“I remember my counselor at Integrity House telling me when I arrived that she was going to love me enough until I learned to love myself again,” said Vanessa Vitolo, a recovering addict and advocate for addiction treatment. “It was lifechanging for me.”
Vitolo is one of the thousands who found recovery at Integrity House. That was before she appeared in ads with former Gov. Christie about the dangers of opioid misuse and an addiction that would last 7 years.
“When I arrived at Integrity House, I was broken. I came directly from jail. The sheriffs actually dropped me off in shackles,” said Vitolo.
She said she didn’t have any expectations when she arrive.
“I didn’t believe that I would ever be able to live a life without drugs or alcohol. I never fathomed that I would be able to come back from all the harm I had ever done to every relationship including the relationship to myself,” said Vitolo.
On Thursday, Vitolo returned – to mark the 50th anniversary of Integrity House’s incorporation at 45 Lincoln Park in Newark.
“Who could have predicted that 50 years ago, a social club for individuals struggling with addiction would be transformed into a therapeutic community of oneness, honesty, unity and be life-changing,” said Christine Baker, Integrity House board of trustees member.
“It started out of need,” said David Kerr, Integrity House founder.
David Kerr was a parole officer in mid-60’s Newark when he founded Integrity House, working with his parolees who were yearning for something beyond a monthly visit.
“I brought eight of my parolees into 45 Lincoln Park and they were the ones that [were] my professors. They taught me about the other side of the addict,” said Kerr. “People who they call addicts are deep, sensitive, talented, beautiful people, and I’d say that again and again. I’ve known tens of thousands and I got mugged six times. So, it’s not like I’m living Pollyanna, but when you look into them and bring that power and positivity out, it’s amazing, the transformation they show in their confidence.”
Kerr said he handled the men with compassion and the threat of returning to prison.
“I didn’t call them names. I gave them a hug when they acted stupid, but, I told them, ‘Now you’re going to have to face your parole officer and we’re going to have a talk.’ So I kind of tried to balance their rebelliousness and malevolence, anxiousness with, ‘You’re okay, but, you’re not going to do that anymore,’” said Kerr.
Kerr would hire a professional staff and today Integrity House treats 3,000 men and women a year in 14 buildings in Newark and has facilities in six other cities in the state.
“The difference that we’re making is that individuals that are coming to Integrity House, they are leaving us drug-free with a job, with stable housing and connected in their community. The other difference that’s we’re making is that we’re seeing families get reunited and families rebuilt,” said Integrity House president and CEO Robert Budsock.
The founder of Integrity House tells NJTV News it’s time to take recovery ans treatment a step further.
“We have to look at addiction as a 5-year challenge, 5 years. The first couple years, maybe, are the residential treatment, the support network and that. But the three years following, you must have a coach,” said Kerr.
Kerr said the biggest change in the treatment industry since Integrity House’s founding is the National Institute on Drug Abuse declaring addiction a disease in 1987. A big change he’d like to see? Passage of a bill called “Earn Your Way Out.” It would cut prison time if inmates demonstrate and direct self-help.
“Not just being a good boy in prison. It’s connecting outside and developing your own cadre of support for your recovery,” said Kerr.
Advice from the man whose house is seen as a recovery cornerstone in New Jersey’s drug addiction crisis.
“Integrity House without a doubt saved my life,” Vitolo said.
