Some months ago Tabor Lodge in Ballindeasig, Co Cork celebrated its “coming of age” – 21 years a-growing. In 1989, the house in Ballindeasig was handed over by the Sisters of Mercy to begin a treatment centre for alcoholics. Sister Margaret Kiely trained as an Addiction Counsellor with the Hazelden Training Programme in the US and returned to take on the role in Tabor Lodge. At the celebrations for the 21 years, the Administrator of the Centre, Mick Devine spoke with pride of the work which had been achieved since then.
“The Treatment Programme,” he said, “had humble beginnings. People don’t come beating down the doors of an addiction centre to gain admission. A stigma was attached to being an alcoholic and a combination of defiance and shame hindered people from seeking help. Slowly, confidence in Tabor Lodge grew. The Voluntary Health Insurance (VHI) group became interested in the results and included it in its approved addiction treatment providers. Hard work convinced the then Southern Health Board that it should fund medical card holders who could not afford treatment costs.” He then outlined the enormous programme of extensions which have taken place since then due to the activities of the voluntary Board of Directors who gave of their time and commitment. “In 1995,” continued Mick, “an extension was built which facilitated the delivery of a treatment programme for 18 residents.
The profile of the typical resident at the time was the middle-aged male alcoholic, who was married with children. Almost two hundred people per year were admitted and they partook of a 28 day residential programme which included family days on a Wednesday afternoon. After the 28 days the resident and spouse attend an aftercare programme for 52 weeks. As the years went by, each resident learned to live constructively with their addiction.”
The Board also looked for funding through the Dormant Account Funding which allowed Tabor Lodge to expand its services. Mick explained “as illicit drug use became more common in Cork, younger people began to present for help. Sr. Margaret, who always looked ahead and worked with a vision for helping those with addiction, realised that more intensive care was needed for the younger addict. In 1999, she opened RENEWAL, a women’s halfway house in Cork and in 2002 FELLOWSHIP HOUSE, a men’s halfway house in Togher, Cork. These provided an additional three months’ secure care for the young adult. They now had a real opportunity to put behind them the mistakes, failures and false starts associated with active addiction and give them a real second chance.
Aftercare services have also developed to include additional support for those who relapse and a more focused programme of care to cater for the needs of women in early recovery. As for Mick, in the last three years he has been responsible for encouraging the staff to work hard to achieve “accreditation”, a systematic demonstration that treatment services are delivered to a high standard. In July, the Board of Directors decided to amalgamate Tabor Lodge with Renewal and Fellowship House and so Tabor Lodge Addiction and Housing Services Limited was born.
Mick very proudly finished and rightly so, by informing those gathered for the celebration, that at a time when the National Drugs Strategy intends to provide a national treatment service along a continuum of care to alcohol and drug misusers and their families, Tabor Lodge Addiction and Housing services Limited is strongly positioned to play its part in delivery of this objective to Cork. It is a fitting celebration of its ‘Coming of Age’”.
Mary O’Donoghue rsm
Southern Province
