Gretna SAM - Substance Addiction Ministry

02/20/2024

Tomorrow night at 6:30pm!

Join us for our next SAM meeting on Tuesday, February 20th.

Mr. Kevin Gardere will be joining us as our guest speaker for this meeting and is sure to bring a wealth of knowledge to our community. Kevin has been an employee of Bridge House / Grace House since 2002 and in December 2023 he took over as CEO. Kevin was a resident at Bridge House and completed the program in April 2002. Kevin went to De La Salle High School and LSU (Geaux Tigers!), is married and has 2 children.

02/09/2024

When you think of Mardi Gras, you typically think of beads and booze, but not for one group enjoying the Uptown parades at Napoleon and St. Charles avenues.

02/07/2024

Join us for our next SAM meeting on Tuesday, February 20th.

Mr. Kevin Gardere will be joining us as our guest speaker for this meeting and is sure to bring a wealth of knowledge to our community. Kevin has been an employee of Bridge House / Grace House since 2002 and in December 2023 he took over as CEO. Kevin was a resident at Bridge House and completed the program in April 2002. Kevin went to De La Salle High School and LSU (Geaux Tigers!), is married and has 2 children.

12/15/2023

Happy Holidays!

This Tuesday, 12/19/23 at 6:30PM, we will have a representative from Responsibility House who will be sharing her story. She has battled addiction and loss and then found recovery and a grace that saved her life.

She will also provide information regarding different resources available to those interested in treatment and assist in answering any questions that you may have.

Responsibility House, Inc. (RH) is a private non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to meeting the needs of the Greater New Orleans area’s underserved, indigent, homeless and disabled populations. RH is a treatment center for people with substance use disorders. All of its programs employ qualified counseling and case management professionals. These services have proven effective and successful because of its people-driven approach to program design, implementation and improvement.

We hope to see you there!

12/14/2023

https://www.bayviewfuneral.com/obituaries/ariel-talbot?fbclid=IwAR2jsS5yIBd611dobjlNzllWLigTalRy01zOQoh8qkLASpr53Zz11F2d7C4_aem_AcQ1TOxV5kNZ_31quXsCTW_0DwqrJS9Ydf1015MRuA2WMPwDWtOG3uvQ_bpXRjrMqjE

View Ariel Lois Lucille Talbot's obituary, send flowers and find service dates, and sign the guestbook.

12/07/2023

11/01/2023

An excerpt from Matthew Perry's Memoir released one year ago. Like so many who have been affected by addiction, he found joy in helping others find sobriety. This is also part of our mission with our Gretna SAM group.

10/29/2023

📣📣ANNOUNCEMENT📣📣
I am pleased to announce that Father Bryan has approved and enthusiastically supports the establishment of SAM at St. Cletus. SAM ministries currently exist in five of the 10 Deaneries in the archdiocese of New Orleans and these ministries will be used as a model for our ministry.

SAM is a parish-based ministry whose mission is to offer a safe, confidential, place for those who are afflicted with or affected by alcohol or drug addiction to come find help, healing, and hope through education, prevention, referral, and support. It is also our objective to help restore value and dignity to those afflicted individuals and to help them develop and deepen their spirituality, and to help them connect with self, loved ones, and God. In addition, we seek to offer resource information and support to the family members that suffer from their loved-one’s disease. Meetings are open to both the afflicted as well as the affected family. The SAM group is open to all faiths and our group welcomes all Westbank church parishes to join us a St Cletus.

SAM is not a 12 step program, but members of AA/NA/Al-Anon and others will be part of our SAM team and will be a resource for those who desire a sober way of living and those that have family members or friends that wish to support them in their journey to find sobriety. We are fortunate that St Cletus currently has 2 AA groups and an Al-Anon group that meet weekly at St Cletus and some of those individuals will participate in our ministry.

If you wish to learn more about SAM, please join us for a SAM training/learning session on Saturday, November 4th, 9 am – 3 pm in Jerome Hall. Also, please share this information with all of your family and friends that you feel can benefit from our ministry. And if you have questions, don't hesitate to message us on Facebook, email or call us.

10/27/2023

This brightly colored synthetic opioid looks like candy and is 50 times stronger than he**in. Here's what parents should know.

10/25/2023

Why SAM is so important for our community...
Key Findings from a study with the National Center for
Drug Abuse Statistics:
96k+ 📣 Over 96,700 people die from drug overdoses in a year.
72% 📣 Opioids are a factor in 7 out of every 10 overdose deaths.
1M 📣 Drug overdoses have killed almost a million people since 1999.

10/23/2023

So, if you’re wondering what and who SAM is...