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Local peer recovery zone offers help and hope

Local peer recovery zone offers help and hope
Shana Lair, a mental health peer support specialist and regional director of Plugged-In Iowa, offers help at her office in Charles City to those struggling with mental health issues. Press photo by Kelly Terpstra
By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

You’re not alone.

That’s a message that Shana Lair can’t emphasize enough.

Lair works as a mental health peer support specialist in Charles City for the local peer recovery zone of Plugged-In Iowa.

Lair knows what it’s like to deal with an issue that can hold you back. She has been personally affected by mental health and has been down a road of recovery herself.

“A lot of times people are so overwhelmed with their depression that they can’t even make phone calls. That’s where I’ve been,” said Lair, the regional director for Plugged-In Iowa.

One in five people will experience suicidal thoughts in their lifetime, according to the National Alliance of Mental Illness. September is National Recovery Month and National Suicide Prevention Month. This national observance promotes the societal benefits of prevention, treatment and recovery for substance use and mental disorders.

Sometimes a phone call, a shoulder to cry on or an attentive ear that will listen and not pass judgement can save the life of someone who is dealing with depression, other mental health problems or substance abuse disorders.

“A personal kind of slogan in my own situation is that things like that will fester and grow in the dark. Once we get them into the light and deal with them, sometimes we’re able to see it more clearly,” said Lair. “So let’s figure out a goal and a way to get past that and not be so hard on yourself.”

The Charles City peer recovery location, which opened last September, is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. this month.

Plugged-In Iowa is based in Cedar Rapids and Lair said there are now 13 sites across Iowa that offer education and support in recovery. She said new offices in Waukon and Cresco should open in the next month or two.

The goal of the non-profit organization is to help educate, offer outreach and support. That may be offering up free time to talk and ask questions about something that is bothering someone, or as being able to share what went on in somebody’s day.

“We don’t counsel,” Lair said. “We would make sure they got the proper help and (are) directed to the proper situation. Once that’s addressed, sometimes that gives them the strength or the self esteem in order to be able to want to be healthier.

“Sometimes small things are really big to them and just having someone listen is huge,” said Lair. “Sometimes big things are things that they feel like they can’t talk to anyone else about. We offer that safe environment. You never know where someone is at and that small thing can tip them over the edge.”

Lair remembers a Facebook message from someone who wanted to kill herself. That person had a hard time lining up appointments over the phone to receive help. Lair said they made a list, what needed to be addressed and what should happen to help get her better.

“We ironed it out together,” said Lair. “That really lightened her load and let there be a little bit of light there.”

Lair said peer recovery specialists have to have been in mental health recovery for at least a year before they can be hired for the job.

“That’s a prerequisite. You can’t help someone if you’ve never been there,” Lair added.

Lair said people can turn to substances to deal with a mental health issue and self-medicate.

“The extreme lows and the extreme highs are just exhausting. I think that a lot of the time people will use in order to try and level that out,” said Lair. “There is a root of why people are using.”

Lair said there is a telephone number anyone can call who is struggling with an issue they feel they have no power to control. The Iowa Warm Line (1-844-775-WARM) is a peer-run, non-crisis and confidential listening line for anyone struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues. The line is staffed by people who have been through a similar journey and are in recovery themselves.

Lair said no one should feel afraid or scared to reach out for help if their lives feel unmanageable.

“Sometimes you don’t want other people to see the ugliness. We’re very much a no-judgement zone,” said Lair.

Lair can be reached in Charles City at 641-715-4888. The number to call Plugged-In Iowa is 319-432-4748.

Peer Recovery is located at the Jordan River Church food bank at 102 N. Main St. in Charles City.

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