FREE ACCESS: ‘There is life after drugs,’ Linton peer recovery group going strong

Thursday, December 26, 2019
Buskirk, center bows her head in prayer with other group members at the conclusion of a recent Peer 2 Peer meeting in Linton.
By Patti Danner

Six months ago, Linton’s Keshia Buskirk, a recovering meth addict, devoted mother, loving daughter, trusted friend and Certified Peer Recovery Coach trained through the Indiana Counselor’s Association on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (ICAADA), formed “Peer 2 Peer” a judgment-free support group that is the first of its kind in Greene County.

As Buskirk began her own recovery, she realized resources for addicts in her hometown were lacking, so, after her certification, she created the new group with the support of Linton Mayor John Wilkes, who offered up a place for the group to meet each week at Linton’s Humphreys Park.

The group varies in number from week to week but generally consists of six to 16 recovering addicts, all seeking as well as providing the judgment-free support and friendship of others just like them.

“When people are released from jail or prison or even rehab, they’re pretty much on their own around here,” Buskirk explained. “The majority of addicts relapse simply because they go back to what they know, people they know and the lifestyle they know. We help to provide something different and we break that cycle. The group is peers assisting peers with navigating life’s obstacles, basically. Before it started, I was nervous thinking about leading a group and being a facilitator, but in this group, we are all leaders and facilitators. No one person is better than any other and we are all there because we sincerely want to be better people without the judgment of those who may not understand.”

Since starting the group, which Buskirk facilitates as needed, often sitting back and letting others take the lead, at least two more recovering Greene County addicts, Tina Wright and Mick Tosti Sr., have followed her lead, each earning a scholarship and completing 30 hours of training at ICAADA in Indianapolis with the goal of becoming certified themselves so that they may help others as Buskirk has helped them, effectively reversing the downward spiral of the typical addict/felon.

Wright and Tosti Sr., like virtually every other group member, have spent ample time in the spotlight, their names and misdeeds in the form of drug busts splashed all over the news, perhaps convincing some that there was no hope for their future.

But Buskirk knows better.

By spending their time regularly with others who completely understand the struggles faced and hurdles in their way, this group finds strength, understanding and unwavering support in each other.

No member is there because a court ordered them to be, but they show up every week for the connection and healing they find in helping each other.

Tosti Sr., age 66, faced a 20-year sentence for dealing methamphetamine. Of that 20 years, 10 were suspended for his offense being his first ever and he served five years, both in the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility (WVCF) in Carlisle and in the medium-security Putnamville Correctional Facility, formerly known as the Indiana State Farm, a facility with extensive farm and dairy operations. At both facilities, Tosti Sr. was a model prisoner, earning a place on WVCF offender work crew and earning a level-one minimum security rating in Putnamville. He said the crew enjoyed the fresh air and the work, which ranged from installing Christmas lights at Linton’s Humphreys Park to cutting firewood, painting curbs and constructing a playground at a school in Graysville.

“I’m lucky to be here,” Tosti Sr. said. “I was what I guess you call a high-functioning addict. I owned my own business in Sullivan, I didn’t act or behave like a drug dealer and I was successful for years, but I was breaking the law and I got caught.”

Tosti Sr. is currently on five years of supervised probation and is required to call his probation officer every morning without fail.

He says his involvement with Peer 2 Peer has helped him to see his own life more clearly, what he was doing right and what he was doing wrong.

“There is no life in drugs, but there is life after drugs,” he said. “What I have found in dealing with my recovery is that helping other people helps me. On April first, I am five years clean.” He shakes his head in disbelief. “Today, I hold my head up high. Sure, I made mistakes, but who doesn’t?”

Tosti Sr. is a Vietnam War veteran, and said that, through therapy, he came to understand he was not only blocking ugly memories of his experiences in that war, but that he had been blocking his emotions as well, using drugs to provide an escape from having to deal with them.

“When I was first released, I knew I could not go back to any of my old routines, my habits, not even my friends,” he said. “I had heard about Rebuilt Ministries in Bloomfield, and I went there for a while, until I heard about Peer 2 Peer. I am proud of myself and proud of my life now.”

Tosti Sr. is known among the group as a man they can all count on, just like they all count on one another.

For one group member, Tosti Sr. and other members immediately showed up when they were needed the most.

After having suffered a death in the family fairly recently, the member’s own parent unexpectedly passed away. The member called other group members for help.

“I went over to the house right away,” Tosti Sr. said. “If anything could trigger a person into relapsing into drug use, that would be it.” The affected group member said Tosti Sr.’s immediate support and the support of the others made all the difference.

“This group changed my life. Honestly, I was afraid to get out of jail because I was afraid of relapse. I’m not anymore,” the group member said. “I am comfortable and confident here.”

At a recent meeting, a young female member was accompanied by an older friend, someone not related her, but just as supportive.

“I will always be there for this young lady,” she said. “Love is thicker than blood or water.”

Buskirk was recently hired by Linton Police Chief Paul Clark to work as a dispatcher for the department.

“He actually called me to see if I was interested in the job. In my wildest dreams, I could never have imagined that happening in my life,” she said with a grin.

Wright, who will soon have her certification, said she learned the extent of her addictive personality when she tried cocaine for the first time at age 14, quickly becoming addicted and eventually turning to meth. She became pregnant at 17, was married at 19 and was sober for nine years when she relapsed, was arrested and went to prison.

After serving her time, she sought out new friends and new situations, finding her best ally in Buskirk, who calls Wright “my Wright hand.” Wright has been sober for three years, and she intends to stay that way forever.

Buskirk said that often, the people who love an addict the most can also hurt them most.

“If you are making an addict happy, you are probably enabling them,” she said. “If you are making them mad, you’re probably helping them more than you know.” She said addicts are master manipulators, doing and saying whatever they know will work in order to get their next fix.

In late October, Buskirk was presented with the Hamilton Center’s Hamilton Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service at the annual Hamilton Awards Dinner at the Sycamore Banquet Center in Terre Haute, an event featuring a presentation from Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, whose 2019 Next Level Agenda includes plans to attack the drug epidemic, take care of children and families and increase our workforces through early education with high school students.

With this validation, and with the support of Linton officials and police officers, Buskirk says she and the Peer 2 Peer group hope to end the stigma of addiction and to show the public that peer groups can be a successful way for addicts to reintegrate into the social fabric that binds us all.

This winter, members of the group are taking their first steps into civic service, an activity that Buskirk says she has wanted to bring to the group for some time.

“By helping others, we help ourselves,” she said. “And what better way to help than to volunteer?”

Several members will offer their service to the Greene County Humane Society (GCHS), putting together what GCHS calls the “Kitty Playroom.”

It is a room at the shelter devoted to cat activities, with toys, things to climb up and things to hide in as well as providing much-needed exercise and social interaction to the often-bored animals.

Buskirk said she would love to offer other area nonprofits help as well, and welcomes their contact.

She also welcomes contact from any recovering addict who may be suffering alone.

“Anyone is welcome to come check out what the group has to offer and there is no obligation whatsoever. We meet Thursday evenings from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Girl Scout cabin at the park.”

Even people who are curious but don’t want to show up to group meetings just yet are welcome to find out more.

“People can message me on Facebook or they can call me anytime at 812-798-7262,” Buskirk said. “Peer-to-peer support works, I’m living proof and I always will be.”

The group ends every meeting with prayer, standing in a circle with their hands clasped together and heads lowered as one member prays for the continued recovery of all.

Amen.

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    I would encourage everyone to make a donation. This warms my heart.

    -- Posted by JohnPColeman on Fri, Dec 27, 2019, at 12:22 PM
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