DOVER — They’re just calling to say that they love you.
Giving love, support and access to resources to those in the early stages of drug addiction recovery is what a group of volunteers and employees SOS Recovery Community Organization on a daily basis through its telephone recovery support service, or TRSS.
The peer-support organization makes upwards of 200 calls each week to let those on the other end that someone is thinking about them and ask how they can help.
“We let them know that we’re here and we care,” said Laina Reavis, an SOS employee who runs the organization’s Dover location where the TRSS is located.
The people Reavis and other trained volunteers call are those who are unable to come into one of its three centers and get peer support from others who are in recovery themselves.
The reasons why a person can’t make it into a center varies, she said. A person may not be comfortable around other people. It could be a single mother without time to go to a meeting or a person without transportation. Some may be on bail with restrictions that limit their travel. There are a lot of barriers facing people who are in recovery, Reavis said. Those providing call support work to remove obstacles to help those in recovery be successful.
Deirdre Boryszewski is an SOS volunteer who is 15 years into her long-term recovery from an alcohol addiction. She says it was people around her who showed they cared about her when she began her recovery that helped keep her on track. That’s what she strives to do when making her calls.
It helps others continue their recovery while providing a level of internal satisfaction. Like the time Boryszewski called a woman who was in the midst of stressful day. These are the times when a person is more vulnerable to relapse.
“Thank goodness you called. I’m having such a tough day,” the woman told her. Through the talk, the woman was able to conquer the dark feelings she was experiencing that day. Reaching out and helping people who are suffering is very important in today’s society, that is why places such as http://sandiegorehab.net/, and help centers are there for those who need that assistance and support to get them through these tough times.