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Southern Voice/March 28, 1991 13
FEATURE
Recovery for Us
A primer on the special problems lesbians and gay men
face when battling substance addiction
by Crystal Porter
SHER
Lyn Brown, Eppie Shields and Laura Howard unveil AALGA's poster at a
kick-off for the group's Alcohol and Drug Abuse hotline.
AALGA's Alcohol and Drug Information/Referral Line
The African American Lesbian/Gay Alliance (AALGA) of Atlanta was recently
awarded a $5,000 grant by Fulton County for a program to begin an
Information/Referral line for gays and lesbians needing information about drug and
alcohol rehabilitation.
The grant is the first of its kind received by a gay or lesbian organization in
Atlanta, according to members of AALGA.
"We're very excited about it, and we plan to apply for a continuing grant to run the
program for the entire year. This grant was just for 6 months," said program designer
and AALGA member, Archie Freeman.
The Information/Referral line was the brainchild of Freeman, who is a healthcare
worker for the state and was very aware of the need for such assistance. The program
will provide basic information and referral to gay/lesbian sensitive treatment centers
in the Fulton County area, said Freeman. It can iso provide referrals for anonymous
HIV testing centers and information.
"The caller can remain completely anonymous and we will offer the nearest refer
rals based on the first three digits of the caller's phone number," Freeman explained.
The Information/Referral line will be staffed by trained volunteers and will be
available 24 hours a day. It was scheduled to begin operation March 1. The number
for the AALGA Information/Referral line is 404-997-LOVE (5653). Anyone interest
ed in volunteering or professionals with suggestions are also encouraged to call.
—CJP.
See if this sounds familiar:
It's Saturday night. You go out with
your friends for a little dancing and
fun. You start out at Blake's (or
Deana's), have a few more beers, then
head over to Bulldogs (or Options).
Several more beers and a couple of
shots later, you head over to the Cove
(or 2069 The Page). Suddenly it's 5
o'clock Sunday morning, your head is
pounding, your stomach is retching,
and you have no idea whose bed you
are in. You swear, in your agony, that
you'll never do it again. Maybe you
really do decide that you cannot live
like this any more.
Now what do you do?
Unfortunately, this is a common
scenario in our community. Studies
show that 20-30 percent of lesbians and
gay men have addiction problems.
That's two to three times the incidence of
alcohol and drug abuse in the heterosex
ual population. But today there are more
recovery options for gay men and
women than there have ever boon before.
And more and more lesbians and gay
men are choosing those options.
"It’s not OK to be falling down drunk
any more. People are focusing on well
ness," said Donald Wert, Executive
Director of the Pride Institute, while
speaking at the Southeastern Conference
on Drug Abuse held in Atlanta in
November. The Pride Institute is the only
in-patient treatment facility in the nation
especially for recovering bisexuals, gay
men, and lesbians.
While hundreds of treatment pro
grams are now available due to popular
demand and economic opportunity, pro
fessionals in the industry have been slow
to recognize the special needs of recov
ering lesbians and gays. Wert's speech
marked the first time a professional had
been asked to speak at die Southeastern
Conference on the issues of gays and les
bians in recovery.
Linda C. Regnier, a certified addic
tion counselor who recently spoke at the
March of Dimes 2nd Annual Conference
on Substance Abuse in Women said,
"Lesbians and gay men are at an extraor
dinarily high risk compared to other
minority groups." She describes lesbians
and gays as "the silent minority." Her
speech also marked the first time a pro
fessional had been asked to speak about
lesbian issues in treatment at that confer
ence.
While hundreds of treatment
programs are now available
due to popular demand and
economic opportunity,
professionals in the industry
have been slow to recognize
the special needs of
recovering lesbians and gays.
"Recovery is not the same for les
bians and gays," according to Wert.
"The climate that we live in has a
tremendous influence on addictive
behavior." Pride Institute studies show
that most treatment programs do not
address gay and lesbian issues. "We
even found treatment centers who would
say We don't have any gay people in our
program.' Right."
Regnier also reported similar find
ings. She used as an example a treat
ment center in San Francisco who report
ed that "one percent of their clients were
homosexual, based solely on dress and
mannerisms."
"For lesbian and gay people in tradi
tional treatment programs, there is really
no safety to deal with the stresses of
being lesbian and gay," says Wert.
Honestly dealing with these stresses is a
major factor in gay/lesbian recovery at
the Pride Institute.
Some of the other stresses unique to
lesbian and gay recovery are:
•Heterosexism — the unconscious
presumption that everyone should be a
heterosexual. "We adopt this as true, as
real, as the given and it creates enormous
anxiety for us," according to Wert.
•Internal and External Homophobia
— the intense or irrational fear of homo
sexuals. "Providers keep it (homopho
bia) alive," said Regnier, "when it isn't
OK to bring it up (sexual orientation) in
treatment, or even ask about it in evalua
tions. Providers need to listen with 'gay
sensitive ears.'"
"The single biggest relapse factor for
lesbian and gays is internalized homo
phobia," warns Wert.
•Absence of Social Structures — can
not meet outside of bars. Limited oppor
tunities for sober recreation. According
to Regnier, "Ours is a subculture that
alcohol is prominent in."
•Acceptance of Sexual Orientation —
"In early stages of recovery, we are going
to be dealing with coming out issues, I
guarantee it," said Wert.
•Secrets and Disguises — "For gays
and lesbians, normal life is secret-keep
ing, hiding in fear of negative conse
quences which are often very real. In
order to be healthy, people need to be
free," Wert said. Secret-keeping violates
a basic tenet of recovery, which states
that "you're only as sick as your secrets."
•HIV Issues — "Many newly recover
ing addicts are faced with a double
whammy. For many, it is the first
announcement to their families of sexual
orientation and a positive HIV status,"
said Wert. Recent studies also show that
abusing alcohol significantly lowers T-
cell count and resistance of HIV positive
patients, and speeds the progression of
AIDS.
Almost all substance abuse treat
ment centers recommend an aftercare
program including membership in a 12-
Step program such as Alcoholics
Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous.
In 1989,40 percent of AA "newcomers"
had been recommended by a counselor
or treatment center. This traditional pro
gram has also begun to recognize and
welcome the increasing numbers of
recovering gay men and lesbians.
In Atlanta, there are over 42 AA
meetings a week for gays and lesbians.
For more information, call the AA
Central Office at 525-3178 or the Galano
Clubhouse at 881-9188.
These meetings have not only become
a valuable support group for metro gays
and lesbians, but also for those who live
outside the city where lesbian/gay 12-
Step meetings are not found. Says one
one AA member who lives outside
Atlanta, "If they knew I was a lesbian,
my God, they'd bum me at the cross.
There is no tolerance out here. There's a
lot of KKK out here. I go to local meet
ings for my program. But I feel like my
sexual preference puts me in jeopardy."
Another recovering suburbanite said,
"The problems that were affecting my
sobriety were certainly sexual and I
couldn’t get the honesty part, so I started
coming to Galano even though it means I
have to drive an hour to get to a meet
ing."
Recovery for gays and lesbians is
different than for heterosexuals, and
recovery support programs and treatment
centers are finding that out. For more
information on gay/lesbian sensitive
treatment, an Information/Referral line
has just been activated by the African
American Lesbian/Gay Alliance (see
insert). That number is 404-997-LOVE
(5683).
For gays and lesbians,
normal life is secret-keeping,
hiding in fear of negative
consequences which are
often very real. In order
to be healthy, people need
to be free.
As Wert said in closing his speech to
care providers at the Southeastern
Conference on Substance Abuse, "We
need to be able to say to our lesbian and
gay clients that what you are is a diversi
ty of God's plenty, and we wouldn't have
you any other way." Except as proud,
recovering, gay men and lesbians.
The Pride Institute's phone number is
(800) 547-7433.
Those interested in reading about
addiction and recovery issues may want
to check the following books for more
information: Accepting Ourselves by
Sheppard B. Kominars (Harper & Row);
The Other Side of Family by Ellen
Ratner, and The Recovery Resource
Book by Barbara Yoder (Fireside).