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My inspiration for opening a drug abuse center
was based on thirty years of nursing and seeing young people come in
who have overdosed on drugs, as well as adults,
and even children.
And my thought was that something needs to be done about this because I wanted
to know
why they chose drugs
at such young ages.
What was the stress level?
I knew that I had to do something
when I left nursing to help the young people,
to save our youth.
>> I'm currently a drug and alcohol counseling at Bernie's Lil' Women's Center.
I work with drug and alcohol clients.
They come on a daily basis.
We counsel them on
trying to live a drug free life.
>> People don't start off being drug addicts. They become drug addicts.
And it is my job to help them be addiction free.
>> I do a variety of jobs,
such as youth counseling in afternoon, parenting classes,
and also one on one with families.
>> I'm a counselor
and I not only do the help but I also facilitate the groups, especially with
the youth. >> Here at Bernie's Lil' Women's Center we deal with all sorts of people, all sorts of ages..
>>homeless..
People who have gone through addiction problems. >> When they come to
us
they're already addicted for the most part.
>> We help them get on track. To let them know that they're not alone.
We help them through the recovery program and help them stabilize their lives
and get them where they need to be. >> [music]
>> I was an alcohol and drug
addict.
I went into the program.
I got my recovery.
And in doing so, I wanted to give back
what was given to me.
>> I was an enabler
in my past.
And I wanted to be able to help the person in need. >> I grew up with a family
who had all been alcoholics.
I actually chose this career to become a counselor because
I wanted to help people.
To teach them that they can stop using.
They can avoid using any type of drug or alcohol.
moffat a couple of family members who
>> Well, I've had a few family members who, you know, went through long term addiction.
And that's another reason why I wanted to get in this field. Because at one time I
didn't know how to help them.
>> The skill sets that I look for
in my counselors is that they are people friendly,
and then I talk about their background
to see if they
had the problem.
I've hired eight ICDC graduates and they always externs here at Bernies' Lil' Women's Center.
The key ingredient in all great counselors are the
twelve core functions.
The college has taught them the same functions that the state and the county
has instilled in us as providers.
And ICDC college
has taught these graduates well. Because they are following the
guidelines of the state and the county. >> [music]
>> We're looking for a college to prepare myself for career. ICDC COLLEGE basically
had everything I was looking for.
>> I did look
for other drug and alcohol counseling at other colleges but
ICDC COLLEGE was the only one that actually
went in-depth in the program.
>> I have looked for another career at other campuses or colleges.
But when I saw ICDC,
and the
alcohol and drug counseling program, I decided to
take the steps to enroll into ICDC
and become a counselor.
>> ICDC COLLEGE taught me
to be more professional and to treat people with dignity and respect.
>> Receiving those classes.. they really
helped me to understand more
about the addiction and being able to understand myself.
And able to help others
through their addiction problems. And
able to also guide them
to
either stay away
or avoid any kind of addiction.
>> My training at ICDC
COLLEGE
prepared me
to be able to deal with
the population of drug and alcohol addicted people.
And to be sympathetic and empathetic to them.
>> It was really a great experience. I learned a lot.
Not just in books. Just in past experiences with my instructors.
And I had instructors that,
you know, really care. And so they gave us a lot of information
you know on
everything concerning our field
and how we would be able to use it.
>> ICDC COLLEGE did change my life tremendously. >> It actually gave me purpose.
And it
gave me an education that I didn't have. And it also just gave me something to look forward to.
>> ICDC COLLEGE has given me the opportunity to help those in need.
>> I have worked in other fields for many, many years.
And at this point I really happy to be
a graduate from ICDC COLLEGE. And I'm looking forward to continuing my
career, preparing myself for better, for a better future.
>> I would
recommend
anyone that's interested in alcohol and drug counseling to attend ICDC COLLEGE.