In an effort to connect service providers with each other and create supportive networking opportunities, staff from Samaritan Treatment and Recovery Services (STARS) in Lebanon hosted a meet-and-greet gathering on Friday, April 3.
The “Mid-Willamette Behavioral Health Meet & Greet” gave nonprofits, not-for-profits, emergency service providers and community partners involved in behavioral health treatment a chance to network and, perhaps, figure out how they could work together where needed.
Staff from STARS explain about the different levels of care they provide to those transitioning out of addictions. Photos by Sarah Brown
“The purpose of the event is networking for these different organizations within our county to be able to connect, and then also to inform,” said Zoe Costa, peer support at STARS.
Multiple agencies within that framework were given the floor to share what they do and what they have available for the community, and to answer any questions the other attending organizations may have.
“For me, working in my position, a lot of my work is connecting people to services,” Costa said, adding she’s not well-informed enough about some of the other services out there. This meet and greet will help her, and others, gain a little more knowledge about resources they may be able to utilize in their own work.
STARS opened in 2020, providing addiction recovery services to adults with residential, outpatient and intensive-outpatient levels of care. They recently opened a second location in Newport last year.
Costa, who has seen success stories “every day” during her time with STARS, said lives are being completely turned around. In one example, she has “walked alongside” one individual who went from the emergency department into the STARS residential program, gone through treatment and is now “thriving” in the intensive outpatient program.
Representatives from Crossroads Communities share about the services they offer in Lebanon and beyond.
“They are in a stable living environment, achieving their personal goals and engaging with the community through volunteering and fellowship,” she said. “There is a very human aspect to this work, as there is with any health care, when you get to see the light, that spark of life return to people’s eyes.”
Eight other organizations shared with the group what kind of services they offer. They were Samaritan Medical Group, CHANCE Recovery, Community Outreach Assistance Team (COAT), Emergence Addiction & Behavioral Therapies, Family Assistance & Resource Center (FAC), Family Tree Relief Nursery, Crossroads Communities and Albany Comprehensive Treatment Center.
“The more people we can get collaborating and on the same page, aware of what’s happening in other organizations, where the funding’s coming from, who can help in the best way, the more streamlined our care is for people,” said Shea Darnell, peer support at STARS.