Ep23 Addiction Treatment Helping an Unheard Community

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[00:00:00] Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

Chris Langley: Hi, welcome to Addiction Recovery Place Podcast, the podcast champion addiction treatment professionals around the world. I'm your host, Chris Langley, and I'm very pleased to introduce today's guests, Jimmy Jones and Jared Weems from Recovery Unlimited in Wichita, Kansas.

Jimmy has been in recovery for 32 years and has worked in the substance use disorder field for 29 years. He feels blessed to share his experience, strength and hope with anyone who will listen. Jimmy hates the disease, but he absolutely loves recovery. I couldn't say any better than that. So that's wonderful.

Jared was born and raised in Kansas and has just celebrated three and a half years sober. He currently works as a Peer Mentor for Recovery Unlimited and is currently seeking his bachelor's in social work. Jared has a passion for helping people and would love to have his own recovery practice someday. Recovery Unlimited was established in October 1995, and in 2025, Recovery Unlimited will be celebrating 30 years of service to the [00:01:00] community in Wichita, Kansas, and the surrounding areas. In November of 2022, Recovery Unlimited began new ownership under Pastor and author Mr.

Dade Ronan. Since then, Recovery Unlimited has created a new mission statement, which reads, "Our mission is to empower our clients to stop active addiction and enter in recovery." Welcome to Addiction Recovery Place podcast, Jarred and Jimmy. It's great to have you with us today."

Jarred Weems: it's great to be here.

Chris Langley: Really appreciate your time.

I know you're both very busy. So we're going to get cracking and get straight on with the questions. So can you tell us about both of your journeys and how you started working at Recovery Unlimited?

Jarred Weems: yeah, I guess I can go first. I about a little over a year ago, I was working some manufacturing job, working on my own recovery and, really wasn't fitting what I wanted to do. And, somebody had told me about the new owners here at Recovery Unlimited, and they also [00:02:00] introduced me to James, our Director here, and since then, it's just been one thing after another, I feel so blessed to have found this job and to have found, my niche and working here, I've been here for a little over a year, starting working with the adolescents and, also with, some of the adults here, and it's really just taken off from there.

Chris Langley: Fantastic. firstly, congratulations on achieving three and a half years. That's amazing. And the fact that you've gone on to do what you're doing now. That's a testament to how hard you've been working. So big congratulations to you.

Thank you

Jimmy Jones: I actually, I, got clean and sober in Dodge City, Kansas. I started working in the facility I got clean at, and I've been there for 25 out of the last 28 years. I had some trauma happen about four years ago. My son committed suicide, so I was struggling with that, [00:03:00] and my support system in Dodge City was amazing, but I felt like I needed a fresh start. And so I was coming to Wichita to apply for several jobs. This was the first job that I applied for. Felt like home right off the bat and have just have no desire to leave whatsoever. I feel very blessed to be in this position.

Chris Langley: Thank you very much for explaining that. you've, got a pretty big team where you are. Can you tell us about some of your team and their roles that you, that they have at, your service?

Jimmy Jones: I've only been here a short time, but the counselors here have got extremely positive experience. And I think the biggest thing here between the peer support and the counselors, as well as management, there's communication and everybody wants what's best for the clients. And I love that. You don't get the great communication everywhere you're at. And people, genuinely [00:04:00] care about helping clients help themselves in this facility. And that's, what I've been drawn to. Yeah,

Jarred Weems: We're a very client centered, program. It really feels, honestly the counselors and the peer mentoring team here are like family. We support one another in our own journeys as well as supporting the clients and their journey.

Chris Langley: Wonderful. you have some quite extensive programs at Recovery Unlimited. Can you tell our audience about some of these if at all possible?

Jarred Weems: yeah, for sure. So we have, obviously peer mentoring support, peer support services.

Those services are offered to everybody, here at Recovery Unlimited. We also have, our level one and two treatment, which is your typical outpatient treatment services. And then we also have, point five,

which is early intervention treatment services so that's for somebody that qualifies for more than [00:05:00] just like a one day class, but they feel quite need the services of level one treatment.

We're trying to catch the addiction early on. And then we also, domestic violence and anger management classes classes those are, it's a one day class. We also have a 13 week and a 26 week class for, those. Then we also have we have a one day, alcohol drug and safety action program. Which is an eight hour class. And then we also have an eight hour, misdemeanor shoplifting class as well.

Chris Langley: Okay. So when it's an eight hour class, is that a one day class or is that over a couple of days? It's a one day class and the Point Five Early Intervention Program. How long has that been running for?

Jarred Weems: We are in our second month of doing that

Chris Langley: Yep.

Jarred Weems: it's a relatively new program, but what we're finding is it really, catches the people that maybe have only gotten in trouble once in their life, or, [00:06:00] this is their first time being on diversion or probation, or if it's, just people that are just. Maybe have a problem, but they don't realize it yet.

Chris Langley: I get it. So it's all about early intervention and education and helping them to not go further down the trap of addiction. And that's,

Jarred Weems: Right it's a drug education program with a little bit of CBT thrown in there.

Chris Langley: Okay. No, that's really important stuff you guys are doing. And it's important to catch people at that point before it's getting into something way, way worse.

That sounds like a great program. I'd just like to touch on your peer mentor program, which, incredibly powerful for people in recovery, which you can say yourself. but can you explain how this works and it's possible? Can you give us an example of how someone has gone through

treatment with the help of peer support and obviously without breaching any confidentiality.

Jarred Weems: Yeah, absolutely. So, I'm, the Lead Peer Mentor here. And one thing that peer support [00:07:00] focuses on is, meeting the client where they're at and bridging that gap between maybe the counselor and the court system or the counselor and the client. a peer mentor, by Kansas's definition is somebody with lived experience in addiction who is also in therapy, in long term recovery themselves. So it's somebody who can be that guide, that tour guide to recovery essentially, when somebody first gets clean a lot of times, for example, when I was first getting clean and I was going through the treatment process myself at another facility, I had a peer mentor as well. I had five different probation officers, I had meetings with every probation officer. I had sober living obligations, full time job, and the list just goes on and on. Sometimes somebody in early recovery

going through , the shock of [00:08:00] being sober, doesn't necessarily know how to organize their life and how to reach out to, their probation officers and just keep a daily, schedule intact. And so that's where a peer mentor can come in and really bridge gap, between that, and, can meet them at, 12 step recovery group meetings. They can take them to the meetings. And it's really just an amazing program that really just, is that extra support. And it's, I think it's important from what I've seen, that the clients see somebody who has been where they're at. Sometimes there can be that disconnect between the counselor and the client where the counselor has all of these years of clean time, and that's great, but where the client doesn't see is how to get there. How can I get to that amount of clean time? I can't even get a week clean, And [00:09:00] so having a peer mentor there is somebody who can show them, that it is possible, is really important too.

Jimmy Jones: It's incredibly important. Listen, I have never bought into you have to be in recovery to be a good substance abuse counselor. You have to have empathy. Okay.

That's, the biggest thing. However,

to keep that connection to the client, peer suport

is invaluable. It saves careers and facilities because we have such a shortage of counselors. And when you're looking at the first AA meeting I ever went to, I had a guy come up to me and say that he had 20 years sobriety. Being one day clean at that time, I didn't believe him. I called him a name, and I was ready to fight him. I'm still going through withdrawal, but I couldn't imagine someone not using that long. peer support is able to have lived experience.

Whereas, some of

the counselors do not. able

To be, the counselor is able to deal with the crisis and so forth

with the help of peer [00:10:00] support, and it just gives better care. Jarrad is amazing.

The Peer support program we have at recovery is incredible. And think the counselors could do their job, near as effectively without peer support. So it's, an invaluable part of the treatment process.

Chris Langley: Absolutely. Absolutely.

So do you, with the peer support program, do you attend court or probation to support or anything? Is that kind of Is that included within criminal justice? So if someone's going for the criminal justice system?

Jimmy Jones: They are involved in every aspect of the treatment process. even though we have a, I'm running an adolescent group right now, and if we're having issues with behavior, or they need help with homework, then Jarred or Katie or any of the peer supports can pull them aside so it doesn't disrupt the rest of the group.

Jarred Weems: Absolutely. A

Chris Langley: Perfect. No, it's a, it's an incredibly powerful thing to offer people. So no fair play to you both. That's just fantastic. [00:11:00] You mentioned young people just then. One of your programs is obviously helping young people with the drug use and other behavioral problems.

Can you tell us about this program, how it works, how you get referrals for helping young people in your community?

Jimmy Jones: A lot of the times it's, most of our adolescents are smoking marijuana at the schools. So we have a diversion program. Some of them actually get to probation. Some of them are referred by the schools. and they come in and a lot of them it's first time treatments, and the first goal is to have them attend responsibly and be appropriate during group. Let's go baby steps.

Then the more they stay clean and the more they're engaged into the treatment process, the more they start to have confidence that they can do this. We really work really hard. Jared and Katie are really Peer supports and myself, we really work hard and involve in the family as much as possible. [00:12:00] The family members can come every Thursday and be a part of the group. We'll have a family night every month, six weeks where we just bring in a bunch of food. And we had 10 out of 12 parents last time. We Play games. Jenga, egg toss, egg race.

It's team building, but it's also bonding

and fun for the kids and for their parents.

Chris Langley: so you're involved with helping them through their education for the school and for their attendance as well.

Jimmy Jones: Anything we can do

Chris Langley: Wow.

Jimmy Jones: Anything we can do, and it's a tough one because, these, kids have been clean over the summer, a number of them. And we just talked to him a couple weeks ago before school started. And I asked him, "what's your trigger? What's your number one trigger at this time?" And they were all concerned about going to school.

There's that much marijuana being used. So the coping mechanisms on who you associate with and how to deal with it when you're craving, just, we're hammered in there. I'll present a message. Jarred will present. Katie will [00:13:00] present. Three different ways.

Chris Langley: Yeah. that's invaluable service and it must really help the young people, and I'm sure the school district is very grateful for your help as well because it must help with attendance and

Jarred Weems: Stays busy.

Chris Langley: Getting through education is so so important for children.

Jimmy Jones: Exactly.

Chris Langley: Yeah. Kansas is bordering on Missouri and Colorado.

You touch on the point there about cannabis. Obviously these two states have fully recreational cannabis available. Have you witnessed much fallout in Kansas with this, especially with the young people in your state?

Jimmy Jones: Absolutely.

Chris Langley: yeah,

Jimmy Jones: I don't understand that. And by the way, We're talking about adolescent clients

Jarred is the one that keeps your mind, it's still illegal for you because you're

only

15.

Chris Langley: That's right. Yeah.

Jimmy Jones: It doesn't matter if it's legal recreationally in the state. It's still illegal for the adolescents. and it is a problem, but the reality is, and all these years I've been clean, I've [00:14:00] always asked my clients over the years and meetings, what are the drugs that you started out with when you first started using? These are guys that have been doing meth or heroin or fentanyl or whatever, but to begin with, 95% of these clients and people started out with marijuana and alcohol. And those are the two drugs that I will say till the day I die are the two most dangerous drugs on the market because we minimize them more and they're than any other drug.

Jarred Weems: We're just seeing across the board, there's just the overall minimalization of marijuana, especially here in Kansas and being centrally located. I think that in a sense, we're like a time capsule. So where, as like the east and west coasts are a little bit ahead of where we're at, and so it takes a while for the trends to reach us. Where marijuana is now becoming so socially acceptable in such a conservative area of the United [00:15:00] States. We're just seeing a very, like a complete minimalization across the board from adolescents to adults. And, they just don't see the problem with it.

Chris Langley: Yeah, that's, it's disrupted everything I take it. I'm, based in Iowa, and we have very, strict laws against, any drugs really. And, we've now boarded several states that have got recreational, and I think there have been some issues here as well. I think, the main problem has been with the, the edibles and the other things that kind of come in with cannabis as well.

It's taken it all to a whole new level as well. So it's a, it's certainly had some knock on effects around here as well. I just want to touch on fentanyl because within the United States and now other countries around the world being affected, has there been an increase in risk associated with fentanyl in Kansas, and what's being done to help those affected by this, eidemic now?

Jimmy Jones: [00:16:00] We're seeing a huge increase.

Chris Langley: Yeah.

Jimmy Jones: At the facility I used to work, at, we had a couple of clients that were using right before group, and they OD'd, and so EMT show up. We have Narcan, and, we carry Narcan with us. We even have it in our office. Yeah. The problem you run into with the fentanyl is there's this chemical called Tranq, which is a horse tranquilizer that is involved in this as well.

And we're seeing that now in Wichita. So if you overdose and you're on the Fentanyl with the Tranq, the Narcan is not going to bring you back. So that's really scary.

Jarred Weems: I think the Tranq you're talking about is Xylasine . Xylasine.

Chris Langley: Xylasine. Yeah. Yeah.

Jarred Weems: We are seeing like the Narcan isn't even working on that, I was actually at a meeting about a week ago, and there was a newcomer there, and that newcomer started to overdose in the middle of the meeting. And thank God somebody had Narcan on him, Save your life, [00:17:00] before the paramedics could, get there. So it's really, again, we're a little bit behind the trend, but we're starting to see that fentanyl and the xylasine flare up here at Wichita and in central Kansas too.

Jimmy Jones: With fentanyl, issues with we need to understand that it just doesn't take that much. The very tip of a pen is the amount you need to overdose and die, and so addicts themselves are still learning how to, if you will, to use it. They still can't believe hayt minute of an amount will actually help, have them overdose and die. And so we're not, we're seeing a lot of overdoses because of ignorance. But again, it's also a high that it's cheap to get. If you just get a little amount, you can make that last for a long time. Similar to the Meth epidemic that we've had in the Midwest for 25 years. So it's just, it's scary.

Chris Langley: so you'd say it's ramped up even from meth within [00:18:00] your area?

Jimmy Jones: I don't know if I would say fentanyl is topping of meth at this point in the Midwest, but it's on its way.

Chris Langley: It's a huge risk. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We're now seeing across the world. I was speaking to an old colleague in England and it's now even reaching over there now, which was just unheard of years ago. It seems to be spreading. It's very sad and it's, just tragic that, medication can't stop the overdose as well, as you were just saying.

that's just taken onto a whole new level now, hasn't it? Definitely. I ask all of my guests this question because I get some very interesting and varied answers. But can you tell me your opinion of what harm reduction is and how it plays such a pivotal role within recovery?

Jarred Weems: Ibet you do get varied answers.

Chris Langley: Yeah, I do. Yes,

Jimmy Jones: My harm reduction thought processes, they've changed completely. When I first got in this field, [00:19:00] I was very much against it. Then I start to, then I have Children myself and then they, get to be teenagers if it's in a structured environment and they need to understand what's happening with it, they're either going to do it on their own and have that risk of drinking and driving or drugging and not only risk their own lives and other people's lives, but if they're in a position where it's structured, then at least they're in a safe situation.

Okay. But you have to monitor and hold accountable. And there's lots of boundaries that need to be involved with the thing. But, listen, I would much rather be in a position of being right there with my children, as they're experimenting, rather than them doing it on their own and hurt themselves and others.

Jarred Weems: Yeah, and I think to like, like Jimmy, like when I first got clean, I had for example, I had a different opinion on MAT and MAR, suboxone, methadone

all those kind of things. And I [00:20:00] thought, why can they do it? Not me. And it's just, they're just trading one thing for another and all of these other myths.

then what I quickly realized was that was coming from a place of ignorance and a lack of understanding of these programs, and I think that it can be a bridge to recovery. As long as you don't get stuck on that bridge, as far as, those medications are concerned, but as far as other harm reduction things go, I, see a community that is hurting see a community that is unheard, as far as addicts and alcoholics and, just addiction goes in general.

And I think that the United States in the general is starting to finally accept, addiction as a disease. Not a moral deficiency, We've been saying that for years, but I think the shift is finally happening because you're seeing it a shift in the way addicts are [00:21:00] treated. at treatment, in court, just across the board. And I think that includes harm reduction, safe injection spots, needle exchanges, all of these, the decriminalization, I know there's varied opinions about that, and I have my own, but, I think to some extent, these things are necessary to reduce the harm that we're not only causing to the addicted community, but also to, our prison systems, our tax systems.

Jimmy Jones: And remember our goals, it's, everybody always talks about, sobriety and that's, I'm not discounting that, but the bottom line is we need to be, people become productive members of society and protecting their families.

Chris Langley: absolutely.

Jimmy Jones: If the harm reduction, whether it be structure at the time with your youngins or if it's, MAT, you're helping them get to that point.

[00:22:00] Yeah. There's some people that I've known that have been on the street doing heroin for, 25 years and God bless them, they're trying to stay sober, but their brain chemistry has changed so much where maybe they're going to need to be on that MAT an extensive amount of time. Yeah. That's the exception, not the rule book. And so many people are in a position of you're, still not in a position of being clean. If you're using the MAT, I disagree. At one time when I was going to meetings, old timers would say, if you were. going to a hospital and you took painkiller, then you lost your sobriety date. That was 30 years ago and it's that, was ridiculous. I was a little bit more combative back in the day, but I would go to meetings and I'd say, I'm going to break your arm and I'm going to give you a choice, sobriety or morphine, and And they decided to go ahead and have morphine.

I'm like, look at it in a common sense way and to help the people help themselves. Our, goal is still the same as to help families [00:23:00] and family trees change and recover.

Chris Langley: yeah. that was a perfect answer to the question. Both of you. Thank you for that. it's always one that I like to ask because I'm finding that there's a very, there's a very wide range of answer, but everyone's correct in their own way. So I really, totally agree with everything you both just said.

Then, last couple of questions, guys. what plans do you for the future? Do you do on your team at Recovery unlimited have?

Jimmy Jones: Lots, of ways.

Chris Langley: Tell me I want to hear.

Jarred Weems: From a peer mentoring and a peer support standpoint, we want to just continue to expand, our services to where, right now we have two peer mentors for the entire. client database. I want to expand that to where each peer mentor has, a certain amount of clients, has a smaller caseload [00:24:00] and be able to expand that and expand, the early intervention program to a wider range of audience, maybe that's not being served right now. especially in like rural communities. Expanding that service is, I think where my heart lies for sure.

Jimmy Jones: I've only been here a short time, but the number one thing I've always looked at Kansas was the rural population We, look at people getting in trouble with the law.

They don't have a license. They don't have a job. They don't have a vehicle, but yet they have to go to treatment. That's mandatory, and, but how are they going to get there? So utilizing the get in contact with the clients that are, that, are forgotten at this point. Yeah, but the main thing with any of our services at Recovery Unlimited, my goal is to involve families as much as we can.

We need to increase that. Absolutely. Whether it be with adolescents or, adults. The families are the ones [00:25:00] we're, trying to help change family trees. That's what we're, and anything we can do to do that,

Chris Langley: Sounds like some pretty impressive plans you've got. And, no, congratulations with everything that you're doing at your service. It just sounds incredible. You seem to have everything under one roof. It really does from the young people to peer mentorship to getting people through treatment. It's been wonderful speaking to you both today.

last question. Last couple of questions. Have you a message to anyone who's listening to this podcast? Who's going through addiction themselves?

Jarred Weems: man. It gets better and that you're loved. You might feel like you're the only one, but you're not .We hear you, we see you and, you're enough.

Chris Langley: Thank you.

Jimmy Jones: Let the miracle happen. and know that you matter.

Chris Langley: Perfect. Thank you very much for that, guys. [00:26:00] Last question. Can you tell our listeners how best to contact you in to find your service online?

Jarred Weems: You can go to www.recovery-unlimted.com . You can also call our phone number at 316 941 9948, or, you can come find us at 3737 West Douglas in Wichita, Kansas.

Chris Langley: Fabulous. Jerarrd and Jimmy, thank you so much for joining me. Thank you for everything that you're doing for your community. You're doing some amazing work there. I really appreciated your time in telling us today about the great service that you're providing and, please send my very best wishes to the rest of the team and big congratulations for what you're doing.

Thank you so much.

Jarred Weems: Thank you so much.

Chris Langley: Appreciate it.

Do, do, do, do, [00:27:00] do.