Tag Archives: alcohol

Gateway Foundation opens new addiction treatment facility in Jacksonville

Those struggling with substance abuse in Jacksonville and the surrounding area no longer need to travel all the way to Springfield to get treatment from the Gateway Foundation.

The new Gateway Foundation Alcohol and Drug Treatment Center opened last month for selective outpatient services which will be expanded, along with other programs on-site for members of the community, at their Jacksonville campus in the renovated Wells Center.

Kasia Loniewska and Winston Henry are Clinical Supervisors with the Gateway Foundation. Loniewska explains why Gateway found a need to expand to Jacksonville.

“With the exit of the Wells Center, the community reached out to us and the opportunity presented itself to expand substance use services here to Jacksonville and the surrounding counties and areas. We believe that this is really both helping the Gateway Foundation grow but also helping the communities come together and address the epidemic of substance use.”

Loniewska lists the current available services and additions with upcoming openings.

“Currently, outpatient services are only Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., but that is for clients that are already enrolled in our program. We are also having walk-in hours, meaning any individual can come and get a screening to see what their needs are for treatment. Those hours are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from noon to 2 p.m. We will also be opening our recovery home on Monday, July 30th, and our official residential treatment center in Jacksonville will open on Monday, August 20th.”

Henry says local outpatient services will expand to match those offered in Springfield. “Outpatient programs will be a mirror image of what is provided in Springfield, whereas we only offer intensive outpatient services from 9 to noon weekdays, but once we start getting more established in the community here in Jacksonville and the surrounding counties we will offer different levels of care in outpatient. We will have partial hospitalization; individuals will come to group from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or 1:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Also, we will have afternoon service hours from 1:30 to 4:30 and evening service hours from 6 to 9 p.m., but these will come as we get more established in the area and build relationships with clients.”

Loniewska offers a detailed look at how the recovery home offers people a less strict place to continue the path to sobriety with the intent on patients returning to the community.

“When clients complete a residential program, not everyone has the option to immediately return home – perhaps their home environment is not healthy or conducive to recovery. Coming in to the recovery home, clients get the opportunity to build a stronger foundation for their recovery. Each client is paired with a recovery coach who assists in preparation for the client’s reintegration into the community – whether that may be finding employment or getting back into school or scheduling their medical and psychiatric appointments – all in the hope that the client will continue to lead a peaceful, sober life.”

The new Gateway Foundation Alcohol and Drug Treatment Center is located at 1300 Lincoln Avenue in direct replacement of the Wells Center.