Rubicon, Inc. seeks to serve
Winston McElveen, center, with his staff members after his retirement from Rubicon, Inc. in Hartsville.
Photo courtesy of Rubicon, Inc.
By Jana E. Pye, Editor, editor@newsandpress.net
Rubicon, Inc. has provided assistance with addiction and/or mental health issues to countless individuals and their families in Darlington County for over 40 years. From the very beginning in 1973, the person that championed the need for helping people have a brighter future was the outgoing director, Winston McElveen, who just retired this year. The new director, Denise Cooper, seeks to continue his passion and help the mission of Rubicon move towards the future.
Winston McElveen was honored for his tremendous career with a retirement party in his honor, where stories of how he and his peers were part of the “PeeDee Five” …Charles Young of Florence Cty; Lyle Mishoe of Sumter and later Horry County; Jimmy Welch of Sumter County and Ann Kirven of Clarendon County. This group pioneered the early days of organized alcohol and drug treatment in South Carolina with Jerry McCord, the State Director. With their diligence, the Pee Dee region was known to be one of the most innovative in the State of South Carolina. Programs such as ASAP (now known as ADSAP), the School Intervention Program, and Offender Based Programs.
McElveen also collaborated with other systems and agencies in Darlington such as the Darlington County Sheriff’s Department, Probation & Parole, local magistrates and judges, businesses and more.
As a personal note, I myself attended one of McElveen’s projects, a program for couples divorcing in Darlington County to take classes to learn how to parent children through a divorce. Mr. McElveen shared many anecdotes and helpful tips to help learn how to remain friends and co-parent the children.
When the time came for McElveen to take a much-deserved retirement for a long and productive career, the search for a new director found one of his early admirers, Denise Cooper.
Denise Cooper
Photo by Jana E. Pye
Cooper, who assumed her position on June 16, felt the return to the Pee Dee as a homecoming.
As a native of Marlboro County, Cooper has an extensive career in human services. Cooper has worked with agencies including the SCIP, Marlboro Commission to the Lexington-Richland Alcohol and Drug Commission in Columbia; Richmond County Public Schools in Hamlet, Southeastern Regional Mental Health in Scotland and Robeson Counties, Pathways Mental Health Gastonia, Daymark Recovery Monroe and Kannapolis, Cascade Service Charlotte, and the Chemical Dependency Center in Charlotte. She has also been an adjunct professor at both Robeson Community College in Lumberton and Barber Scotia College in Concord. Cooper graduated from Winthrop College, earned a Master of Arts degree from Webster University, and has completed post-graduate doctoral work at Walden University. She is a certified substance abuse counselor in North Carolina.
“In my early days, I remember Winston McElveen – he was one of the pioneers in this field,” recalled Cooper. “When I came on board, it was clear that the work he and this staff has done has been so beneficial to the people of this county. And, it goes without saying that the staff members who worked with Winston loved him dearly.”
The future of Rubicon is one with much hope for healing not only addictions, but other mental health issues of residents of Darlington County.
From their location on Carolina Avenue in Hartsville, the center operates with outpatient hours Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., a busy mix of group and individual counseling services and classes with the mission to nurture each individual and their family.
“We have a challenge in today’s society,” said Denise Cooper. “Rubicon is very excited about our new programs, especially our Nurturing Parenting Program. We seek to help the children that are affected by addictions in the home, with the hope that we can prevent the cycle from continuing.”
One dream that she hopes will become a reality one day is a much needed detox center in the area, an in-patient facility where people with severe addictions to alcohol or drugs may be served to help them overcome addictions under medically supervised care.
Although they are known for their work with people with addictions, the center also helps with a variety of mental health issues. “We are open to any and all,” said Cooper. “We hope that people come in the door and find the help that they seek.”
Services include:
Outpatient Services available for children, adolescents, and adults for an array of disorders including: substance use disorders, trauma/PTSD, depression, anxiety, anger management, and relationship issues.
Individual therapy, family therapy, and group therapy sessions available.
Intensive Outpatient Services (IOP): Program designed for people who need a higher level of care than traditional outpatient treatment.
Alcohol and Drug Safety Action Program (ADSAP) State designed program with persons charged with drug related driving offense and need to complete a program to become re-licensed.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Many businesses in the community offer EAP benefits to their employees of five free counseling sessions.
Prevention: prevention programs for citizens of Darlington County, including: Palmetto Retailer’s Education Program (PREP); Alcohol Education Program (AEP); Alcohol Enforcement Team (AET); New FADS in Teen Alcohol Use; Youth Access to Tobacco (SYNAR)
Women’s Addiction Recovery Services: specialized treatment plans to help women with individual needs, networking and advocacy, intensive outpatient services just for women, relapse prevention group, trauma/abuse survivor therapy, parenting, and more.
Nurturing Parenting Program: specialized for parents of the following age groups: infants, toddlers and preschoolers; school aged children 5 – 11; and adolescents.
To learn more, visit: www.rubiconsc.org or call 843-332-4156 or visit office at 510 East Carolina Avenue, Hartsville. Open Monday – Thursday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. After hours crisis number: 843-861-2740