Elizabeth Wilson
Record Bee staff
MIDDLETOWN ? A Thanksgiving feast at Hilltop Recovery Services in the mountains above Middletown was cause for celebration and a chance to relax among friends old and new for the 40 residents.
The alcohol and substance abuse residential treatment facility used to be a children”s camp, and in recent months, the all-male residents have worked to spruce up the cabins that sit among tall ponderosa pine trees on 320 acres. Construction and a new paint job gave the buildings a matching, rustic cabin-brown facelift. “It took us about six months,” said Michael Maitland, 36, a resident at Hilltop for more than six months and former methamphetamine user. While in prison, Maitland was a Substance Abuse Services Coordination Agency (SASCA) inmate.
Hilltop directors Lori Carter-Runyon and Ryan Runyon said about 70 percent of their residents are from Lake County, and they are hoping to get the community and Hilltop involved together. One step toward that goal is recruiting volunteers to the center to help coach classes in English, grammar and other subjects.
Hilltop doesn”t turn anyone away, even if they can”t afford it. Some residents enter the program through the California Rehabilitation Program, which requires inmates participate in SASCA and then enroll in a rehab facility for 90 days upon their release.
That”s the case for Johnny Hutchins, 38, of Ukiah and former heroin user who has been sober for one year. He was transported from prison to Hilltop just the night before Thanksgiving. It was daunting to drive seemingly into the middle of nowhere and arrive at the cabins in the dead of night. But not everything was unfamiliar?Hutchins knew his Hilltop roommate from prison. “It”s funny. He was my neighbor in prison. I knew he was going to be here,” Hutchins said.
Hutchins said since he has been sober, he “wakes up each morning with a new perspective on life,” and is looking forward to the six months he will spend, by choice, at Hilltop. “I have to complete 90 days, but they (CRP) fund you for six months, so I”m gonna stay. It”s nice here, it”s a treat.”
Hutchins didn”t seem to have any feelings of being an outsider; the non-judgmental and friendly demeanor of the residents is very welcoming. Hutchins smiles and shakes hands in an unusual style, gripping your arm and wrist in a firm shake. “I”m Native American, and that”s a Native American handshake,” Hutchins said.
Harkening back to the days when the facility used to be a children”s camp, the center had some day-visitors for turkey day. Residents from Clearlake”s New Beginnings, a rehabilitation center for women, came to visit.
The program offers counseling, medical help, pre-natal care and other programs for women and teenagers. About eight women and “four and-a-half” children came along for the day, said Aprille Lendewig, referring to her unborn baby as the “half.”
“We wanted both groups to come together,” said Lendewig, adding that the goals of the two separate programs are similar.
“New Beginnings is a great place. This is my third time there. They help you get housing, and they want us to go to school. I”ll be enrolling this time…I just had a baby shower, and none of my family showed up, but everyone from the [New Beginnings] house was there. People really care and no-one ever judges you,” Lendewig said.
One New Beginnings member, Jammie Edwards, 19, spoke highly of rehabilitation and said it”s worked for her. “It”s a good place if you”re ready to recover. You”re surrounded by a lot of people who really care. It has helped me. I don”t even have the feeling to use anymore,” Edwards said, smiling. She bounded off to socialize and start up a game of volleyball on the emerald-green baseball diamond and sports field.
“We”re one big family here,” said resident Luke Johnson, who has been sober two and a-half years and goes home in March.
“This is an awesome place,” said Ray Bell of Lake County, a former Hilltop resident who came back to visit. To continue being sober, Bell is now in the Alcohol and Other Drug Services (AODS) program since he left Hilltop.
Jack Oliver, a resident, is assistant chef at Hilltop. He helped fight the Tahoe fire last summer as part of the CDF inmate fire crews. He has been sober for 50 days. “It”s a comfortable environment here. People can be themselves, and give themselves a chance.”
Contact Elizabeth Wilson at ewilson@record-bee.com.
