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If I were to have a wish, it would be that everyone had a chance to spend a day in Admissions. I have worked at Willamette Family for the past 15 years. Since 1998, I have managed the Admissions Department, in the women's residential center. The current admissions team includes Sandy Haldeman, Kathleen Daniel, Cheryl Heath, and myself.
Our team sees and hears the enormous devastation that occurs when the storm of addiction wipes out families, destroys lives, and leaves children shattered.
We receive approximately 50 calls per day; most of them are women needing a drug and alcohol assessment, and many who just need to talk. Some are parents who are scared for their grown daughter and their grandchildren, because there is domestic violence and drug use in their family. As difficult as these calls are....another phone rings, one of us picks up, "Admissions, may I help you?" The other end is silent....then the sound of a soft voice comes through. After a moment of reassuring the caller, the woman tells her story. We listen, give referrals, and make an appointment for her to come see us. But mostly, we assure her that, if she follows through with her appointment, it will be a new beginning to her life.
Unfortunately, due to the volume of calls, some slip through to voice mail. I received a call last week that sent chills down my spine. I felt ill, as I listened to a woman sobbing. I hear begging and pleading, "Kelli, help me, help me. I'm in a hotel. I don't know where, help me. I don't want to die, Kelli, I'm so scared. Help me, please call me back!" The voice I heard was sheer terror. I hung up quickly, grabbed the phone book to look up the hotel. She was confused. There was no hotel with the name she told me. She never called back.
At times, our hearts sink. We wonder - did she get help? Is she alive? Then, suddenly, another young woman appears at our office door. She's pushing a stroller, with a beautiful little girl looking up at me. I recall this woman was also in crisis six months ago. She was pregnant, facing jail. She knew her life was falling apart. She had previously lost custody of two children, and had failed attempts at treatment. But, today, she's standing proud and announcing her upcoming completion of residential treatment in three weeks. She glowed and had a twinkle in her eye. She shared that she would be moving in to Willamette Family's housing. "I got an apartment, and me and my baby girl are going home together."
As she left, our team's heart, that had sunk at the last phone call, suddenly filled with joy. You see, I knew that we served the highest number of clients this year, and we had record-breaking babies born drug free. Families were re-united. Kids found hope, and the life of addiction stopped. As these thoughts overwhelmed me, I knew I had been blessed to be part of a team; not only in Admissions, but at Willamette Family Treatment Center.
- Kelli Douthit