Meta House welcomed White House visitor
The family treatment model at Meta House is receiving national attention! The Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), Mr. Gil Kerlikowske, visited Meta House during his visit to Milwaukee on June 16, 2010. He toured our facilities, heard about our family treatment program, and enjoyed dinner with three Meta House women, their families, and some Meta House staff. His office is trying to reduce the stigma surrounding drug addiction, noting that addiction is not a moral failure - it is a disease that can be treated. We are thankful that you, as a Meta House supporter, join us in these efforts!
During his travels while serving President Obama, Director Kerlikowske has met many families in recovery and he recognizes the importance of including children during treatment. Meta House Executive Director Francine Feinberg spoke about our innovative family treatment model in an interview with Lake Effect which will air on Tuesday August 3rd at 10 a.m. on 89.7 FM WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio. Tune in to hear more!
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Gil Kerlikowske with Meta House clients, board members and staff.
You are invited to hear how your support impacts families
August Meta Moments:
Mothers and Babies: Growing Together
Thursday, August 26, 2010
12:00-1:00 PM
Meta House Residential Facility
2626 N. Bremen Street
in Riverwest, Milwaukee
Meta Moments are casual events held three to four times a year, intended to give you a glimpse into our work and to introduce those who are unfamiliar with it. After enjoying a free lunch, you will hear from Meta House staff and graduates. On Thursday August 26, Meta House will present Mothers and Babies: Growing Together.
Motherhood is a blessing for most women, but when the disease of addiction prevents a woman from fulfilling her potential, the results can be devastating for both mother and child. Women who use alcohol or drugs during pregnancy often experience severe guilt and shame, on top of their stigmatized place in society, but their addiction is not a question of willpower.
The family treatment model at Meta House recognizes the importance of the role that women play as mothers while treating their addiction, and at the same time it addresses the impact of substance abuse on her children. Meta House was among the first in the nation to include children in the residential treatment setting. At Mothers and Babies: Growing Together, find out how Meta House is meeting the needs of pregnant, postpartum, and parenting women and their children, and hear from a woman who has benefited from the program.
Call Wendy at 414.977.5807 for event details or visit metahouse.org
Want to get involved?
You can help Meta House by:
- Inviting us to share our work with your company, business organization, religious organization, or book club
- Suggesting Meta House to your friends on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn
- Organizing a donation drive to collect items from our Wish List!
High-Priority Wish List:
It’s hot and school will be starting again before we know it! Please consider supporting Meta House with donations of:
- Window A/C units
- Small box/free-standing fans
- New dehumidifier
- Outdoor lawn chairs
- Backpacks/book bags
- Spiral notebooks
- Packs of markers, pens and/or pencils
To donate items please contact Carryn at 414-977-5802 or csami@metahouse.org. Items may be new or gently used.
Volunteer Spotlight
Now introducing: Dee McGarity, Meta House volunteer. Although busy with her full-time job, Dee has made and donated about 30 quilts to Meta House over the past few years. In 2009, she began a sewing program for the women in Residential treatment. On Sundays, women (and sometimes their teenage children) can take sewing lessons with Dee or knitting lessons with another volunteer, Joan O’Brien. Her lessons go over the basics to mend clothing and create simple projects like pillows, tote bags, and aprons.
Another aspect of Dee’s volunteer involvement with Meta House is the recycling of crib bumpers. Because the American Academy of Pediatrics no longer recommends the use of bumpers in cribs, Meta House has a surplus of crib bumpers. Donations of crib bedding are still encouraged at Meta House, and the accompanying matching bumpers are being put to good use thanks to Dee and her quilting skills: she reinvents them as beautiful quilts for children.
Meta House is appreciative to Dee McGarity for her ongoing support, her dedication to clients and her ability to recycle.
Robin’s Story
Robin and her daughters, 13-year old Arbriona and baby Mariah, were among those present for the dinner with Director Kerlikowske. Robin spoke about how Meta House has changed her life and helped her reunite with her daughters, explaining “I’m not a bad mother just because I have an addiction.” To understand how addiction entered her life and how Meta House has helped Robin into recovery, please read her story here.
Director Kerlikowske with Robin and her daughters, Arbriona and Mariah
Milwaukee Children’s Village chooses Meta House
Meta House is pleased to receive financial support from local nonprofit organization Milwaukee Children’s Village, Inc., which has chosen to cease its operations. The mission of Milwaukee Children’s Village has been to develop stable homes for children in foster care, where all the siblings in a family could live and grow up together, minimizing the disruption of separation and multiple placements. Milwaukee Children’s Village believes that the Meta House program is consistent with the goals of its mission and is pleased to be able to support Meta House’s program with a financial gift transfer.
Meta House places a strong emphasis on keeping mothers and their children together during the treatment process. In traditional residential treatment programs, families and siblings are often separated while the primary parent enters the treatment program. Meta House recognizes both the difficulties this causes for mothers and the trauma it causes to children who are not only separated from their mother, but potentially from their brothers and sisters as well. Therefore, whenever possible, Meta House takes mothers and their children into the residential program and their housing units and treats them all together.
Milwaukee Children’s Village’s assets have been transferred to the Greater Milwaukee Foundation in trust to support Meta House’s pioneering effort to keep sibling groups safely with their mothers who are in treatment for substance abuse. Thank you to Milwaukee Children’s Village.
Independence Day Parade
Children staying with their mothers at the Meta House residential treatment facility participated in the Riverwest Independence Day Parade for the first time this year. Walmart stores in Milwaukee and Waukesha generously donated 9 bicycles and helmets – thank you! Mothers and children had a great time decorating the bikes, being in the parade, and enjoying music and root beer floats in Gordon Park afterward! See the Milwaukee Courier’s article.
Malia on her new bike helped by Deborah, Meta House Child and Family Coordinator
About Us
Meta House is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping women through the progression of drug and alcohol abuse recovery. Founded in 1963, we are a leader in gender-responsive treatment and have been nationally and internationally recognized for our unique substance abuse program. We were also one of the first programs in the nation to include children in the residential treatment setting. Learn more about us and what we are doing by visiting our website: www.metahouse.org.
Meta House provides an equal opportunity in employment and service.