Tanya Anderson spent 20 years of her life struggling with alcohol and drug addiction.
“It led me to prison many times,” Anderson said. “I have five prison numbers. I also spent time being homeless. I decided that I didn’t want to go back. I was sick and tired of living that life.”
Anderson entered into a treatment program two years ago at Amethyst Inc. located at 527 S. High St.
Amethyst provides alcohol and drug treatment, permanent supportive housing and intensive case management for homeless and low-income women and their children.
Amethyst helped Anderson reunite with her children.
“I was separated from my son and daughter for over a year,” Anderson said. “Amethyst helped me with visitation and worked with me for what I needed to do in the court system to get them back.”
Anderson was reunited with her two children in September.
“I am getting to know my children again, and they are getting to know me,” Anderson said.
Most of the women who go into the Amethyst program have been separated from their children because of drug use, prostitution and neglect of children, said Lori Criss, associate director at Amethyst.
Because of today’s laws, women have two years to get their children back, before the children are placed in permanent homes, Criss said.
The program at Amethyst is designed for long-term support, she said. Typically the program lasts for five years, but some women have been in the program longer.
The program has different levels to help the women with their addictions and help them to sustain self-sufficiency, she said. In later stages of the program, when the women are living outside of Amethyst’s housing, a housing subsidy is provided to women based upon income.
Amethyst will extend the housing subsidy if a woman is having financial problems, Criss said.
Amethyst provides 100 of its own housing units.
“These homes are safe,” Criss said. “The homes are good for the kids.”
When the women are ready to move out on their own, Amethyst assists them in finding housing.
“Sometimes I’ll scout out a neighborhood,” Criss said.
Many of the women have criminal backgrounds, which make it even more difficult for them to find housing, she said.
In addition to acting as an advocate to help the women get housing leases, Amethyst assists women with job training and education.
“I want to get an associates (degree) in mental health. One day, I want to come back to Amethyst and work. I think these are the best counselors,” Anderson said.
Amethyst also supplies counseling for the women and children of the program.
“My son has a lot of anger issues towards me for not being there for him,” Anderson said. Her seven-year-old son and three-year-old daughter receive counseling both individually and with Anderson.
“My son comes down here and does his thing,” Anderson said. “Then, we go together for counseling.”
Anderson is also getting counseling for sexual abuse and neglect she suffered as a child.
Many women started doing drugs or drinking alcohol at a very early age, Criss said. As early as 11 to 14 years old, some women used drugs as an escape from the abuse many of them suffered.
Ninety-five percent of the women who come through the Amethyst program have duel diagnosis, which is an addiction plus mental illness, she said.
An assessment counselor determines the primary need for the women. The mental illness might be the main issue for the women, which has to be addressed before the addiction, she said.
In Columbus, there are several agencies that help people deal with addiction and mental illness.
The oldest is Maryhaven, located at 1791 Alum Creek Dr.
Maryhaven served over 1,600 men and women last year, said Paul Coleman, president of Maryhaven.
Maryhaven has an outreach program to try and help those with addiction. Jerry Pierce, an outreach specialist for Maryhaven, goes to homeless shelters and camps to find help for the people suffering from addiction.
“I have taken 30 to 40 people into detox,” Pierce said.
Maryhaven helps these people get the help they need and into housing, Pierce said.
“I struggled with my own addiction,” Pierce said. “It’s good to show these people that someone can do it; they can get themselves together. I have been clean for 13 years now.”
Many homeless do not seek treatment and can’t be forced to do so, unless they are in imminent danger of hurting themselves, said Chris Kovell, the system chief clinical officer for the Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Board of Franklin County.
“In the 50s and 60s, there was a movement to de-institutionalize mental patients,” Kovell said.
As a result, many of those patients became homeless, he said.
“We have a team of mental health professionals that go out to different shelters,” Kovell said. “We try to at least get them on medication. Many of them want to be homeless and not in a shelter.”
