Vanessa Keeton spent 13 years of her life battling the disease of addiction. She, like many others, discovered treatment was hard to come by in 2010, therefore she continued to live the life that God had never intended for her.
After becoming the first client Addiction Recovery Care (ARC) would serve in 2010, Vanessa Keeton sat down to discuss the difference in access to treatment when she was in addiction versus today where ARC now serves hundreds across the state of Kentucky.
Q: What did treatment look like when you were in addiction?
A: Treatment, in my eyes, wasn’t even an option when I was in addiction. It wasn’t very heard of around here (Martin County, Kentucky). I didn’t have any friends who had actually gone to treatment and been successful. There were almost zero resources when I was in addiction. You had to be able to pay for it and I didn’t have any insurance at the time so really it was not accessible at all for me.
Q: What does access to treatment look like today?
A: Kentucky is now full of treatment options. We have treatment facilities all across the state. Most of them will take Medicaid, which is great, because I know if you are anything like I was in addiction, the cost of treatment can feel overwhelming and not worth it. Medicaid is accepted at many of ARC’s treatment facilities along with private insurance. With all of that, today recovery is known.
Q. What did the public look at treatment as when you were in addiction?
A: Recovery was known of to be kind of weird back then. Nobody knew anything about it. You always heard of people going to Florida or California for treatment but that was for upper class people.
Q: How do you think the stigma towards addiction and recovery has changed today?
A: Recovery is cool today. It definitely has changed a lot. It went from being something that was unheard of and didn’t happen for people to something you watch people get their lives back everyday. So recovery is now literally a way of life and it is becoming more and more known and people understand addiction and recovery more.
Q: What would you say to someone considering treatment?
A: If you, for any reason, are considering going to treatment, just go. If you wait around and think of all the different things in your life that you need to get in order or all the things you need to do, but the truth of the matter is that you may not have one more day.
Q: Who can I contact if I want to learn more about options that are available?
A: The ARC intake team sits by phones 24/7 waiting to answer your questions. By calling (888) 818-1434 you can speak to someone who can find a bed for you and help you begin this journey. They can also discuss insurance information with you.
