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Mission
Liberation Programs builds
healthier
communities
through programs that prevent substance abuse, empower persons with
drug and alcohol dependency to achieve sustained recovery and support
the loved ones of those struggling with addiction
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Liberation
Programs
Saving
Lives from Drugs and Alcohol for over Thirty Years
Organizational
History
Liberation Programs
(formerly LMG Programs) was created in 1999 is
the merged
entity of three established alcohol and drug abuse agencies, Liberation
Programs, Meridian Council and Guenster Rehabilitation Services. Each had provided substance abuse prevention
and treatment programs in Fairfield County for almost three decades.
The strong
partnership between the community and Liberation Programs began
in 1971 when
a study
confirmed the existence and extent of local drug abuse and the proven
need for
community-based treatment. As a
response, Drug Liberation (the original name of Liberation House) was
founded. A federal grant from the National
Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and contributions from five local
corporations –
Olin, Pitney Bowes, GE Capital Services, Clairol and Asea Brown Boveri
–
provided “seed” money for the purchase of the Main Street facility
(Liberation
House) in Stamford. The leadership of
the governments of Stamford, Darien, Greenwich and New Canaan committed to financially
support
Drug Liberation in its efforts to address the problem of substance
abuse. Together these partners responded
to a
community crisis and provided the leadership and financial support to
create
what soon became known as Liberation Programs.
As
substance abuse spread, Liberation expanded its services.
Clinics, known as Youth Options Programs,
opened to provide specialized service to adolescents and their parents
and
bring prevention programs into the schools and other community agencies. Women with children found a home and
treatment at our Families in Recovery Program (FIRP), allowing them to
seek
recovery without leaving their children in the care of another. Liberation became home to the only methadone
maintenance program serving the towns that were the agency’s original
sponsors. The financial support of
Liberation’s community ensured the continued existence of these
programs.
Meridian
Council, Inc. began as The Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council, Inc. in 1967
in Cos
Cob, as a National Council on Alcoholism affiliate.
It provided prevention and education services
in lower Fairfield County; outpatient counseling
services (Meridian Center) and a halfway house
(Meridian
House) in Stamford; and a detox/triage
center (opened in 1993) in Norwalk.
By the
mid-1990’s both agencies recognized that the clients were changing. Individuals were using multiple substances
and the treatment principles for alcoholism and addictions were
becoming more
similar. Consequently, the Boards of
Directors of Liberation Programs and Meridian Council agreed to merge
in order
to improve the continuum of care for clients and reduce duplication of
services. Liberation and Meridian: Partners in Prevention
and
Recovery was officially created in January 1997.
During this
same 25-year period, Guenster Rehabilitation Services was operating a
facility
in Bridgeport. Its
inpatient alcohol treatment services served residents
from all parts
of the county. Thousands of residents of
the greater Bridgeport area found recovery
through its
outpatient programs. Alumni of
Guenster’s programs still meet to support the message of recovery from
alcohol
and drug dependency.
In April
1999, in an effort to provide a regional response to substance abuse in
Fairfield County, the Boards of
Liberation and Meridian: Partners in Prevention
and
Recovery and Guenster Rehabilitation Services voted to merge. Taking the first initial of each of its parent
agencies for its name and reaffirming its goal of “saving lives from
drugs and
alcohol”, LMG Programs was born. In
2005, LMG became Liberation Programs.
Today,
Liberation Programs is the largest addiction treatment and
prevention organization
in Fairfield County.
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