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Unsung Hero: Sheila Brown helps women overcome addiction

Canton Repository - 12/29/2020

Sheila Brown was born to be a social worker, but she didn't always know it.

She's the executive director of CommQuest Deliverance House, a residential treatment facility in Canton for women who struggle with substance abuse disorders and (mild to moderate) mental illness.

"I came here in 2012 as a counselor for alcohol and drugs," she said. "The following year, I became the interim director. ... What we do here is inpatient treatment. Our attempt is to educate the ladies about the disease of addiction. We know it's just symptomatic of what's going on."

Brown became executive director in 2014. Prior to CommQuest, she worked at Care House, a transition-house program in Akron.

Brown has been named one of the Repository's Unsung Heroes this year for her dedication to the women who go through the program. She was nominated by Julie Riggs, a former client who wrote:

"She unselfishly dedicates her love, time and effort into helping women heal from trauma and addiction. She gives women hope and teaches them how to love themselves and live healthy lives! She has changed my life while saving my life along with thousands of other women like myself who were beaten down in active addiction."

Brown said recovered clients often keep in touch.

"Julie came to us, and boy oh boy, she had such a problem with me," Brown said, laughing. "Julie had a problem with authority; she was pretty stubborn. She just couldn't believe I was the real deal. The rules here are really strict. People in active addiction have no structure, they're out of control. The first thing they say is, 'Well, I'm grown." I tell them 'How's that working for you?' I'm going to call a duck a duck. I love you enough to tell you the truth."

Lifetime of helping

At one time in her life, Brown thought she wanted to be a criminologist, but a visit to the former Detention Center Family Court changed everything.

"I fell in love working with troubled youth," she said. "I started working there part time. I loved it."

Brown later got a job with the Peer-to-Peer program, where she worked as a youth leader, then as a supervisor managing female youth housing.

"That's where I discovered criminology's not my thing," she said. "I'm going to call it divine providence."

But when Brown began to suffer burnout, she took up a friend's suggestion that she apply at the Stark County MRDD, now known as Stark County Developmental Disabilities.

"I had never heard of it," she said. "I literally fell in love with that population. They taught me a lot about being in the moment and being present in the situation. They touched my heart by being open and honest. I know it sounds cheesy, but it's true. I worked there for 19½ years."

In another "divine" moment, Brown reenrolled in college, earning a degree in social work from Malone University in 2000.

Deliverance House has a 26-bed capacity. Some clients are court-ordered, while others are referred from other agencies, including hospitals. A few are self-referrals.

The average length of stay is 30 to 60 days.

Brown said that although opioid abuse remains prevalent, many clients also struggle with methamphetamines.

Men vs. women

She said she believes men and women manage addiction differently.

"As women, we're relational beings," she said. "They come in beaten down; their relationships have been horrific. They're used to sleeping with one eye open, one eye closed. They come in so beaten down, they're kind of on their last leg. Once the ladies come here and they see they're in a safe environment and learn how to be vulnerable, that's when we can start."

Brown said that when clients come in, they're often distressed and distrusting. Group therapy is a tool used to help them find direction.

"We help women gain the clarity they need to make better choices," she said. "They come in totally broken. We hopefully help them gain a sense of a positive self-image. Many have lost their children, homes and families. They've burnt so many bridges. Many have experienced trauma. The hook for us is to make sure they know they matter. Of course, they don't believe that at first because of what they've had to endure. Once they believe it a little, I can see them blossom. "

Deliverance House allows clients to have visits with their children up to age 5.

"Many women want to come to treatment but they can't because of their children," Brown said. "For some of the mothers, that makes all the difference."

Brown contends that prison isn't a solution for addiction.

"Going to prison is not going to help them," she said. "They're off the street, but it doesn't help the disease of addiction."

Brown said Deliverance House has a success rate of about 70%, including outpatient and aftercare programs.

"Housing is a problem for us," she said. "The longer they stay in treatment, the more successful they'll be. If they can go from inpatient to outpatient, that's a success."

Most rewarding

The female clients call her "Miss Sheila." She said the most rewarding aspect of her job is seeing how they change.

"They're beautiful but they're so broken," she said. "When they come in, there's no life in their eyes. It's not being mushy, it's just the truth. They come in so hopeless. For me, the rewarding part is when a woman can smile and when they can learn there's such a thing as sober fun, that you can know a group of people who can support you without strings attached.

"I believe hope happens at Deliverance House. I've seen it."

Unsung Heroes

The Canton Repository is celebrating six "Unsung Heroes” this week as part of its Moving Our Community Forward and Clayton G. Horn Award of Excellence program. They are regular Stark County residents who give selflessly in the community and deserve recognition for their efforts.

The Repository sought nominations from our readers. A different individual is being highlighted each day this week.

These six aren't the only people doing good within Stark County. If you are aware of others who deserve to be celebrated, send an email to newsroom@cantonrep.com.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Unsung Hero: Sheila Brown helps women overcome addiction

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