New intervention center helping addicts and their families rebuild
MERRILLVILLE, Ind. -- A new drug addiction treatment center opened in Merrillville to help not only addicts but also their families recover.
It's called True Interventions, and it opened in August 2018, with the goal of expanding access to support in the region and across the entire country.
“I was at my wit’s end and very worried," said one mother of an addict, Orlean Miller.
Miller, who lives in Winamac, had watched her daughter struggle with a heroin addiction for years--until she finally connected with Herb Stepherson.
He later helped to found True Interventions.
“We specialize in this. We’ve lived it. I personally went through active addiction for 13 years, and so now that I’m on the other side here, I’m able to articulate and express and break things down to a family that’s so wrapped up in this addiction they can’t see the light of day," said Herb.
From that initial phone call in for help, to devising a plan with coordinators like Herb, and then taking action with interventionists across the country, like Brian Hero, ready to meet face-to-face, the focus is on families--rebuilding the structure and sticking with them for life.
"They’re always caught in a web of the same things happening over and over and over, which is lifestyle and behavior usually attached to an addiction, and this is our focal point there is helping the families identify the indicators, changing the roles that they play in an addict’s life," said Interventionist Coordinator, Brian Hero.
“They show you signs to look for, like a check-off list. Is my loved one doing this, this, and this, and it makes you see the truth of what’s happening and not question anymore. There’s really no time to do that. You need to get immediate help for someone who’s an addict, because their life is at risk," said Miller.
“Our mission—it’s just to save one more," said Herb.
He says the goal is to help more than 5,000 families by the end of next year.