Though plenty of Butler County residents struggle with substance abuse, there is an expanding network of resources here aimed at breaking the cycle of addiction.

Rebecca, a 46-year-old woman who found sobriety after decades living with various addictions, said her friends in Butler laugh when she says that moving to the county changed her trajectory for the better.

“Even though we have overdoses, Butler’s doing something right,” Rebecca said. “There are a lot of people looking for recovery here, and they’re finding it.”

This article marks the end of a series about the effect addiction has on children in Butler County. The parents and adult children of addicts who were interviewed employed a variety of resources and reached out to many organizations to get help in the journey toward recovery. What follows is a quick guide of such resources.

Support groups

While it’s rare to meet a person with a substance abuse disorder who didn’t at some point lean on a support group for help, often family members are on the front line when dealing with the fallout of addiction.

At the Butler YMCA, a group meets to help them cope — life can be hard for the loved ones of a recovering addict.

Every Thursday from 6 to 7:30 p.m., the Addiction and Recovery Family Support Group meets in the YMCA’s trustees room at the facility, 339 N. Washington St. The Ellen O’Brien Gaiser Addiction Center provides a master’s level counselor to facilitate the meeting and answer questions for attendees, according to the center’s executive director Linda Franiewski.

“The focus is on education,” Franiewski said. “It’s how to navigate that whole complicated world.”

Members, she said, describe the group as a safe place to find education and help.

It’s free to attend. Some come just once; others come several times over weeks or months. Child care is available during meetings for children younger than 13.

Butler County is home to several Narcotics Anonymous groups. The closest one can be found online at na.org. The phone number is 888-251-2426.

Butler Area Alcoholics Anonymous groups are similarly widespread. A calendar of meetings and locations can be found at district1aa.org. The local number is 724-679-5647.

There also is a large number of small community groups, oftentimes run by recovered addicts themselves. Many local leaders with substance abuse disorders seek out certified recovery specialist programs to both better understand their illness and to help their group members overcome their addictions.

Prevention

Whatever the circumstances a child grows up in, prevention programs aim to stop kids from picking up drugs.

Butler is home base to Reality Tour, an anti-drug program now operating in eight states. Norma Norris founded the program’s associated nonprofit, CANDLE Inc., in 2003 to combat reports of heroin deaths among youth in the city.

The Reality Tour itself is a show that parents attend with their children that tells stories illustrating what drugs can do to a person’s life.

They work with school districts in the area, most commonly the Mars, Seneca Valley and South Butler County districts. Norris noted that the program tends to be better attended in the southern ends of the county, and she would like to see it grow in Butler. In November of 2019 alone, 150 people saw the presentation in Butler County.

Organizers added vaping to the show this year and have started distributing nicotine test strips to parents in the community.

“It’s meant for families before there is a problem,” Norris said.

Other prevention programs, such as Stand Tall, also operate within school districts to discourage early drug use.

Those looking for one of the most sobering statistics in the world of addiction should check overdosefreepa.pitt.edu. The publicly funded website pulls coroner data to track the number of overdose related deaths in every Pennsylvania county each year.

Recovery services

Ask around at various rehabilitation programs in Butler County about their referrals, and the county’s Drug and Alcohol program comes up repeatedly.

The program serves as a centralized hub for treatment programs in the county and is the means through which state and federal grants aimed at helping addicts are allocated.

Those services can be accessed by calling 724-284-5114.

To reach Butler County’s Center for Community Resources 24-hour crisis services, dial 800-292-3866.

United Way of Butler County can help connect anyone who dials 211 with help, be it housing, employment or care.

Other groups provide more direct services to families. Various groups operate under the umbrella Butler Collaborative for Families to provide services such as free clothing, food and drug education. The collaborative can be reached at 724-290-4652.