FWHS halfway house provides clients with bridge to better life
Dennios Giblin is a recovering drug addict and a resident of the Franklin-Williamson Human Services halfway house in Marion. (Steve Jahnke, The Southern)
Â-BY JOHN D. HOMAN, THE SOUTHERN
MARION - Dennis Giblin is a recovering drug addict. As part of his probation agreement, he was sent to the Franklin-Williamson Human Services halfway house on West Main Street in Marion in late November.
Four months later, Giblin, now 60, is feeling revitalized and looking forward to beginning a new life - one that is drug-free.
"When I got here the day after Thanksgiving, I had pretty much hit rock bottom," Giblin said. "I was in bad shape physically and psychologically. I ended up in the hospital with a strangulated intestine and pancreatitis that required surgery. Fortunately for me, the doctors saved my life. And I'm doing much better today."
A former meth and cocaine abuser, Giblin said he is confident he will not return to his abusive ways because of the nurturing and counseling he has received at the Marion facility and the fact that he is a born-again Christian attending regular services at Grange Hall Freewill Baptist Church in rural Marion.
"If I had been sent somewhere other than here, I think I'd be dead now," he said. "The Lord has healed me spiritually. It's because of Him, my pastor, Kevin McNeely, and the church family there, as well as the people here at the halfway house that my life is back on track."
Because of good behavior and having already found employment as a masonry worker, Giblin will be released from the halfway house on April 5, more than a month early. He said he has worked out an arrangement to rent a trailer near the Lake of Egypt.
Giblin added that he had added motivation to clean up his act - three children and more than a dozen grandchildren.
"I want them to be able to see that I have changed, that I am not the same person they have been led to believe I am. I don't want my kids to be cautious of me or leery of me. I want them to see that I have control of my life again. God has helped me get control."
Giblin is one of several shining success stories at the FWHS halfway house. There are some failed experiences, for sure, said Susan Smothers, clinical manager at the center, but the vast majority of clients who pass through the doors at Marion do not return to a life of crime.
"I really believe in the work that I do," said Smothers, who has been working at the facility since 1991. "There are some good people here, who've simply screwed up their lives and need some help. I love working with them. It doesn't take long for our clients to realize that we are advocating for them. We want them to have a better life."
Smothers said the Marion facility can house up to 60 former prisoners at a given time.
"We have 55 here right now," she said. "The biggest portion of those (36) come straight from the Federal Bureau of Prisons. And almost all of them are from Southern Illinois originally. That's why they are sent here. These are our people. Ten of our clients at present have been sent here by the U.S. Probation Office and the remaining nine are what we call DASA (Department of Alcohol and Substance Abuse) clients who are referred here mostly by county probation officers."
Some clients, Smothers said, stay as little as a month at the halfway house, while others may stay up to six months.
The older part of the halfway house, located directly behind the Garavalia building on West Main, was opened for business in the late 1970s. It featured a dining area and about 21 beds. An expansion in 2002 allowed for more bed space, a larger recreation area with two flat-screen televisions and exercise equipment.
A new $74,000 expansion will allow for construction of six more rooms, including 11 more beds, two bathrooms and a medication room that Smothers said should be completed sometime this summer.
Joining Smothers on staff are four case managers, six counselors, a facility manager and two drivers.
"We provide assistance with job search for our clients," Smothers said. "We also help them find residency and with medical appointments."
The halfway house population includes about 80 percent men and 20 percent women. The women are pretty much segregated from the men as they have their own laundry room and pay phones. There are also locks fixed to their doors. The men and women share the use of the dining and recreational areas.
"We want the women who come here to feel as comfortable and safe as they possibly could," Smothers said. "We have security cameras throughout the house."
Smothers said all of her clients are randomly drug tested and required to submit to Breathalyzer tests upon returning to the house. All receive counseling at least once a week. And once a month, all are required to assemble in the recreation room at one time to discuss problems or concerns.
Local employers, Smothers said, particularly restaurant managers, have no problem hiring halfway house clients because they are usually dependable employees, looking for work so they don't fall short of their probation requirements and are returned to prison.
"And once our clients find employment, we do follow-up or accountability checks on them with the employers," Smothers said. "Most of the time, we find our clients to be compliant. Most don't want to screw up their lives again."
http://www.southernillinoisan.com/articles/2007/03/27/local/19741844.txt
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