GREAT FALLS — Addiction treatment center Ideal Option hosted a Health Safety and Recovery Resource Fair in Great Falls where community members were invited to learn about resources for addiction and recovery.
Great Falls Mayor Cory Reeves kicked off the event with a speech about the importance each of these services brings to the betterment of the community and citizens of Great Falls.
Reeves says he and the police department hope to work towards engaging with these organizations in aiding incarcerated addicts on their path to recovery.
“The sheriff and I agree that we have a lot of people sitting in our jail that have no business sitting in jail. Yes, there's a time and place for a person to be incarcerated to protect society, but so many of our people who are incarcerated are addicted to opioids or alcohol or something to that effect, so I'd like to see us really get more engaged and utilize our community partners to get people healthy and let them get on a career path to success," Reeves explains.
The event also included guest speaker Lea Wetzel, a Recovery Service Program Specialist for the State of Montana, who discussed her journey to recovery as well as her dedication to helping others do the same.
In her speech, Wetzel said “We must recognize that substance use disorder is a health issue, not a moral failing.”
Resources included booths from over ten local organizations including The Sober Life, Cascade City-County Health Department, and Little Shell Tribal Health. Great Falls Emergency Services also conducted CPR demonstrations and ambulance tours.
The resource fair also gave the various members of the organizations themselves the opportunity to collaborate and discuss solutions with each other for the escalating opioid crisis in Cascade County.
“Undoubtedly, we have people in our community that have addictions and the government can't solve those problems alone. It's usually not just one entity that can make a person whole again," Reeves says. "It's truly wraparound services from all these different community partners. All of them add something special and neat to help people get successful and on the right path.” Visitors were able to meet with various organizations regarding services including stable housing, mental and physical health, and family stability."
Ideal Option partners with local organizations and county jail systems to address social needs like housing, mental health, and nutrition support.
Their addiction clinic in Great Falls provides treatment and medication for withdrawals and relapse prevention. Most new patients can start treatment within 1 to 3 days.
“We have a low-barrier access clinic and we provide a harm reduction approach. Primarily, we treat opiate use disorder, but we can also treat other disorders like alcohol, benzodiazepines, any type of substance that patients are dealing with," Onsite provider for Ideal Option Deni Fitzpatrick says. "You can come down to Ideal Option if you have any questions about substance use disorder, and we can answer those questions here at the clinic.”
The Ideal Option addiction recovery clinic is located at 617 10th Avenue South in Great Falls. To learn more about Ideal Option and its addiction resources, click here.
