DES MOINES, Iowa – For Chuck and Ruth Gassmann, the complicated realities of addiction aren’t just statistics or stories—they’re personal. After their middle son, Matt, faced a long-lasting battle with alcohol addiction.
Now, a collaboration between two metro healthcare facilities is paving the way for patients struggling with addiction to receive the mental health care they need.
“He was funny and always talking, always laughing. He was just a great kid to have around. He was just a, he was spirited in the neighborhood. I mean, people loved him,” said Ruth.
An interest in drinking, they noticed as early as high school, that only grew in college, and post-graduation, when Matt received his first OWI.
“So, we knew there was a problem. Um, it’s difficult as a parent, though. You want to fix it, you want to make things right. You want to do everything in your power to, to change that person, but you have no control,” said Ruth.
But Matt’s battle with addiction went far deeper than the act of drinking itself. “We knew there were mental health issues there, and we could never get to the bottom of them,” said Chuck.
Despite numerous treatment programs, the Gassmanns felt the resources their son needed kept falling short. “And the answer was always, we don’t have a psychiatrist, we don’t have therapists here,” said Chuck.
After years of treatment and relapse. Matt passed away at the age of 43.
“When you have someone like our son who had been struggling with addiction for years and years and years, you’re not going to cure them in 28 days,” said Chuck.
Now, they’re working to change that. Serving as steer committee co-chairs to help fundraise for a first-of-its-kind Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship here in Iowa.
“They have a psychiatry background, so the fellow will have four years of psychiatry as a resident, and then this will be one additional year in addiction care and addiction service,” said Ruth.
Launched in partnership with Unity Point Health and Broadlawns Medical Center, the fellowship aims to support the more than 700,000 Iowans who identify as having a substance-use disorder.
“So they’ll have those extra skills, but they’re also going to be training the residents in family practice, internal MED, and the psychiatry residency as well,” said Ruth.
Training psychiatric physicians with advanced expertise in addiction treatment, preparing them to lead clinical programs and expand access to specialized addiction care.
“Our hope and dream with this fellowship is that we prevent it. We get good treatment programs, we have good aftercare, and we’re taking care of families,” said Chuck.
Raising funds through selling tickets to tour a massive private collection of vintage vehicles. With proceeds going towards the fellowship. Working to create the kind of care their son desperately needed but never received.
“You have to find that root cause and work on the root cause. And unless you can do that, the chances of them being sober is very, very small,” said Chuck.
And help families avoid the same heartbreak they’ve experienced.
“So, I feel like it’s what we were called to do. You know, it’s kind of like taking our grief and putting it in something that can help something positive,” said Ruth.
“And if we can, if we can save one person or one family from all of this is worth everything that we’re doing right now,” said Chuck.
The Albaugh Car Collection tours will be held on Sunday, May 17. Tickets have sold out for the event. To donate towards funding the fellowship, click here.
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