Larry Gaines in Ghana

Larry Gaines arrived in Accra on January 22 and is leaving on Feburuary 1.  His main focus was on teaching Recovery Dynamics at the House of St. Francis; it is the curriculum that is being used at the House which currently has 15 residential clients.  A three-day training session was held for 25 participants, and additional training was provided for the staff and clients.  Byron will be away for two months until mid-April.  Numerous people will be assisting the House in his absence.  A board of Directors is being put in place for the HSF, and is scheduled to be inaugurated on February 5.  More will be written in the coming days. 

Dan

Thank You Del Ray!!!

Hopeful Way Foundation, Oxford Houses and the House of St. Francis are being supported by numerous groups in the U.S., including members of the Del Ray Club.  Located in Bethesda, Maryland, two groups at Del Ray, Sunrise and Back to Basics, are taking the lead in supporting our work and “carrying the message” to Ghana.  Books and materials are donated, networking is facilitated, expertise is provided and financial donations are made.  Personalities at Del Ray have introduced us to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism(NIAAA), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) and the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM).  Over 20 persons from Del Ray came to our Embassy of Ghana event on September 27.  We met a professional fundraiser at Del Ray who comes to our fundraising meetings at Oxford House, Inc.  He also helps us with proposal writing and has expressed a willingness to come to Accra in 2013 to help set up a fundraising committee in support of the House of St. Francis.  The president of the Maryland Chapter of ASAM gives us great advice and may even come to Ghana for a visit.  On behalf of the recovery community in Ghana, Thank You Del Ray Club. 

Dan

Internet Radio Show with House of St. Francis on Nov. 10, 2012

It has been over a month since our momentous event at the Embassy of the Republic of Ghana. Among our distinguished guest speakers that evening was Mr. Lee Manley. Mr. Manley hosts a local radio show called “Lee’s Happy Hour” on Rock the Flow’s website at http://rocktheflow.com. The show airs from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. (EST) each Saturday. The show’s themes center on treatment and recovery, with an emphasis on living happy and productive lives without alcohol or drugs. On Saturday November 10^th, Byron Merriweather and some of the residents from the House of St. Francis will call into the show from Ghana!! We encourage you to tune in if you can! Dan called into the show last week.

The direct link to Lee Manley’s show (please scroll to the bottom of the page):

http://rocktheflow.com/radioshowsx.php

Theresa

Byron Report for Sept. 27 Ghana Embassy Event

Report from Byron in Ghana

September 22, 2012

I arrived in Accra, Ghana on April 16, 2012.  After months of collaboration with the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra; planning with Hopeful Way Foundation board members (along with key people in the recovery community of Ghana); and physical preparation with help from Hopeful Way Oxford House – Oyarifa members (along with Gustavo Aguilar Marco, a volunteer worker from Sweden), the 40-bed rehabilitation center named House of St. Francis opened August 1, 2012.  This treatment facility utilizes Recovery Dynamics as a curriculum for 12 step recovery along with the Healing Place social model of Therapeutic Community and concept of non-medical detoxification. It is initially designed to provide a needy client with 3 to 6 months of inpatient care. Our first two resident clients were relapses from Oxford House – Oyarifa.  Currently, there are five resident male clients. As a result of many serious inquiries about the house by potential women prospects, a decision will be been made regarding the accommodation of women in the House of St. Francis as well as men. We have envisioned the challenges of having women and men in the same facility and determined that if we could obtain the staff necessary to handle both genders, it could be done successfully. We may also set up a separate Oxford House for women.

 I am now beginning to receive some needed help in running the facility. Two resident nurses from Accra Psychiatric Hospital (one male and one female) are on board to assist in providing individual counseling for both male and female clients.  The two extension workers from the Oxford House – Oyarifa are in training to assist in presenting the Recovery Dynamics curriculum to the clients. Hopeful Way Foundation board members Dr. Joseph Asare president, Dr. Eugene Dordoye and Mr. Logosu Amegashie (Korle-Bu Hospital Addictive Disease Unit head) are also ready to assist in family and individual counseling when they can be available.  Araba Sefa-Dedeh (Accra Psychiatric Hospital & Korle Bu Hospital Women’s Psychiatric Unit Counselor/Professor) has come on board to assist in providing counseling for the potential women clients. Meanwhile, the search for a separate facility for women clients is a work in progress.

 We envision House of St. Francis to ‘pipeline’ the human resources needed to establish more Oxford Houses in the near future. Each of the five current resident clients has agreed to transition into an Oxford House either in Oyarifa or a planned new house in Tema.  More will be revealed.  The existing two Oxford Houses, one in Oyarifa, Ghana has six members currently and efforts are being made to reopen the Oxford House - Came to Believe in Kukurantumi. Currently, through much patience and perseverance, Pantang Hospital TC Unit (REHAB) is now fully supporting our Oxford Houses with clients from their six-month in-patient treatment program.  I am still working towards establishing a woman/woman with children Oxford House. This I believe will happen sooner than later. There may be a need for a woman from OHI to come to assist in this project soon.

 There currently exist, 13 AA/NA 12-step meetings in the Accra Metropolitan area. Three new venues for AA/NA meetings in the Tema/Ashiaman area have been identified to start having meetings.  The Brain Clinic and Tema Sleep Centre, which will open its first meeting Saturday September 29, 2012, Tema General Hospital and Blessed Clementina Catholic Church in Ashiaman, are expected to open soon.

 Public Information talks via the press, radio and television have been established more this year than any of the previous years combined.  These platforms, I believe, are needed to help reduce the stigma of the disease of addiction. The PI talks can expedite the process of embracing the viable solutions available to help eradicate the problem of alcoholism and drug addiction in Ghanaian society today.

 The collaborative efforts from Dr. Al Mooney of Willingway Foundation and Mr. Larry Gaines of Kelly Foundation spent a combined five weeks in Ghana helping us.  In May/June of this year 12 students and staff visited Ghana from Georgia Southern University and Texas Tech University to inspire and encourage Ghanaians to embrace the concepts and methods used in understanding and treating the disease of addiction.

 In closing, there are many challenges ahead for Ghanaians with regards to embracing and developing methods of treating the disease of alcoholism and drug addiction from using proven recovery models and concepts used around the world today. Daniel O’Laughlin and Hopeful Way Foundation/Recovery Africa have begun the task of establishing a solid foundation for a long term partnership between the U.S and Ghana in meeting these challenges head on.  I’m truly blessed to have the opportunity to be of maximum service to God and to my fellow mankind in this endeavor. Thank you, May God Bless You All, and please have an enjoyable and successful fundraiser.

Byron A. Merriweather

Oxford House World Convention

Ghana's Oxford Houses in Oyarifa and Kukurantumi (at present, the Came to Believe Oxford House in Kukurantumi has no residents) were mentioned in The City of Oklahoma City Proclamation honoring the 14th Annual World Convention of Oxford Houses, saying "WHEREAS, there are now over 1,500 Oxford Houses across the United States, including 60 in Oklahoma, 32 in Canada, 6 in Australia, and 2 in Ghana and 1 in the United Kingdom" . . . "Oxford Houses have demonstrated for 37 years that alcoholics and drug addicts can successfully remain sober without relapse". Over 700 mainly Oxford House members participated in the Conference held from September 13 - 16, 2012. A fifteen minute presentation on Oxford Houses and the House of St. Francis in Ghana was made by Dan O'Laughlin in a breakout session on "International Expansion". Hundreds of friends of Byron Merriweather asked about his work in Ghana in opening Houses and carrying the 12-step message. Next year's meeting will be held in Washington, DC, and it is hoped that an Oxford House for women may be opened by that time in Ghana. 

HSF by September 1, 2012

The House of St. Francis (HSF) opened on August 1 with one person in recovery and by September 1 had five residents.  Several more people may be joining the Ashaiman House in September.  There’s only one problem.  It seems that Byron is being overworked because he is the only staff person at the House.  He is looking for someone with the proper background and motivation to join him.  Several people have been approached.  Byron reports that he is receiving excellent support from the professionals, particularly from the Narcotics Control Board, Addictive Diseases Unit and Pantang Hospital.  Efforts are being made to start AA and NA meetings in Ashaiman and Tema.  Groundwork is also being done for the establishment of additional Oxford Houses.  Women who visit the HSF want specifically to do something for women in recovery and for their families through Al-Anon.  Byron is also in touch with Larry Gaines who is likely to go to Ghana in January, 2013 to do staff training in Recovery Dynamics.  This is the 29 lesson curriculum which is being used by over 200 rehab facilities in the U.S. and other countries; and now by HSF. The Catholic Archdiocese of Accra is also spreading the word about HSF to Catholic Churches in Accra.  We express our specific thanks to Oxford House, Inc. who has made it possible for Byron to be in Accra. 

Dan

Meet Ghanaians Living in Virginia

On Sunday, August 26, 2012, Dan & Agnes O’Laughlin attended a mass for Ghanaians living in the Northern Virginia area, near Washington, DC.  The service was in Twi and was a two-hour service conducted much the same as in Ghana. Ghanaian Catholic priest, Fr. Anthony Appiah, said the mass and spoke to the parishioners about the House of St. Francis and the Hopeful Way Foundation’s work with the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra. The Ghanaian group was invited to send ten representatives to the gathering to be held at the Embassy of Ghana on Sept. 27. Dr. Asare’s letter announcing the opening of the House of St. Francis was distributed.  On September 2 a similar mass will be held for the Ghanaian community living in Silver Spring, Maryland.  Ghanaians living in the U.S. are given information on addiction and recovery that could be usefully shared with friends and relatives living back home in Ghana.