In-town substance use disorder treatment helps residents recover

Tanisha Young, 29, a mother of three young children, recently lost her father, and in past times in her life, that loss would have given her an excuse to abuse drugs to numb the pain and stress.

But Young has been in recovery and sober since 2021 and uses the techniques, knowledge and coping skills he learned through counseling and treatment at Porch Light Health in Craig.

“I’m really proud of myself because it’s been a constant work of being aware, making sure my mental health is where it needs to be, being honest with myself and having supportive people around me,” she said. said Young.

“I want people to know that it’s a very supportive place,” Young said of Porch Light. “I never felt judged. It is an open place for people who need help. I felt really accepted, welcomed and supported throughout the process. It changed my life.”

Porch Light Health, formerly known as Front Range Clinic until spring 2023, is located in an unassuming brown building at 390 Yampa Avenue, one block south of downtown Craig. The clinic offers outpatient care for people with alcohol and opioid disorders, as well as counseling to help with lasting physical and behavioral health.

For about 80% of patients, the clinic offers MAT, or medication-assisted treatment, to help people get off drugs and start a healthier lifestyle and maintain sobriety. The clinic offers in-house and same-day detox assistance and MAT to help with withdrawal and cravings.

The Craig Clinic is unique in that it offers same-day walk-in appointments for people with substance abuse problems, explained Tracey Wall, a physician’s assistant. The clinic offers mental health services that include individual and group counseling, psychiatric care, and intensive outpatient treatment both virtually and in person.

The location also offers a free public family support group called CRAFT, or Community Reinforcement for Family Training, to support family members and friends of people struggling with addiction, said Jackie Adams, one of two therapists at full time clinic.

Porch Light works closely with The Health Partnership along with other area resource agencies to strengthen a person’s path to recovery, said Nele Cashmore, The Health Partnership’s recovery program coordinator.

“They (Porch Light) provide what I think are lifesaving services for people living here with a substance use disorder,” Cashmore said. “It’s especially critical in rural areas to have a clinic like this that not only offers these services, but has amazing providers that care for people.”

Area professionals hope more people will learn about the offerings at Porch Light, especially in Moffat County, where substance use disorder rates are higher than the state average, Wall said. Porch Light clinics in the Yampa Valley saw 315 people in 2023, including MAT treatments available for teens, Wall noted.

“People don’t talk about MAT out in the open, generally, about medications that help with withdrawal, curb cravings, or help with mental health and substance transition,” Cashmore explained.

Porch Light Clinic is considered a “low barrier” facility, meaning they have few waiting lists for services and can help people even if they don’t yet have insurance. Patients are connected to our community resources that provide assistance in signing up for health coverage. The clinic also offers services for people addicted to methamphetamine, the opioid fentanyl or with hepatitis C, Wall noted.

Young has struggled with addiction at various points in her life since having a C-section of her first child at age 19. She was in physical pain, had little support during that big life change, and was surrounded by an ex-partner and other people. consume drugs

Young used suboxone as part of medication-assisted treatment twice in his life to battle drug addiction. She battled a relapse that occurred in Grand Junction when her two youngest sons were out of town for a summer visit. He had obtained a Percocet pill with fentanyl which led to another downward spiral.

Now, Young said she’s doing “really well,” has remarried, works as a kitchen clerk at a brewery and continues counseling with Porch Light for support to maintain her sobriety. When she emailed a photo of herself with her three young children, she noted, “three perfectly good reasons to stay sober, out of many.”

The mother of three tells People there’s always a driver who inspires sobriety.

“If it has to be someone you love, then you do it until you figure out how to do it for yourself,” Young said of the work required to fight addiction. “I went to a lot of outpatient meetings with other addicts, to find out why people keep using. Mental health is a big reason people use in the first place, and some people don’t even realize it.”

Sal Martinez is another Craig resident who credits Porch Light with helping him stay sober and in recovery for more than two years after serious drug abuse. Martinez had experimented with drugs as a youth in California, and his drug abuse problems spiraled when he was prescribed the pain medication oxycodone following the removal of an appendix and nerve damage from neuropathy painful from undiagnosed diabetes.

Martinez said he came to Porch Light in January 2022 when his “life was falling apart” during a relapse after going to an in-person rehab facility elsewhere in Colorado.

Now Martinez, 43, attends a weekly support group and receives monthly MAT injections to help her recovery. He works full-time as a mechanic in Steamboat, has been married for 17 years and loves life with his 10-year-old daughter. The family bought a house in Craig in the spring.

“I feel like I’m alive for a reason,” Martinez said. “One thing I would like to tell people is that if you’re struggling, there’s help. There’s hope out there.”

Porch Light Health has clinics in Colorado and New Mexico, including a part-time clinic at 1306 Lincoln Ave. Unit D in Steamboat which is open from 9 am to 3 pm on Wednesdays and at 150 W. Jackson Ave. in Hayden, open from 8:30 a. 9:30 a.m. Thursday.

For more information, visit PorchLightHealth.com