CALAIS, Maine — A public forum on the area’s drug and alcohol problem has resulted in a new program aimed at helping those touched by addiction.
Paul Trovarello, director of ARISE Addiction Recovery in Machias, was invited to be part of the panel at the forum, held Feb. 26 in Baileyville, which also featured several members of law enforcement.
Because of the “outcry” from the public at that meeting, Trovarello said, he decided it was time to act.
Trovarello is among the leaders of faith-based weekly recovery meetings in Machias that take place 7 p.m. Mondays at Machias Christian Fellowship, 3 Davis Lane.
“We’re going to go out there to Calais, and we’re basically going to run it the same way,” he said.
Meetings will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesdays, beginning March 1, at The Refuge Church, which rents space in the basement of the Calais Congregational Church at 21 Calais Ave., he said.
Meetings are open to men, women and families who are directly or indirectly affected by drug and alcohol addiction. Child care will be provided for participants.
The Machias group started about a year ago because of a specific need.
“We really started this meeting just to help one guy,” Trovarello said.
Now, those meetings attract 50 to 65 people each week.
The meetings work because they help to build accountability among group members, who get to know each other, he said.
“If someone doesn’t show up, … obviously we want to know why,” he said.
Another thing the meetings teach participants is that they are not alone.
“We have someone who we go to, and that’s God,” Trovarello said.
Similar faith-based addiction recovery programs have nonrecidivism rates as high as 86 percent after seven years, compared with 15 percent in secular programs, McDonald said, citing statistics he obtained from Dr. Philip Watkins of the University of Maine. Watkins could not be reached for comment Monday.
During the weekly meetings, all participants are together for a 30-minute lesson from the Bible. For the next 30 minutes, group members share their stories with each other. Then they break up into groups for more individualized work.
Dan McDonald will lead the Calais meetings, along with Trovarello and Machias Christian Fellowship Pastor Aaron Dudley.
“Everybody knows somebody who is affected by drugs or alcohol, especially drugs,” McDonald said.
“At ARISE, we fully believe that the only cure for addiction is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ,” he said. “Through the study of his word, fellowship with his people, and prayer, we have found freedom from a life of slavery to drugs and alcohol. It’s made the difference in my life, and I want to share that freedom with others suffering in addiction.”
ARISE also launched Washington County’s only residential treatment facility in late 2015.
For more information about the Calais meetings, call McDonald at 214-0890. To learn more about ARISE Addiction Recovery, including its men’s residential treatment program in Machias, visit ariseaddictionrecovery.com or facebook.com/ariseaddictionrecovery/.