Substance Use

How to Provide Support and Address Concerns
Written by: Jessica Liria M.S., Community Outreach Specialist Recognizing the signs that someone is experiencing challenges with a mental health concern is part of what can be, a complicated... Read MoreRead More About This News
DLC Narcan Kits
By: Ashley Valvano Per CDC reports, more than 107,000 Americans died from overdoses in the last year. Narcan (Naloxone) is a potentially life-saving medication designed to help reverse the effects... Read MoreRead More About This News
Local Drug Court Team: One of the Nation’s Best
Local Drug Court Team earns national recognition, thanks in no small part to DLC’s commitment to the program. Collier County Judge Janeice Martin says she’s a “fan of second... Read MoreRead More About This News
Getting to Know DLC’s Prevention Specialist Kelly Ballesteros Buitrago
Name & Title: Kelly Ballesteros Buitrago, Prevention Specialist In her position, Kelly Ballesteros Buitrago implements evidence based prevention programs throughout the community, and in both... Read MoreRead More About This News
Getting to Know DLC’s Prevention Specialist Vanessa Rivero Gil
Name & Title: Vanessa Rivero Gil, Prevention Specialist In her position, Vanessa Rivero Gil implements evidence-based prevention programs throughout the community, and in both school and... Read MoreRead More About This News
New Hospital Bridge Program Provides Peer Counseling for Addiction
Oftentimes, people struggling with addiction go back to old habits immediately after being helped by rescue personnel or in emergency rooms, ignoring the pleas of doctors and nurses to get additional... Read MoreRead More About This News
Collier County Commissioners Pass First-Ever Mental Health and Addiction Services Strategic Plan
And the Aye’s have it! With a unanimous 5-0 vote from Collier County Commissioners, 2020 marks the first year of the County’s first-ever strategic plan for how to better care for residents... Read MoreRead More About This News
Hope for the Holidays
Coping with depression around the holidays As the refrain “It’s the most wonderful time of the year” plays in every store and radio station across the country, the holidays are anything but... Read MoreRead More About This News
A House Filled with Hope
Can a house save a life? You bet it can. David Lawrence Center's Crossroads 28-day recovery program does amazing work with people who struggle with addictions. And there are hundreds of success... Read MoreRead More About This News
A Passion for Healing
Maggie Baldwin has long had a passion for helping people who struggle with mental health and substance use disorders. It’s why she majored in psychology as an undergrad. It’s why she got a... Read MoreRead More About This News
Reaching the Broken
Storytellers Creative Arts is bringing hope and healing to DLC clients through a program that breaks through tough exteriors and goes right to the heart. As a child, Bill Barnett worked through... Read MoreRead More About This News
Employee Spotlight: Get to Know Prevention Specialist Jane Teszler
Name & Title: Jane Teszler, Prevention Specialist, October 2016-Present In her role, Teszler implements evidence-based prevention programs throughout the community, and in both school and... Read MoreRead More About This News
Employee Spotlight: Peer Recovery Coach Deb Lewis
“My Job Is a Dream Come True” As a Peer Recovery Coach, Deb Lewis loves nothing more than helping her clients stay on the road to sobriety. After all, she’s been in their shoes. Deb Lewis... Read MoreRead More About This News
Teen Vaping on the Rise
The nationwide epidemic has hit home in Collier County schools. Just a few years ago, most middle- and high-school students had never even heard of “vaping”– the smoking of e-cigarettes.... Read MoreRead More About This News
No Easy Road to Recovery
Do you remember where you were on April 20, 1999? Austin Eubanks will never forget. He was curled up under a table at Columbine High School, fearing for his life. Two students went on a shooting... Read MoreRead More About This News
Prevention Corner: Getting to Know Prevention Specialist Nicole Combs
Name & Title: Nicole Combs, Prevention Specialist, May 2015-Present Nicole implements evidence-based prevention programs throughout the community, and in both school and after-school... Read MoreRead More About This News
Prevention Corner: Getting to Know DLC’s Prevention Specialist Coral Vargas
Name & Title: Coral Vargas, Prevention Specialist, July 2017-Present In her position, Vargas implements evidence-based prevention programs throughout the community, in both in-school and... Read MoreRead More About This News
Helping Inmates Conquer Addictions
The Project Recovery program in the Collier County Jail system has been around for decades, helping inmates overcome their addictions. And with the opioid crisis that has swept the nation, the need... Read MoreRead More About This News
She Always Had Time to Talk
After almost three decades of service at DLC, Nancy Scheffer, who helped thousands of people, is lauded with a Lifetime Recognition Award. Nancy Scheffer will never forget that time, years ago, when... Read MoreRead More About This News
April’s Alcohol Awareness Month Provides Educational Opportunities to Help Parents Talk to Adolescents about the Impact of Alcohol Use and Offers Hope to Those Struggling
Each April, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence sponsors Alcohol Awareness Month to increase public awareness and understanding, reduce stigma and encourage local communities to... Read MoreRead More About This News
New Program Helps Prevent Opioid Overdoses and Accidental Deaths
In order to combat opioid overdoses and accidental deaths which have quadrupled since 2000, David Lawrence Centers now provides free access to NARCAN® Nasal Spray, the FDA-approved intranasal... Read MoreRead More About This News
Teen Drug and Alcohol Abuse
Published in the July 2016 "Teen Issue" of eBella Magazine. By: Nancy Dauphinais, David Lawrence Centers Chief Operating Officer As parents, grandparents, teachers or mentors who have a... Read MoreRead More About This News
Battling Peer Pressure
Published in the July 2016 "Teen Issue" of eBella Magazine. By Nancy Dauphinais, David Lawrence Centers Chief Operating Officer A national research study demonstrated that that kids who played a... Read MoreRead More About This News
Drug Prevention Programs | How is Education Relevant?
In a day and age where things are evolving very quickly, it is important to continue to monitor trends in both youths and adults over long periods of time so that treatment centers are able to... Read MoreRead More About This News
Tips for Preventing Teen Drug Use & Abuse
The David Lawrence Centers and Crossroads Rehab Center are committed to restoring and rebuilding the lives of those affected by substance use in Collier County. One of the ways we can help to... Read MoreRead More About This News
The Key to Drug Use Prevention: Youth Education
Kicking the habit of drugs is not an easy thing to do. Just ask any person that’s conquered a drug addiction and they will tell you how difficult it is to face. There are many drug abuse treatment... Read MoreRead More About This News
The Cycle of Addiction
Addiction is a brain disease that involves: obsessive thinking, compulsive need and craving for alcohol, drugs, gambling, sex, food, etc.; loss of control over the use of the object of the addiction;... Read MoreRead More About This News
Preventing Prescription Drug Overdose
Last year, 99 people died of accidental pill overdoses in the four-county region that includes Collier, Lee, Hendry and Glades, an increase of about 15 percent from 2010. In an effort to help prevent... Read MoreRead More About This News
Bala Vinyasa Yoga Class Donation Helps Crossroads Clients Find Freedom and Recovery through Yoga
Bala Vinyasa Yoga has generously donated weekly yoga classes at their studio for clients enrolled in the Crossroads program, DLC's 16-bed adult residential substance use treatment program. The... Read MoreRead More About This News
Planning Teens Summer Activities Can Prevent Mental Health and Substance Abuse Problems
Submitted by Christine Holmes, LMHC Director of Substance Abuse and Specialty Services David Lawrence Center Parents should take an active, inquisitive and direct approach to adolescent summer... Read MoreRead More About This News
Bruce Cook Helps Get People the Help They Need
Bruce Cook is an Adult Substance Abuse Outreach Specialist. Through his work, Cook actively encourages, educates and engages prospective clients who show a potential need for substance use services.... Read MoreRead More About This News
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