It was never supposed to be like this. As a mother, I was sure I did everything right. My children were raised in a two parent household. My husband and I never fought in front of our children, in fact we were happy, and we are still together to this day. I was always with my children, attended all of the school activities, paid for private schools, and went to church. You name it, we did it. We offered our children the best of everything. There wasn't any trauma or violence that they were exposed to. We loved them, we supported them, we protected them. What did we do that caused both of our children to become addicts? We were and are good parents. 

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After many years, I finally learned that it wasn't our fault. I learned that addiction is a disease. Addiction has been classified as a disease since the 1950s. Yet, people stigmatize, look down upon, and look at addicts as if it is their fault. I have lost contact with my only sibling because of his views that it was somehow our fault, somehow we did something wrong, somehow this disease has no merit. This disease killed our mother.

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My story is a personal one affecting both of my children. In some way, by the grace of God, I find myself one of the lucky ones. At least my children are still alive, they fought this disease and lived.

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I was a very successful Real Estate Broker. As I tried to hold it together, I watched my family implode. I kept feeling like God was calling me to do more, learn more, help more, and speak up. I wanted to give people with Substance Use Disorder a voice!

People just like my son and daughter.

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At 55 years old, I went back to school and started a new career. Even though I have had extensive living experience being affected by family members with addiction my entire life, I now hold a Bachelor's Degree in Behavioral Science. I am now a Certified Addictions Counselor and began working in a Methadone Clinic. Yes, you read that right, working in a Methadone Clinic!

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When I applied for the job and interviewed, I asked God, "Please don't let that clinic call me back!" I wasn't sure if I believed in Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT). So, when I got the call, I took a job I didn't want, but at least it was a job where I would be helping people in addiction. I had an image and an opinion of a "Methadone Clinic" already formed in my head without any real knowledge of how it worked. I received my MATS (Medication-Assisted Treatment Specialist) Certification and I can now say I have an opinion based on facts and not stigma...

Addiction is recognized by medical professionals as a true disease and should be treated as such. 

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I have witnessed people come back to life on MAT. Bottom line - it saves lives! It is incredibly good, and it is incredibly bad. Let me explain what I mean... the treatment and the medication works, it is life changing. Unfortunately there is still a stigma associated with Methadone due to a lack of understanding and sometimes due to the treatment of patients by the clinic system itself. 

The failures come in when the clinic is a product of greedy clinic owners. Some clinics are managed to only focus on the profit and look at the person as a number. I believe that if the patient was not afraid to walk into that door to begin with and stigma was neutralized with education, MAT could help more people.

 

I hear it all the time, "I'm afraid of Methadone because I don't want to get stuck." There aren't currently any regulations against that. If the patient is handled properly from the beginning, the patient gets stable, get the counseling they need, get their life back, and could start the process of coming off MAT... if the patient chooses to. Don't get me wrong, some patients will be on MAT for a lifetime, and that's okay too, but that should be completely the patient's decision. Most of them are professionals, nurses, general managers, business owners, truck drivers, you name it. Contrary to what most people believe, most people with Substance Use Disorders are extremely intelligent and can be very successful. Addiction doesn't have a certain look.

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Some of our patients are people that have had a back surgery, a car accident, debilitating arthritis, etc. These are the people that the doctors prescribed 120+ Hydrocodone or Oxycodone each month and then they were referred to pain management clinics. As the crackdown on pain management clinics began, they were left addicted and sick without anywhere to go. These are upper, middle, and lower class people. Addiction doesn't discriminate! You simply cannot "just quit" when your body and brain have become completely dependent on opiates to function. The patients are not just here to get high, when taken as directed Methadone does not get you high. The patients are here to repair brain function and gain their quality of life back.  

 

​With that said, God has led me AND my daughter here. She found recovery through MAT and asked the question, "what if MAT wasn't a "last resort" treatment and why is it a "last resort" treatment?" This led to a dedication to create and own our own Medication-Assisted Treatment Program. My daughter is now sober through MAT, a Certified Addiction Recovery Empowerment Specialist (CARES), a Medication-Assisted Treatment Specialist (MATS), a Peer, and very involved in this program. She believes the entire 6 years she spent battling opioid addiction was preparing her for this job. Christine is the Co-Owner, Co-Founder, and Peer Specialist of The Genesis Center of Winder, with 7 years in active recovery! Having been through it and knowing what she wanted out of the treatment programs she had been to, she has a perspective that plays a pivotal role in relating to our patients.

This isn't my legacy, but hers.

 

We operate as a team, I have loved the addict and she has been the addict.

 

The Genesis Center primarily treats Opioid Use Disorder utilizing Methadone, Buprenorphine, and Naltrexone. We are not your typical "Methadone Clinic." We are a medical facility providing medical treatment, just like any doctor's office. We know that recovery is not "one size fits all" and each medication offered is just another tool to fight opioid use. We work with the local courts, jail, and DFCS to show that we have the community's best interest at heart. We will ensure patient recovery on all levels. The Genesis Center offers holistic healing, life classes, intensive counseling, and strongly encourages family involvement.

Our clinic offers personalized treatment plans based on the patient, not the drug. 

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Someone once said to me, "I will never judge anything that saves a person's life."

Those words are now the foundation this facility is built upon.

 I am striving and dreaming for this clinic to not only save lives, but to help rebuild them.