Letters in support and praise of Pathway Family Center!
To Mr. and Mrs. Earnshaw,
Please scroll down and read letters from parents and clients of Pathway Family Center. Unlike your website in Midland ,VA, you may notice people in Indiana aren't afraid to put their names to letters they write! These are all people who live, work and go to school in our community. We will not let an outside group with an axe to grind go unchallenged with their attacks on Pathway Family Center!
Phyllis Spitler,
Member of the Community Action Drug Coalition of Valparaiso, Porter County, Indiana.
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Dear Dr. Mann Spitler,
I have submitted the following letter to the editors of the Times and to
the Porter County Commissioners:
Dear Editor,
My name is Sean and I am a resident of Valparaiso and have recently
completed treatment at the Pathway Family Center in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Having recently read your January 15th article on substance abuse
treatment centers, I am nothing short of appalled at the way in which you
so brutally attacked the program that I believe to have saved my very
life.
Never in the eighteen years of my life have I ever read an article of
journalism as false and presumptuous as your piece on Pathway Family
Center. I have been reading The Times since I was in the seventh grade and
never had I seen such poor, disgraceful
sensationalism and utter lack of respect for the reader. Simply because
those of us who have been fortunate enough to get our lives together do
not openly, regularly, and/or publicly discuss our unfortunate pasts, does
not mean we do not exist. It makes me sick how you contributed to
society's stereotype of an addict as ?a junkie on the street corner
hustling you for a dollar?.
I happen to come from a loving, prominent family and have lived in Valpo
all my life. I am sincerely sorry for anyone who cannot believe the fact
that good kids can't fall into drugs and even more sorry for the ones who
do believe but chose to turn a blind-eye to the fact because it is
uncomfortable to speak of. When asked, any parent will tell you that the
safety of their child is more important than their comfort. Simply because
I didn't enjoy every moment of my time at PFC, doesn't mean I didn't need
it. If my family had turned the other cheek to my problem I would have
turned into ?that junkie on the street?, and by that time shoes and my
comfort would be the least of my worries. I am a firm believer that I can
survive without comfort, but comfort is completely irrelevant when
survival is at stake.
In the 8 months and 30 days I attended PFC, I was treated with nothing but
care and respect. I entered the program on March 16th a very troubled and
miserable teenager and I will admit I was overwhelmed with all the rules
and policies of the treatment center. After two weeks, as all the
chemicals I had poisoned my body with over the past 6 years
exited my body, I began to understand the reasoning for the rules and
appreciated the concrete aspect of the day-to-day routine.
Whether I consciously knew it or unconsciously denied it, the fact is I
spent every day of my active addiction completely miserable. I was
uncomfortable in my own skin and needed an escape from the bare fact that
I hated myself. I drove drunk, I stole, I committed felonies, I was
arrested twice, I fought, I betrayed everyone I knew, I turned my back on
my family, and I forgot who I was; all while under the impression I was
just another normal fun-seeking Valparaiso teenager living for the moment.
Pathway Family Center, through all its rules and regulations, taught me to
live. I honest to God believe that this program saved me from a life of
jails, institutions, dereliction, and ultimately death. During my time in
the program I was never once offended, abused or mistreated in anyway by
the staff or other associates of the program. Much of the
exaggerated and accentuated falsities described in your article are simply
untrue to this day. Never in my time at PFC have I ever witnessed a client
deprived of food, water, clothes, shoes, showers, or even contact with
their family.
I will openly admit that the program took a lot of effort for every member
of my immediate family. The only time I have ever seen a client touched is
when they pose an immediate threat to the safety of other clients or
themselves. PFC is a program
of care, compassion, trust, love, and bond. Some of my best friends I have
I met through the program. I have never regretted or even second guessed
my decision to stay after my eighteenth birthday and complete treatment.
As I said before, Pathway Family Center saved my life.
Everyday I wake up and experience something I hadn't experienced for a
number of years: gratitude. I am and will forever be indebted to the
program. I have not had a drink or a drug in almost a year, the longest
period of sobriety since I was in the fifth grade, and I have never in my
life been truly and sincerely happier than I am today.
Thank you for your time,
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The following is the letter that I have sent to the editors of the Times and to the Porter County Commissioners:
As a parent of a client who just graduated in December from the Pathways Family Center in Valparaiso, I found the articles in the Times to be blatantly one-sided. My son did not experience any of the horrors (walking barefooted in snow or being abused by other clients) that were reported in this article. I find that the reporter was trying too hard to tie Pathways with Straight. Although that is where the idea was incubated, the program has evolved into its own entity with its own policies and procedures. Also, Pathways bought the facility in Cincinnati only recently and the staff from the two facilities is in the process of bringing the programs more closely in alignment.
The decision to place my child in the Pathways program was an extremely difficult one to make . . . one, however, that I have never regretted. My son has stated many times that this program "saved his life". He has admitted that he would not have responded well to a 30 day in-patient, clinical facility. One of the greatest parts of the program was the ability to go to a home each evening and to experience family life. Sitting around the dinner table with other clients and with parents allowed him to see how he turned away from his own family. My son was able to make life-long relationships with other clients and with other parents.
My husband and I had many opportunities to host clients on weekends, as we are so far from the facility and could not host during the week. It was not uncommon to have 2 - 3 hour dinners conversing with the clients about their feelings and their experiences. As a parent, I learned so much from each interaction. We also never withheld food as a punishment. I never heard of the "sack lunch" rule. In fact, food preparation was an enjoyable part of the day for the clients. We welcomed their assistance in grilling outdoors, baking brownies, making omelets and creating pizzas.
It was a pleasure engaging these teenagers in conversation throughout their stay with us. I was always amazed at how much more mature these individuals were than their peers outside of the program. How many teenagers have the opportunity to really become engrossed in understanding human relationships and emotions at such an early age? Through this program and the daily group therapy sessions, they learn:
to share their feelings and experiences, to empathize with others, to keep one another accountable for rules and for the goals that they set for themselves, and to handle frustrations and anger in a healthy manner
Discipline was imposed by the staff and included not allowing clients to watch television or participating in outdoor activities. Clients were disciplined when they were defiant, not participating in the program, or when they broke program rules. (Things that I as a parent would have disciplined my child for even if they were not in the program.) As a parent, we simply were required to write our parent observations about each of the clients and give those to the staff when they returned to the program. The staff would meet during the week to determine if a client were to achieve to the next level or needed to receive a punishment for inappropriate behavior or to be held at the current level.
As for the comments about children being held out of school, my son was able to continue his schooling in the facility. They have a full-time teacher who regularly conversed with Valparaiso High School to coordinate all of the assignments, tests and grades. My son was able to bring his grades back up to where they were prior to his drug use and to complete his high school credits one year early. He is now enrolled at IUPUI Indianapolis, as a senior in high school, earning credits for both high school and college.
Regarding the statement that "If an adolescent leaves the program before graduating, policy forbids parents from letting them live at home. They wind up on the streets or moving in with drug-using friends" is totally misleading. We know of a number of parents who did allow their child to return to their homes. They had learned a good foundation from Pathways and for various reasons left before completing the program. They have not returned to drugs nor have they been forced to live on the streets.
It is apparent from the article that horror stories sell more newspapers. I have written to the reporter "scolding" her for writing such an unbalanced article. I have sent this letter to each of the Porter County Commissioners encouraging them to invite graduates and their parents to come to a meeting to discuss their personal experiences before they discount this life-saving program based on such blatantly one-sided article. I would welcome a call from you with any questions that you may have.
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Fairness for Pathway Family Center
We are the parents of a client of Pathway who did not graduate the program and was allowed to come home. She stayed at Pathway for 9 months. She reached level 5, which is the last level, in 9 months time. The decision to allow her to come home was not an easy one and there were consequences and accountability attached to her coming home. We had a contract with her and she was drug tested randomly for two years after she came home. We don?t feel the need to test her now as much? but that doesn?t mean we won?t. Our daughter?s story is a little different because she walked in the door of our home, two weeks before the end of her junior year of high school, and said she needed to go to rehab. I had already researched adolescent treatment centers from across the country and she was going to Pathway the day school ended. But when she walked in the door and said, ?I need to go to rehab???you don?t wait for school to end. Our daughter was a heroin addict and she entered Pathway three weeks before her 18th birthday. She could have walked out the door three weeks later?.but she didn?t. We talked to lawyers about having her committed to force her to stay at Pathway. But we learned that being committed could follow her the rest of her life as being mentally unstable and ultimately it was up to her to choose to stay and get help. She stayed. Why would she stay if the allegations in your article were true? In the nine months our daughter was there she never had a sack lunch while other clients had a prepared meal, had to walk through snow barefoot, or was subjected to any kind of physical contact/abuse with other clients or staff. She did have to write moral inventories and, we, as parents, did too because it is a family therapy based program. We actually found writing them to be a good way to get your feelings out. There was accountability if the clients lied or didn?t follow rules but what is wrong with that? They lost privileges so they couldn?t watch a movie or play a game. I wouldn?t call that excessive punishment . Our daughter graduated high school with her class due to the cooperation between Valparaiso High School and Pathway. She missed her senior prom, senior banquet, and that last year of high school. But she could have been dead and missed her last year of high school because she was in a grave. She showed up for graduation in her cap and gown because she wanted to graduate with her class, be an example that you can overcome substance abuse, and it took a lot for her to do that after being away for a year. She is now 20 years old and a sophomore at Purdue majoring in Behavioral Science to be a substance abuse counselor to teens. She will tell you that she saved her life by admitting she needed help but could not have done it without Pathway and the tools and life lessons they gave her. Hosting clients in our home was a wonderful experience that I honestly worried about before the experience. You learn so much from the clients and through talking with them helps you look from the outside in at the things you said or did with your own child. Walls are broken down and socio-stereotypes are broken down and you learn that children with drug or alcohol problems come from every family. There is no discrimination between race, religion, or economics when it comes to substance abuse. It is a problem in Valparaiso that is a community in denial. Our daughter has been clean since she left Pathway??.2 years, 7 months, 10 days. There were rules and there were consequences while she was at Pathway but never were they mentally or physically abusive. We drove twice a week from Valparaiso to Indianapolis for family sessions and individual therapy. They treated the whole family and we learned the meaning of codependency and controlling behaviors. If we hadn?t learned the lessons we did as parents, our daughter would never have made it because we would have continued with our old ignorant behaviors. It takes a minimum of 90 days for drugs to leave your system so if you go to a 28 day program you will leave wanting to use drugs. Pathway offers scholarships and they do not turn away a client based on finances. I don?t understand how finances could even matter because we would have sold our house and everything we owned to save our child. Porter County needs to wake up and realize there is a huge problem. A former friend of our daughter overdosed on heroin and died on Saturday, January 13, 2007 at the age of 21. It is time to stop being in denial and wake up to the drug problem in Porter County. We were so upset when we read the articles because they were not accurate and extremely one-sided. We have been inundated with phone calls from friends and relatives who were so supportive when our daughter was at Pathway. Our friends took turns making dinner for us once a week for the entire time our daughter was in Pathway and for them to read articles that are so inaccurate is heartbreaking. The most encouraging thing was they never called to ask questions about the article. They called to wonder why someone would write such untruths and ask what they could do to change the perception of people who did read the articles without knowing the real truth. Our friends went through it with us and they have known our daughter since she was 2 years old. They know what Pathway did for her and our family and that?s coming from people who were on the outside looking in but know that Pathway?s program works. Ed & Jane Duda Valparaiso, In
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Dear Judge Harper,
The past few days have been very stressful for all of us trying to bring
Pathway Family Center to Porter County. The three-day series of articles
in The Times can only be labeled egregious. They are full of falsehoods
and distortions. Documentation of this is being complied by Pathway and
will be available soon. I am sending some preliminary information with
this email to refute reporter Robyn Monaghan's ridiculous assertions. One
of her "sources" is
www.thestraights.com. Please review this website. It
is sick and disgusting sleaze and has a definite political agenda. Her
work is the quintessence of yellow journalism.
My wife, Phyllis, and I would never stake our names and reputations on any
program for drug rehab that had a shred of impropriety. Please evaluate
the facts as they become available. I don't want to see a smear campaign
by Robyn Monaghan sabotage a competent and decent treatment center for our
youth.
Please find below some of the letters I received from parents and clients
of Pathway Family Center after reading The Times series.
Very truly yours,
Mann Spitler III, DPM
President of the Community Action Drug Coalition
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Mann,
Thank you for sharing this letter. I knew that there were more parents
and clients out there that feel the same way as Gus and my family do. My
sons are very anger with these articles and wishes to speak out also. I
think that difference with graduate parents and clients is that they move
on with their lives and do not stay stuck in their drug problem so we have
not hear from them but they will come forward if asked. So, I guess it is
time for me to get on the phone and start asking. I have written a letter
to the editor. I felt it was only right since I was mentioned in the
articles.
Julie Brown
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On Monday morning as a sat at my desk an associate walked in and commented that he had seen my name mentioned in an article in the Times newspaper. I asked what it was about and he noted that it had something to do with Pathway. So I got onto the internet and looked up the article(s). After read the articles that Ms. Robyn Monaghan had written all I can say is that my mouth fall open in complete disgust. I felt a mix of emotions, sadness, anger but most of all fear. Fear that her words and the group of incorrect facts that she had written will now scare parents who are already in pain away from a possibility of hope.
I was absolutely angry at how much was not true and completely exaggerated in these articles. I have two sons who are graduates of the Pathway program and as I read the articles to them at first they laughed and then their laugher turned anger. My boys were in the same program as the Gagens and they know for a fact that what was written about is false. No one ever walked around barefooted much less walked barefooted outside in the snow with bags on their feet. They were never at the building for 11 hours, much less sitting for 11 hours.
However, they could argue fact after fact and get nowhere. The proof is in their lives. I cannot speak for anyone else, just myself and what I know is that Pathway helped my family. My boys are alive, happy, healthy and productive citizens. I am very proud of all three of my boys and where my family is today. I know that Pathway played a big part in getting us to this point.
It was a very hard decision to put my beloved sons into this program. Participating in this program was one of the hardest things that my family has ever had to do. Despite how difficult journey was we are now a whole and happy family. Each time we sit down at the dinner table together I give thanks to God for not letting drugs taking any of my sons from me. I also give thanks to Pathway for giving me the strength and knowledge to hold myself and my family accountable.
All I see in these articles is a writer trying very hard to compare Pathway to a program called Straight. My boys did not attend Straight. Shame on you Ms. Monagham. Have you ever visited Pathway? Have you seen the program of today? Have you spoken to any of its graduates or current clients? If not, shame on you for giving only one side of the story. You may ask why you do not hear from the many graduates. Well, they have moved on with our lives. That is what they are suppose to do, they are suppose to go back to school, get jobs, get married, have families and move on. Not get stuck in their drug problems, like it seems according to Ms Monagham?s articles some people have.
As I read these articles the one thing I kept coming back to is, what would be the alternative. If not Pathway then what? The one thing that is hard to deny about our community IS THAT WE HAVE A DRUG PROBLEM! I don?t hear a better solution coming from these articles. I give the members of CADC so much credit for finally moving forward and coming up with a possible solution to a problem that this community has been asking for. Now it is time to start opening our eyes and saving our children. Is Pathway the only way? No. Is it one way. Yes! Is it perfect? No. But with any business it is learning and growing and evolving.
Pathway is a program that is monitored by the state. It is not left to it own accord. It is an accredited program in the state of Indiana. I never would have put my children in a program that was not. I have seen this program evolve and grow. As I visited their new building last summer I was amazed at the growth, the changes, and transformations they had made. I am proud to be a graduate of Pathway. If you are not sure about this program please do not take that word of a drop out of the program. There are many graduates that willing speak to you or better yet take that time to visit the Indy campus, you will not regard it or easily forget it.
I hope and pray that these articles will not put so much fear into the hearts of parents that they will stop from finding Pathway or getting help for their child before it is too late. Help is out there. Please do let fear stop you from saving your child. I know what it feels like to have a drug using child and I can help.
I?m sorry if I sound angry, but I am. I am so tired of reading about overdoses and the deaths of our children. I am tired of reading about negative articles about what we cannot do. I?m tired of crying tears for what drugs and drug dealers are doing to are children. Our children deserve better and I intend to fight for them and if Pathway is a possibility then I say lets go for it or are we going to wait for the next one to die? I can tell you that right now drug dealer?s are smiling and loving it when they see adult?s fight each like we are doing now. Because as we use all of our strength to fight each other, they have all the time in the world to take our kids. How stupid can we be. It?s time to stand up and fight and take our children back!!
A Proud Pathway Graduate,
Julie Brown Chesterton, Indiana
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On January 14th, 15th, and 16th, The Times newspaper ran a three part series regarding the start up of an adolescent treatment center in Porter County. That institution is Pathway Family Center. The reporter of all three articles is Robyn Monaghan.
The Times has a record of social responsibility that includes addressing drug related issues. In late June and early July of 2006, it ran a five part series detailing the widespread danger of heroin addiction in Porter County. Follow up editorials called for ?aggressive? treatment of the drug problem and endorsed efforts to bring a treatment facility to our county ?as a step in the right direction?. But The Times is apparently hesitant for that first step to include Pathway. Sadly, Ms. Monaghan?s articles are anti-Pathway and riddled with falsehoods and mistruths. She associates Pathway Family Center with a now defunct and highly controversial drug treatment program. This gave the impression that Pathway is that same treatment center operating under a new name. This is not true. Pathway is not a reincarnation of any previous program. It has a unique approach that saves lives with concern, respect and compassion for the overall well being of their clients. She used websites of radical groups as a ?source?. One of them is thestraights.com. Please review it and see for yourself. It is sick, disgusting and certainly not credible. Documentation of her frequent errors will be publicly available in the near future.
Ms. Monaghan asserts she has written a balanced report. Really? In the January 13th, 2007, article I counted 32 paragraphs negative to Pathway and 5 positive paragraphs. Perhaps this was because Ms. Monaghan never made an onsite visit to any of Pathway?s facilities for observation or interviews.
Former clients and their parents of Pathway are stepping forward with their statements to public officials and to The Times expressing their disgust and outrage concerning what they consider to be a brutal attack on Pathway. To set the record straight, Pathway will soon provide the public with its accreditations, certifications and achievements. They are impressive.
As The Times reviews the facts about Pathway?s success and professionalism in treating drug addiction, we trust they will review the entire situation and then take remedial action to properly and accurately inform the public.
Mann Spitler III
President of the Community Action Drug Coalition
Board Members:
Paulette Rodriguez
Shawn Wagoner
Bob Taylor
Paul Ulrich
Karen Conover
Alex Rodriguez
Christine Pouch
Gus Brown
Julie Brown
Amber Hensell
David Lain
Linda Pendleton
Jerry Kirby
