialists and treatment programs. We also have a foodbank, Storehouse 216, that provides quality food to people in need anywhere in south county.

Are your current offerings free, or are fees charged?
Most of the above offerings are free. Exceptions are the day treatment programs and clinical and pastoral counseling, which are provided at reasonable rates and a sliding scale. We are here primarily to get people the help and relational support system they need to establish a true foundation in sobriety, so fees have always been negotiable.

With our Day Treatment, we partner with the most effective programs in Orange County in order to provide treatment options that help each person determine the best program fit for his or her financial situation and other individual needs. People from all over the United States come to Southern CA for drug and alcohol treatment, and with the help of our partners we offer residential treatment programs that are recognized as being among the best in the country. In addition to what our partners currently offer, theeffect will be offering affordable programs in order to provide for the treatment needs of those who would otherwise be unable to afford high quality outpatient and residential drug and alcohol treatment. Our fees will vary depending on the treatment program selected by the client and the use of a sliding scale, making help more accessible. Our partners’ programs take most insurance payments, and we are working to accept insurance payments by the end of the year. In the future we hope to offer financial assistance as well through a recovery foundation that will scholarship people in need.

Why did you decide to add the helpline?
We recognize that drug use in our country has reached epidemic proportions and that many families are being devastated by this prevalence of drugs in our community. Hard drugs like heroin and opiates, including prescription drugs, plague many of our area schools, while many parents are unaware of their catastrophic, indeed deadly consequences to a great number of our young people. Typically by the time people call for help, either for themselves or loved ones, they have denied their problems or tried to ignore them for as long as humanly possible. Tensions and emotions are usually running pretty high, and the need for a hand to hold and someone to shepherd traumatized callers through the confusing maze of resources and options is invaluable. RecoveryLine will provide a one-stop, single, free call people can make to talk to someone who calm their fears, assess their situation, educate, and empower people to make good choices and next steps.

When will the helpline be working?
The RecoveryLine is live now as a call-in helpline. It is not a hotline, so if callers have an emergency, they should dial 911. We will answer RecoveryLine calls as quickly as possible, with after hours and weekends calls being returned on the next business day.

What's the number people call?
Toll-free: 1-888-690-0900.

Have people already started using it?
We’ve already been taking such calls for the past four years of our operation as a recovery community. Through our work in south county, people have been calling us for counseling, referrals, and help in many different areas. With the launch of RecoveryLine, we’ll formalize the process and make our assistance more widely available.

What will the helpline offer?
The RecoveryLine help line is for all those who need drug and alcohol treatment help. With a single call, people in need can talk to someone who knows the right questions to ask and can begin to assess their situation and needs, creating a list of proven and relevant services, including detox facilities, residential or outpatient treatment, sober living homes, counselors and therapists, 12 step meetings, sponsorships, spiritual mentoring, shelters, and even food banks. In difficult cases, callers can also talk to a licensed clinician who can perform a more detailed evaluation and make further recommendations.

Our clinicians will determine what services best fit the caller’s specific needs; we know what programs work best in South Orange County, having been a part of them for years. We want to offer our services and those of our proven partners to the community to make sure people are aware of all of the resources and services that are available to them. We want people to know that they are not alone, and that we are here to help facilitate their successful recovery. theeffect is partnering with the best programs in the area--in order to present the best outpatient and residential treatment options to those who need them.

How does your center differ from a sober living home?
Whereas a sober living home’s purpose is primarily to provide a drug and alcohol free living environment, our program provides alcohol and drug addiction treatment, which includes individual therapy and therapeutic groups conducted by a licensed therapist. Each Individual in our program will have his or her own counselor who is a licensed addiction specialist, and for those requiring dual diagnosis help, a licensed psychiatrist can be arranged to see them at predetermined points in their treatment process. In addition to individual and group therapy, we provide Christian and Traditional AA Track groups, marriage and family counseling, pastoral counseling, employment training counseling, dual diagnosis groups, exercise, and sponsorship, all supported by the larger, established recovery community of theeffect.

Which sober living facilities are you partnering with for your treatment program?
We are currently in negotiations with several sober living facilities in the area, but we can’t release those names until agreements are in place. In the meantime, we can secure accommodations at many different local facilities to meet our clients’ needs and finances.

How much of your curriculum is religious?
We offer both Christian Tracks and Traditional Tracks using the Big Book of AA as a conceptual base for treatment. In effect, our clients can tailor their programs in terms of spiritual content to meet their own needs. And though our spiritual track is based in Christian tenets and ethics, it is more spiritually centered than religiously centered. In other words, anyone can find a home with us and can benefit greatly from the essential spiritual dimension of our treatment program without fear of pressure from overly religious programming.

Are most of your clients from Southern California or from all over the country?
Our client base is a mix of local, CA people as well as those from all over the U.S. and even Canada through referrals from our partners. Through partnerships with sober living facilities, we can accept both local and national clientele, and we are developing plans to expand our programs to other states in the near future.

Do you have licensed doctors prescribing medication at your center, or are you therapist based?
We have no medical doctors on staff and do not prescibe medications. We have therapists on staff who specialize in the field of addiction and are responsible for the bulk of our treatment programs, and we are currently working with psychiatrists on an independent contractor basis who will see our clients for dual diagnosis issues and to monitor/prescribe meds.