Beverly Morson creates serene space for recovering addicts

IF there is one thing Beverly Morson understands about drug rehabilitation, it’s the importance of the continuum of support.

Morson is 33 years in recovery and one of the founders and programme director of Serenity Place Empowerment Centre for Women. She had has been part of the management team at the Guapo centre for over 28 years and sees it as her way of giving back.

“I went to New Life Ministries (rehab centre) to get my help when I decided to get clean,” she told WMN.

“At the time the centre for females was located in Mt St Benedict. While I was out there a lot of people reached out to help me, so I decided that I wanted to give back and this was the best way – helping women like myself who went through the same thing.”

She said the reintegration into societal living is not a short-term thing, as detoxing for some addicts can be a life-long process.

"In the continuum of support we’re supposed to have halfway house setting with programmes, not just a place to stay. There must be discipline.

"Our programme is based on readiness and not time. And that readiness is based on their participation in the programme, their full involvement, how well they present themselves, their punctuality, how they deal with confrontation, follow simple instructions, participate in everything that is happening.

"That differs from person to person because they all come from different walks of life. Each person moves at a different pace. That’s why we don’t put a time."

She said, for example, while three women may have been using drugs for 20 years, their ability to bounce back will differ.

"You will find that a woman who might have been living on the street for probably half her life may not be accustomed to flushing a toilet or making up a bed, so when she comes in here that may take her a longer than others to get her into that habit."

In 2010 Morson did an internship in therapeutic communities at a facility in Rhinebeck New York. She said she used the programme there as a template for the one used at Serenity Place, tweaking it to fit the local environment.

The programme starts at 6 am every day with "feet on the floor," followed by prayer circle, exercise/morning walk and departmental chores to which everyone is assigned.

"Breakfast is at 8 am, and this is followed by morning meeting which sets the pace for the day. The six women in residence get the opportunity to confront each other and pull up each other," in a respectful way.

"Then there are affirmations, during which they can sing, dance, recite a poem. They don’t go into the rest of the day angry."

Morson said the facility hosts a number of developmental workshops and Saturday night activities such as talent and fashion shows.

"Sometimes we have parties. This is our way of teaching them how to enjoy life without the use of drugs."

But although she finds great satisfaction in the work that she does, Morson admits there are times when she feels like throwing in the towel.

“It’s not an easy population to deal with. But when I remember that I too was once a member of that 'population' and when we get new women coming in, that tells me that God is saying ‘I gave you a job, you can’t run from it.’”

The criteria for entry into the facility is simple – applicants must do a complete medical and they must want to enter the rehab programme.

“We take people who abuse all types of substances and want to get off – alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, over-the-counter drugs, diet pills. We don’t take mentally unstable residents. Once they are stable, they are on their meds, and we ensure they attend their respective clinics, they are welcome…We liaise with all the necessary health facilities in the community to make sure they keep their clinic dates and get their medication and counselling.

“We also deal with homelessness and domestic violence, which are most times inter-related with drug habits.”

She said there have been instances when pregnant women who had nowhere to go had sought help at the clinic and were taken in.

“There was one some years ago, she had the baby and when he was two and a half months old she ran away from the programme. We kept the baby, sent him to school and everything. About five year later, the prison social worker came to me and said they had a woman in prison and she is pregnant ready to make the baby. "Because they have no facilities for babies, they asked her if she knew anyone who would take the baby and she gave them my name.”

It turned out to be the same woman who had left her baby at the centre. Morson took in the new baby from the day after she was born. Eventually, the woman’s mother, who lived in the US, got custody of the children.

“They now live in the US with their grandmother and are doing very well. The boy was eight years old and the girl was four and a half when they left.

Serenity Place was opened on March 18, 1996 with nine residents. The building was a donation to another founding member.

“It was given to a nun called Sister Paul who was an active community person, to do what she wanted to do with it. At the time there were no facilities for substance abuse…

“Women were going to Sister Paul asking her for help to get off the drugs. When she got the building, she decided to open a women’s programme."

At the time Morson lived in Port of Spain with her husband Garvin Cole and used to take in women who needed help into her home. Cole worked at the Rebirth House rehab centre.

“We were already in the field, so when Sister Paul called us to take up the challenge to run a facility for women, after much discussion, we agreed that we would.”

The centre started with nine women and could have accommodated 14 women because it was outfitted with double-decker beds. As one point, Morson said there was an influx of women seeking help, so much so that it exceeded capacity.

“There was a time when we had 18 women, some of whom had agreed to sleep on mattresses on the floor."

Today, the centre can now accommodate ten women as, over the years, many of the residents were in their 50s with ailments that hampered them from climbing to the top bunks.

“They had knee and back pains so we were forced to remove the double deckers and put in single beds. Now we only have ten beds, but our vision is to open a Serenity Place complex where we can have a day care, and a factory to get the women involved and to earn income. That is what we are looking at in the long term.”

Additionally, Morson said she and her team envision moving away from the main road with all its noise and distractions.

"We’re looking for a place that lends justice to name Serenity Place, where residents can truly find inner peace. Here would be kept as the entry and reentry process, and we want a quiet place specifically for treatment."

But that would take money – something the centre has its share of struggles coming by. Although it receives a small quarterly subvention from the government, Morson said is almost never on time because of all the red tape involved, and certainly never enough.

“So while waiting on it (the subvention), I have been borrowing and begging and asking help in different places. People in supermarkets give us things from time to time, others would chip in and bring hampers, we sometimes get cooked lunches and foodstuff.

“Most of the women who come here to stay can’t afford to pay, but we don’t turn them away.”

Morson's staff of four – workshop facilitators and administrators – know that remuneration for their work may not always be on time.

"They understand that when we get the subvention they will get paid, because that is what is used to pay salaries, pay bills, buy food etc. I explained that to them before they come on board."

Last year, the centre was selected as one of the recipients for part proceeds of a fundraising art exhibit hosted by TT-born US-based artist Alicia Aberdeen. The event, Paintings in the Garden, now in its sixth year will, be held from December 6-13 at the Consulate General in New York, will again donate a percentage of the proceeds to Serenity Place. Aberdeen told WMN her selection of the centre is very personal, and although what she contributes may not be as much as she'd like to, she is happy to be able to help in some way.

"In 2023 my brother Sheldon 'Sketch' (Aberdeen), while battling his drug addictions, was doing a series of radio shows with Mr Garth St Clair of Eye On Dependency. I was invited to participate in one of the airings where I was able to call in and witness Sheldon in his element, speaking with the show hosts and reaching out to the audiences. I even took a couple questions. It was very moving and I wanted to help. I’ve always wanted to help but didn’t know how."

She said she kept in touch with St Clair and expressed her interest in getting involved.

"I thought, 'I’ve helped all kinds of people and causes, why not here?' After all, this is and has been the driving force behind what I do."

She asked around and was pointed to institutions that needed help.

"Then I spoke with Mr St Clair and he told me about this place in south Trinidad that’s doing good work helping women and girls. He shared the contact and I reached out. From the very first conversation with Mrs Beverly Morson and with some quick research, I knew I’d found a sound cause to champion."

Follow Serenity Place Empowerment Centre for Women on Facebook for more information.