Jacqueline R. Torres
Police found William Banks sleeping in his car on Skid Row in 1997. Eight years later, he finds himself a graduate of the Addiction Studies Program.
Banks was one of 30 students who received a certificate of completion and a “Page 77” Award at the ceremony as presenters shared their past trials with addiction on Friday in the Faculty Dining Room.
Everyone had their own story of recovery.
Page 77 signifies one of the 12 steps in the Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book.
Step Nine, challenges people “to make amends” to people they have harmed and in doing so become a “maximum service to God and the people about [them],” page 77).
“For most classes these days, you do an internship or field work. But the people here have had 10 to 20 years of experience,” said Dennis O’Sullivan, chair of the Addiction Studies Advisory Committee.
He is also the executive director of People in Progress a non-profit organization which has hired previous graduates of the Addiction Studies Program as counselors to people addicted to drugs and alcohol.
Official requirements for the program include completion of 36 college units related to addiction treatment, but the common denominator of these students and teachers alike was recovery from chemical dependence.
“We’ve worn their moccasins; we know where they’ve been. That’s why we’re so effective,” O’Sullivan said of addiction treatment clients before handing Richard Lester, another graduate, his certificate of completion.
Lester addressed the room of people he called “family” with trembling hands-reminiscent, he said- of when he got his 30-day chip.
“This program offers solutions to a society in crisis,” he said.
With each presenter and graduate, tales were told of lives touched and hearts changed.
Jannett Rose said she had never completed anything in her life before this. In gratitude for the support of her teachers and peers, Rose sang “You Light Up My Life,” by Debbie Boone.
The room responded with a standing ovation and loud applause.
“Someday I hope to put ourselves out of business,” said Charles “Bud” Hayes, vice-chair of the Addiction Studies Advisory Committee and executive director of the National Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence of the San Fernando Valley.
“If President [Robert] Garber and Dean Carlos [Martinez] were to call all the substance abuse treatment programs in Southern California, they would find out close to half of the counselors working in those programs graduated from the Pierce program,” said Hayes.
“And because of that this is an incredible resource for California, an important one.”
The Addiction Studies Advisory Committee is designed to “bring the reality of the field to the program at Pierce,” Hayes explained.
Students who have graduated are scheduled to take the State Certification Exam in August.
Changes to the California Alcohol and Drug Program Department’s policy on who can work in alcohol and drug recovery facilities require that with in the next five years every counselor be either certified or in the process of getting their certification.
This happened a few months ago according to Hayes who has been working with the Addiction Studies Program for three years.
From eruptions of laughter to quiet chokes on tears, the group members celebrated recovery as much as they did graduation. James Crossen, Ph.D. and director of the Addiction Studies Program, testified to the solidarity of his pupils.
“The journey is not about a certificate,” he said. “We’re taking the challenge to dream once again.”