Angie Reinoehl/MDN Cassi Beck, left, has been a patient at Ideal Option under the care of family nurse practitioner Tish Kamrowski, right, to treat addiction to fentanyl and methamphetamine.

Cassi Beck has been sober for one year from fentanyl and methamphetamine. After getting into some trouble with the law, she was offered either a three-year sentence or the opportunity to go to an in-patient addiction treatment facility. She chose the latter.

“[Sobriety] changed my life really drastically, like in a good way. When I was using I was homeless, I had no friends and I was jumping from couch to couch. I was in a lot of serious situations and got in trouble with the law a lot and now that I’m sober, I have my car, I have an apartment, I have a full-time job. I have my parents’ trust back. I feel so much better now being sober. I never thought I would see myself sober until I started getting sober,” Beck said.

After four years of substance abuse in Dickinson and upon discharge from in-patient treatment, Beck moved to Minot where she found Ideal Option. She continued medically-assisted outpatient treatment under the care of Tish Kamrowski, the in-house medical provider at Ideal Option, and has remained sober.

Ideal Option held an open house recently to celebrate the relocation of its clinic from Airport Road to Broadway.

The clinic offers low-barrier treatment for addiction. There are no wait lists, walk-in patients are welcome and they accept all patients regardless of insurance status.

According to Kamrowski, the window for action is short when patients decide to seek treatment so it’s imperative to take action quickly. Ideal Option makes treatment accessible to those who need it, when they need it.

Kamrowski said she’s noticed an increase of walk-in patients since the relocation but that she hopes more community members will take advantage of the services they offer.

“We are a judgment free zone – completely judgment free. Recovery obviously is not linear. We’re going to have our ups and downs. People are going to relapse. And if somebody relapses and they come back, we’re still going to treat you with respect and we’re just going to help you get back on track and ask how we can better support you, if there’s other things we can do to help you stay more connected. We need to destigmatize addiction. Addiction is a disease. It’s not a choice.

“People don’t understand that addiction is not a choice. It’s a disease and when somebody is ready for help, the window for help is so crucial. If there’s somebody in your life that says ‘Dad, I need to go I need to get help. I need treatment.’ Drive. Drive your son, drive your daughter, drive your uncle, drive your sister that day. Immediately drop everything. Leave the cookies in the oven and book it,” Kamrowski said.

First District Health Unit (FDHU) and the Minot Area Recovery Community Organization (MARCO) were also present at the open house to provide additional information and resources for prospective patients. FDHU was promoting its harm reduction programs, including the Good Neighbor Syringe Service Program which provides clean syringes and safe syringe disposal to individuals suffering from addiction until they’re ready to seek treatment. They also offer free Hepatitis C and HIV testing and Naloxone to reverse opioid overdoses.

Beck encourages those who are thinking about treatment to pursue it, “Do it. It’s hard, it’s going to be hard. But would you rather get sober and stay sober or would you rather have to get sober all over again? Your life will be way better, like way happier. So, I would just say do it, there’s a lot of people out there that are willing to help, and you can do anything you put your mind to.”