Applications for a Betty Breen Educational Foundation Scholarship to the Annual LASACT Conference must be received by June 15th.
Numerous studies, including those by SAMHSA and other historically accepted statistics, show 10% of the population suffer from addiction to alcohol or drugs. This is not the true number affected by alcoholism, for each person who has this illness, in turn directly affects four others. The number of people with the illness together with those affected by the patient represent almost 50% of the population
The Foundation is based on the need to educate professional counselors in the field of substance abuse. Unfortunately, our higher education institutions do not offer sufficient course content in addiction to educate qualified professional substance abuse counselors. In order to provide this academic background and education, LASACT has established its own school.
The licensure process takes approximately 6 years to complete. The basic requirements are Baccalaureate and a Master’s Degree in order to become a licensed addiction counselor in the State of Louisiana. In addition, an internship of 2 years under the supervision of a qualified counselor is required.
Your donation will continue to tell the Betty Breen story.
For more information, contact Don Hidalgo (Foundation Trustee) at DHidalgo@hha-eap.com or (225) 927-0160
To apply for a scholarship touch here.
Promising students are awarded up to $1000.00 which can be used for LASACT continuing education at the annual conference, and to pay for other necessary items on the certification checklist.
The deadline for BBEF Scholarship Applications for the annual LASACT Conference is June 15th.
COMMENTS FROM RECIPIENTS OF SCHOLARSHIPS
Janet C. -“Betty Breen was my role model from the time I was in her family week. When she told her story I knew there was hope for me. I too was the mother of a large number of children with an alcoholic husband and was concerned about what I would do about raising them. She was my inspiration to become a counselor, as a matter of fact you Don, and Betty Breen were the two oral examiners on my final examination for licensure. Without the scholarship money that would never have happened.”
Charles C. – “I am a veteran trying to acquire an education in order to become a licensed addiction counselor. I am grateful for the money provided to me in order to get my college education.”
Laura A. – “I am a single mother raising three children. I hope to work with the minority community, to be able to provide services as a licensed addiction counselor. The scholarship funds were a life saver helping me to become licensed.”
Vivian K. – “Without the Betty Breen Foundation I would never have been able to meet the requirements for the licensure law. Today I am practicing and helping those that need my services.”
Dr. C -“I knew the first time I looked into her eyes, BS was over with and she accepted me where I was, warts and all.”
To meet our needs, we are asking for donations from Individuals, Industry and Corporations of all kinds. Anyone who can understand the need for licensed Substance Abuse Counselors in the State of Louisiana can help them complete the certification process by making a donation.
We have chosen at this time NOT to use on-line payment buttons.
Instead, Please call (225)927-0160 and make your donation in person via telephone.
The Betty Breen Foundation Donor Form
Print this page or download form HERE
Name:________________________________________________
Address:______________________________________________
Phone:_______________________________________________
I am making a one-time donation of $__________.
I am making a commitment in the amount of $________ to be paid _____ times a year for _____ years.
LASACT is a 501c3 educational foundation for tax exempt donations.
Donations can be mailed to:
LASACT
Attn: Betty Breen Foundation
P.O. Box 80235
Baton Rouge, LA 70898
We have helped more than 500 Substance Abuse counselors become certified in Louisiana in the last 20 years. We need more than 500 new counselors in the next few years.
As Anna McKinnon says in our film, “Education is the key”. We provide almost $1,000.00 per student to complete the certification process.
The Louisiana Association Of Substance Abuse Counselors and Trainers is the certification organization that makes sure new Substance Abuse Counselors meet the high standards expected by the profession.
Years of part time school, full time work, families and study can deplete resources and wear students down. We encourage students to complete the study and become certified, and help the state with its substance abuse problems.
Alcoholism and Drug addiction are destroying productivity, lives and futures. Expert counseling can head off some of these tragedies and return productive citizens to the workforce.
We need to rely on one another, and for 20 years the Betty Breen Foundation has supported its cause with the resources of one family and a few friends. Now we ask for your help in making new counselors a reality.
Right now there are only about 500 licensed Substance Abuse counselors in Louisiana, for a population of 4 and a half MILLION people. As many as 2,250,000 people may be affected by alcohol and drug abuse. Help us help new counselors get their start.
The Betty Breen Foundation
The Betty Breen story will be familiar to millions of wives whose husbands are alcoholic. The difference in her story, is what she did, and how the outcome has touched thousands of lives in recovery from alcoholism.
Unlike so many others, she took action by performing an intervention to force her husband into treatment, which took great courage, because she knew that this could be the end of her marriage if it didn’t work. The intervention and treatment DID work.
What happened after the intervention is what makes her story different. Betty was asked to become a counselor at the Baton Rouge General Hospital Chemical Dependency Unit. She was an inpatient counselor for a year and then for the next fifteen years served as the lead counselor in their family program. Because of what had happened to her own family, she was committed to helping other families find the rewards of recovery. In 16 years, she touched more than 15,000 lives.
Betty was a founding member of LASACT (Louisiana Association of Substance Abuse Counselors in Training) with an emphasis on professionalism, licensure, and certification. She was one of the first counselors to be certified in the state of Louisiana. The Betty Breen Foundation is based on this commitment to families and to professionalism, certification, and licensure.
Shortly after Betty’s death in 1999, her family decided to establish a memorial in their mother’s name because of her interest in the personal effect of counseling in the recovery process. Since its inception, the family has been the principle source of scholarship money, providing scholarships to well-deserving men and women.
The Betty Breen Foundation Website
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