GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — Hope, healing, and recovery - that’s what the Jackie Nitschke Center provides for those struggling with addiction. The Jackie Nitschke Center is the only adult residential treatment center for substance addiction in Brown county and its roots date all the way back to the 1970s.
“The Jackie Nitschke center actually goes all the way back to 1973 where a group of volunteers in the community came together and decided there just needed to be a place for those looking for sober living,” said Michelle Pierquet-Hohner, the director of community and donor engagement.
In 1997, the center was renamed in honor of Jackie Nitscke, the late wife of former Packer Ray Nitscke. She had struggled with alcoholism and was an outspoken advocate for breaking down the stigma surrounding addiction.
“She really wanted people to know in the community that addiction has no boundaries around who it effects," Pierquet-Hohner said. "It doesn’t matter what your income level is, what your job is like, where your family’s from, it can affect anybody.”
Today, the center carries on her legacy by educating the community about addiction. The center approaches addiction as an all-encompassing disease and is one of just a few treatment centers in the state that are certified to treat co-occurring mental health disorders that often go hand-in-hand with addiction, such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD.
"They'll learn new habits, they'll learn self care, they'll start learning about addiction and where the root cause of that comes from," Pierquet-Hohner said. "They'll maybe understand themselves a little bit more, how to find some healthy coping strategies that maybe they didn't have before."
The center supports clients through every step of their treatment in order to help them achieve long term recovery. They offer a variety of services that are tailored to fit clients' individual needs such as a 28-day residential treatment program, intensive outpatient treatment, and recovery housing for those establishing a sober lifestyle after treatment.
In addition, the center also provides a family education program for those who have a loved one struggling with addiction.
"It gives families the opportunity to come in, to understand addiction, to understand enabling or how they can support in a healthy way with their loved ones," Pierquet-Hohner said.
Samantha Belanger, the center's admissions coordinator, says she's noticed a growing need for their services since the start of the pandemic. According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, in 2020 there were 126 alcohol-attributable deaths in Brown County, an 18% increase from the previous year. The county reported 48 overdose deaths in 2020, a 60% increase from the previous year.
“Last year alone we saw a 35% increase in residential clients, a 45% increase in our outpatient programming," Belanger said. "We know that there are so many more people who are struggling with alcohol and drug addictions who probably don’t even know where to start.”
Donations to the Jackie Nitschke Center will go toward expanding services, such as building a new women's recovery home, as well as the center’s scholarship program which helps clients be able to afford the life-saving treatment they need.
“The Jackie Nitschke Center turns no one away due to inability to pay, " Pierquet-Hohner said. "We really look at what their resources are and if they are under-insured or uninsured then they can apply for a scholarship and we help to provide that.”
You can learn more about the Jackie Nitschke Center on their websit jackienitschkecenter.org and donate to their Give BIG Green Bay page from noon February 23rd to noon February 24th.
