Wine Country Times

Prior to joining Women’s Recovery Services (WRS) as its board president, Judy Ryder worked in the early 1970s as the director of a child abuse prevention council in Monterey County, just as the nation began awakening to issues of child abuse and neglect.

“When I retired, I wanted to do some work specifically for women because I come from a history of being young in the '70s and being very much influenced by the women's movement and wanting to specifically dedicate my time to women's issues,” Ryder told Wine Country Times.

As president, Ryder ensures that WRS provides a treatment program that focuses on parenting and tries to reverse the cycle of abuse that so many WRS residents have lived through.

“When I discovered Women's Recovery Services, I was really drawn to their work and I was drawn to the fact that they were supporting women with young children and the difficulties that anyone faces as a young mom but then with addiction issues on top,” said Ryder in an interview.

WRS provides a 120-day residential substance dependence treatment program primarily for pregnant and parenting women who have infants and children, as well as an eight-month after-care program and up to two years in a transitional sober home. 

“I'm learning about addiction in this work,” Ryder said. “The reality is that recovery is hard. Women will have relapses and to have respect for that process.”

A former director of hospice, Ryder sees similarities between the two conditions.

“The caring is the same, wanting to make a difference and wanting to respect where people are in their journey and understanding that it's a unique and individual journey for everyone is the same,” she said. “In dying we don't have any choice in terms of where we go in that journey but respecting people's individual choices is the same. Accompanying people and really being present for them is the same and I certainly have seen that lived out at WRS as I did at hospice.”

In addition to providing pregnant women and mothers with a safe place to live and recover for four months, WRS also creates a case plan that includes helping women navigate state agencies that often require residential treatment, such as Child Protective Services, the court system or probation department.

“We're looking at addiction, which is a nationwide issue and that's huge,” Ryder said. “We would really like to imagine that the work that we can do will involve education and maybe help change some patterns of behavior. We're also addressing homelessness and child abuse in helping mothers recover from addiction.”

Although 8.4% of Californian women died last year due to drug abuse, according to a United Health Foundation study, Ryder wants the public to know that recovery is possible.

“Women are in recovery, and if we can stick by them and provide the resources, it's possible for them to turn addiction around,” she said.