Prototypes in Pomona offers women addressing addiction a path to sobriety

Sept. 25--POMONA -- Nora VanAllen fell in love with a man who used drugs.

He would invite VanAllen to use them with him but she declined the offers until one day she accepted and soon found herself addicted to heroin.

"It ended up being a really bad habit, really fast. I lost everything, including my daughter," VanAllen said.

Late last year VanAllen was arrested for being in possession of drugs. Her lawyer talked to VanAllen about Prototypes, a non-profit organization that offers treatment programs for women, along with their children, as they deal with addiction, abuse and behavioral issues.

After spending 22 days at the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, VanAllen came to Prototypes' facility in Pomona.

Prototypes offers programs tailored to each woman's individual needs, said Kim Rioux, director of women's programs.

Programs are also available for women with addictions who are low-level offenders.

Programs offer more than treatment for addiction, said Rioux, a psychologist and family therapist. Attention is given to making sure there is a plan for a woman to follow after treatment. Mental health services designed to deal with traumas they may have that led to addiction, vocational preparation, parenting training and other services are available, she said.

Plus a wide variety of services are offered to the children of clients.

The combination of services offers a way of addressing problems long term.

"It stops the trangenerational pattern of disfunction," Rioux said.

Women address their problems but also learn to be better parents so they can raise healthy children.

Prototypes works with women who due to their addiction and other problems lost custody of their children. Counselors and others work with the women so they can eventually be reunited with their children.

Prior to using drugs with her daughter's father, VanAllen had never consumed drugs or alcohol, she said. But once she tried the drugs she had to have more and she eventually ended up pregnant and homeless.

After being arrested for possession of drugs, VanAllen went before a judge and she still remembers what he said.

"He said, 'I think you've been making some bad decisions and I think it's time to let Prototypes make some decisions for you.'"

Prototypes hasn't made decisions for VanAllen but they have helped her and others think carefully about the choices in front of them, said VanAllen.

They've helped her think differently.

"You have to re-learn how to not think like an addict or act like an addict," she said.

At Prototypes VanAllen has found hope, she said, adding there was a time she thought she wouldn't be able to emerge from four year of drug consumption.

VanAllen will be completing the residential treatment portion of the program in Pomona shortly and is preparing to go on to the next phase, which will take her to a sober living facility where she will live for a period of time before heading back home to Los Angeles.

In about five weeks authorities will allow VanAllen to have her 10-month-old daughter back, she said.

VanAllen said there will be challenges ahead but she knows has a support system that includes her counselor and her sponsor, a woman who has been through similar experiences and is available to provide support and encouragement at any time.

With the help of Prototypes VanAllen has also taken steps to pursue her career interests. VanAllen is enrolled in the psychiatric technician program at Mt. San Antonio College.

VanAllen said she's ready to return to Los Angeles to build a family with her child and her fiance, a man who is not her daughter's father but who leads a healthy lifestyle and has been supportive of her and her recovery efforts.

"I'm ready to be a mom now," she said. "I'm a grown up now. I have my daughter and I have myself to think about."

In five years Van Allen sees herself working with patients in a clinic or a hospital setting, taking her daughter to school, being sober and being a sponsor to other women at Prototypes.

"Prototypes probably saved my life," VanAllen said. "I don't know where I'd be if I didn't have this option."

During a ceremony at Prototypes' this week celebrating National Recovery Month, state Sen. Carol Liu, D-Glendale, said she and Sen. Norma Torres, D-Chino, had been in Portugal where they saw how that country deals with addiction. Rather than incarcerating people with addictions law enforcement and other governmental agencies attempt to connect people with health and recovery services.

More has to be done in the U.S. and California to address addictions as health problems instead of as criminal problems, she said.

"We need more strong voices to talk about this issue," Liu said.

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