Vets seek, receive help from Ford Street Project

The Ford Street Project Alcohol and Drug Treatment for Veterans got underway in August with a $130,000 federally-funded contract to support veterans to get clean and sober and usher them into productive, meaningful lives.

Mark Messerer, Ford Street Program Director, oversees the operation. He is a veteran himself of this kind of work having been a senior Mendocino County Drug and Alcohol Program therapist for seven years, a Lake County Alcohol and Drug Services treatment coordinator for five years and more than five years in his present position.

Touring the Ford Street facility Messerer says, "We are a 32-bed licensed and certified residential treatment and detoxification facility."

He points out the sweat lodge structure where sweats are led three times a month by local tribal elders and the four townhouse units for participants of family dependency drug court.

They house men, women and couples involved with Child Protective Services cases in the process of reunifying with their children working in partnership with Alcohol and Other Drug Programs and the courts.

One participant in the new program, a 52-year-old veteran, has been there for more than 90 days. He was previously living in Eureka, homeless and on probation.

"About a year ago, I was in transitional housing in Eureka through the Veteran's Administration and I lost my wife; I was drinking, I couldn't stop got kicked out and became homeless. I started living at the mission and my probation

"Thanks to the counselors here, I have been clean and sober for more than three months. They really care and have a lot of heart. I can't say enough good things about them. They give you a lot of one-on-one attention. I am going through domestic violence and anger management classes and will stay two more months. I want to get off probation next year and look for housing and a job at Walmart doing janitorial work."

After working for a year on assessing the needs and coordinating with the VA, a contract was signed last August to provide residential treatment for homeless vets or those at risk of being homeless.

The emphasis from the federal government is providing more behavioral health care; a great many vets are in need of mental health care and drug and alcohol treatment.

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Vets seek, receive help from Ford Street Project