SEARCY — In 2004, Holly Reavis stood before a judge. Forced to make a decision that would affect the life of her 3-year-old daughter, Reavis made a difficult choice to go into the Wilbur D. Mills Center to get a handle on her drug addiction.
Reavis grew up with drug and alcohol use surrounding her, like a misguided security blanket, and it was all she knew.
“I got into some trouble and was facing some charges,” she said. “I came here for a little while as an outpatient, but I couldn’t stay clean.”
But her choices were limited, so she went into the center for residential treatment for 50 days. After the successful treatment, she was able to take her daughter to the Kay Goss Family Unit at the center. Reavis attended classes at Arkansas State University-Searcy and earned a medical-records certificate.
Five years ago, Reavis went to work for the treatment facility.
“This has been more of a family to me than I ever knew,” she said. “I feel like I’m home. If I hadn’t been put here, I wouldn’t be clean today. My daughter is 11 now, and we do normal things that a family would do. And because of that, my mother and sister have gotten clean. … I don’t want to leave. I want to give back. I know how hard it was to pull myself through here, so I want to help others.”
Reflecting on the years that have passed — Reavis paused to wipe tears and gain her composure before continuing — she said she can’t believe where she is now.
“The hardest part was facing the unknown — to leave everything I knew behind and change my family, my places, my friends and everything about my life,” she said, wiping tears that were streaming down her cheeks. “It got easier and easier with each step in the right direction.”
Reavis also heads up the annual National Recovery Month celebration at the center. September is National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month. It began in 1989 as TreatmentWorks! Month, and in 1998, it had evolved into National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month. This month is set aside to promote prevention, treatment and the idea that recovery is possible and accessible.
The Wilbur D. Mills Center took in almost 2,200 clients in 2011.
For 33 years, Darlene Boyd, who is now director of administrative services, has worked at the center, and she has seen loved ones struggle with addictions. She started working for the center when it was still in Kensett, where it opened as a seven-bed unit in 1978 as the Dry Dock. It moved to Searcy in 1980 and was renamed to honor former U.S. Rep. Wilbur D. Mills, who is from Kensett. The new 46-bed facility was built in 1993. It offers detox, as well as residential and outpatient programs. There is also transitional housing, including women’s apartmentlike units where mothers can bring their children and stay up to 18 months.
“In the beginning, it was alcohol,” Boyd said about the treatment the facility offered when it first opened. “Now there’s a lot of prescription drugs, such as opiates and hydrocodone. … We get about 20 calls a day for screenings.”
After someone calls for help or is referred to the center, he or she goes through a screening process to determine what drugs are being taken and how often so that treatment can be determined, Boyd said.
“They’re not always honest at first. It’s about 50/50,” Boyd said, “but they usually get more honest when they come in for treatment.”
Boyd said the center treats people from 18 to 80, but she said the new clients seem to be coming in at a younger age than before.
“I think the middle-age group is what we see more,” Reavis said.
For more information on the Wilbur D. Mills Center, visit healthresourcesofarkansas.com/wilbur-d-mills.php or call (501) 268-7777.
The emergency number for the center is (800) 592-9503.
Staff writer Jeanni Brosius can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or jbrosius@arkansasonline.com.