Greg Bellville, clinical director of the St. Gregory Retreat Centers, stopped by the weekly meeting of the Perry Kiwanis last Tuesday to share some information about the organization.
The St. Gregory Retreat Centers were founded in 2007 by Mike and Rose Marie Vasquez after dealing with a friend of the family who had a substance abuse problem. Their friend came to them about his problem in 2005 and later died as a result of addiction.
They tried to help their friend but never found the services they thought should be available to people with addictions, said Bellville, who has been with the company for seven years.
Mike Vasquez was a successful businessperson, having developed some of the first electronic medical record programs and a system for guarding against Medicare A in hospitals, and this allowed him and Rose Marie to finance the first St. Gregory Retreat Centers.
Bellville said St. Gregory now operates a facility in Bayard for men and a facility in Adair for women. The company also operate in conjunction with Bridges of Iowa in Des Moines and works with addicts in the Polk County Jail.
St. Gregory used to operate a co-ed program in Bayard but found that mixing the sexes caused a lot of problems, he said.
Programs vary from out-patient treatment to residential care to a halfway house. They also operate a non-pressure ministry.
“People have to find this in ways that benefit them,” Bellville said.
He said St. Gregory focuses on four dimensions of addiction: biological or strengthening the body, psychological or changing thinking, social or connecting with others and spiritual or discovering your spirit. The dimensions are based on The American Society of Addiction Medicine’s four manifestations of addiction, Bellville said.
Bellville was welcomed to the weekly meeting of the Perry Kiwanians by Kiwanis Club President Tricia Steffen.
