Care is Evergreen: 50 Years of Evergreen Treatment Services

Care is Evergreen: 50 Years of Evergreen Treatment Services

In 1973, Evergreen Treatment Services—then Central Maintenance Breakthrough Program—opened amid a national call for war against “public enemy no. 1”—drugs. Despite this difficult and stigmatizing policy environment, ETS opened its...

We never give up on people

We never give up on people

Image description: Brandie Flood (in the left-middle wearing a blue shirt) surrounded by peers at the ETS 50th anniversary celebration. For fifty years, Evergreen Treatment Services has had the privilege...

2010s: The Second Wave of the Opioid Epidemic

2010s: The Second Wave of the Opioid Epidemic

Image description: ETS hosts US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy. The visit was part of his national “Turn the Tide on Addiction” campaign to discuss initiatives to combat the opioid...

It is our obligation to speak truth to power

It is our obligation to speak truth to power

Image description: Molly Carney in dosing line at the Seattle clinic for an interview with PSBJ.   For fifty years, Evergreen Treatment Services has had the privilege of serving the...

2000s: The Rise of Prescription Opioids

2000s: The Rise of Prescription Opioids

Evergreen Treatment Services (ETS) has been transforming lives and communities through innovative and effective addiction services for five decades. A lot has changed in 50 years. In our “ETS by...

We Are Committed to Providing High-Quality Care

We Are Committed to Providing High-Quality Care

For fifty years, Evergreen Treatment Services has had the privilege of serving the greater Puget Sound community. Since first opening its doors in 1973, much has changed about ETS. But...

Sixth Annual Roots of Recovery!

Sixth Annual Roots of Recovery!

Thank you for joining us at the 6th annual Roots of Recovery! We are grateful to all who attended our sixth annual Roots of Recovery event. Whether you were supporting...

Whatever It Takes To Keep Patients In Treatment

Whatever It Takes To Keep Patients In Treatment

For fifty years, Evergreen Treatment Services has had the privilege of serving the greater Puget Sound community. Since first opening its doors in 1973, much has changed about ETS. But...

1990s: The HIV Epidemic and Harm Reduction

1990s: The HIV Epidemic and Harm Reduction

Image caption: ETS expanded to 1700 Airport Way in 1997, the current location of our Seattle clinic! Pictured in 1938.   Evergreen Treatment Services (ETS) has been transforming lives and...

Harm reduction is treatment

Harm reduction is treatment

Image caption: Ron Jackson, directly left of sign, at a methadone clinic in Corpus Christi, TX (Ron Jackson, personal collection)   For fifty years, Evergreen Treatment Services has had the...

Treating People With Dignity

Treating People With Dignity

For fifty years, Evergreen Treatment Services has had the privilege of serving the greater Puget Sound community. Since first opening its doors in 1973, much has changed about ETS. But...

Celebrating Five Decades of ETS

Celebrating Five Decades of ETS

On May 18th, we gathered with our staff, board, and community supporters for our 50th Anniversary celebration. Thank you to all who attended for making this such a special event....

A cheerleader for our patients

A cheerleader for our patients

For fifty years, Evergreen Treatment Services has had the privilege of serving the greater Puget Sound community. Since first opening its doors in 1973, much has changed about ETS. But...

We’re in this for the long haul

We’re in this for the long haul

For fifty years, Evergreen Treatment Services has had the privilege of serving the greater Puget Sound community. Since first opening its doors in 1973, much has changed about ETS –...

Five Recovery Lessons from ETS Staff and Clients

Five Recovery Lessons from ETS Staff and Clients

Photo credit: Ted Zee A harm reduction approach to substance use means making appropriate services accessible to the people who can most benefit from them. It also means recognizing that...

Helping clients visualize what they want

Helping clients visualize what they want

Photo credit: Ted Zee for Evergreen Treatment Services   Housing is a complex process. We spoke with Bonnie Rico, a Housing Specialist with REACH, to learn more about what it...

Don’t Count Us Out

Don’t Count Us Out

King County launches the online campaign “Don’t Count Us Out” which aims to reduce the stigma around substance use disorder (SUD).  Across the United States, substance use remains stigmatized and...

Acupuncture at ETS

Acupuncture at ETS

Photo credit: Ted Zee for Evergreen Treatment Services Evergreen Treatment Services provides evidence-informed recovery services for clients seeking substance use treatment. Substance use is often the result of traumas and...

Photo Essay: Meeting People Where They Are

Photo Essay: Meeting People Where They Are

ETS is committed to harm reduction. A core tenet of this approach is "meeting people where they are." To live out this commitment, ETS shows up in different spaces to...

Define What Recovery Means To You

Define What Recovery Means To You

Kimá Joy Taylor, MD, MPH, is the founder and managing principal of Anka Consulting, a health care consulting firm, and a non-resident fellow at the Urban Institute. Eliminating health disparities...

International Overdose Awareness Day

International Overdose Awareness Day

Our clinic staff show up every day supporting patients on their road to recovery. | Photo credit: Paul Ishii   More than 81,000 people died from overdose in the United States...

Trauma-informed Care at the Seattle Clinic

Trauma-informed Care at the Seattle Clinic

Evergreen Treatment Services, as part of its commitment to providing evidence-informed, relationship-centered care deeply rooted in harm reduction and social equity, is learning and evolving! We are working to further...

A One-stop Shop for Recovery

A One-stop Shop for Recovery

We recently spoke with Meghan, a patient for over three years, about her early life, her decision to seek treatment, and how Evergreen Treatment Services helped her believe recovery was...

Building Partnerships to Strengthen Our Communities

Building Partnerships to Strengthen Our Communities

Metropolist Donates more than $27,000 in 2021 and more than $46,000 over the lifetime of our partnership Serving unhoused people is central to Evergreen Treatment Services’ mission. This work is...

A Window into the World of the Outreach Team

A Window into the World of the Outreach Team

“Care, respect, funding, and coordination are the needed alternatives to fear, anger, and sweeping encampments away.”   By Betsy Wells, ETS Board member— I serve on the Board of Evergreen...

Helping People Get Their Lives Back

Helping People Get Their Lives Back

A seamless transition from the criminal legal system is nearly impossible without the right support in place. As Jeremy Lemoine puts it, “Even if you have all the willpower in...

“This is Exactly Where I Need to Be”

“This is Exactly Where I Need to Be”

A Conversation with Hospitality and Engagement Specialist Lead, Tinesha Harmon Tinesha Harmon is the Hospitality and Engagement Specialist Lead at Evergreen Treatment Services. In her role, she is responsible for...

Speaking Their Language: Advocating for the Unhoused

Speaking Their Language: Advocating for the Unhoused

REACH team member David Delgado, recently spoke at the Real Change 27th Anniversary celebration. As the keynote speaker, Delgado relayed his experiences supporting unhoused people in Seattle’s University District (U...

ETS Fourth Annual Event Shows the Power of Community

ETS Fourth Annual Event Shows the Power of Community

Our 4th Annual Event: Roots of Recovery brought the community together and raised $145,000 to strengthen the community!   This year’s Roots of Recovery event was held on the final day of National Recovery Month, September 30th. All month long, we emphasized the...

Breaking the Generational Cycle

Breaking the Generational Cycle

“My only memory of my great grandfather was him dying with a bottle of alcohol between his legs.” It’s a dark memory for a man who has dedicated his life...

“This place saved my life”

“This place saved my life”

All of our patients have a story. We recently sat down with Sherry to hear the story of how she overcame the traumatic events of her early life to become...

Small ways to make a big impact

Small ways to make a big impact

Start making a difference for the people ETS serves right now! Make hygiene kits at home and contact info@evergreentreatment.org to coordinate a drop-off. A hygiene kit can include: Shampoo/Conditioner Body...

“We live here. We give here.”

“We live here. We give here.”

The numbers don’t lie. Despite making up only six percent of the overall population in King County, 39 percent of people who are unhoused are from Black and Indigenous communities....

“When people need help, we help them.”

“When people need help, we help them.”

Throughout the pandemic and before, ETS has been providing support to unhoused people following a core principle of harm reduction: meet people where they are. Recently this has come in...

Meet our new Chief Financial Officer Donavan Lam

Meet our new Chief Financial Officer Donavan Lam

Donavan Lam is Evergreen Treatment Services’ new Chief Financial Officer. He joined the team at the beginning of 2021. Prior to ETS, Donavan was the CFO at YouthCare, a Seattle-based...

Recognizing those on the Front Line of Recovery

Recognizing those on the Front Line of Recovery

Frontline behavioral healthcare workers provide a vital service in King County and often these roles are underpaid, undervalued, and underappreciated. In addition, many of these folks are Black, Indigenous, and/or...

A gift of music for patients and frontline workers

A gift of music for patients and frontline workers

In the midst of the pandemic, when non-profits were scrambling to pivot the form of their service to the community, Emerald City Music reached out to Evergreen Treatment Services to...

Pop-up services in a pandemic

Pop-up services in a pandemic

One of ETS’ core principles—and a principle of harm reduction more broadly—is to meet people where they are. Figuratively, this means meeting people where they are on their recovery journeys...

“That’s What Family Does”

“That’s What Family Does”

At Evergreen Treatment Services (ETS), we succeed when our patients succeed.   In the video below, you will hear two stories of recovery. One is from Rachel, a patient at...

Watch our 3rd Annual Event: Roots of Recovery

Watch our 3rd Annual Event: Roots of Recovery

In case you missed it, our 3rd Annual Event: Roots of Recovery was a huge success! We raised a record-breaking $136,000!   Listen to author Maia Szalavitz and REACH’s own Brandie...

“My life is just continuing to get better”

“My life is just continuing to get better”

We introduced our supporters to Brandon back in 2014 when he was well into recovery as a patient at Evergreen Treatment Services and studying molecular biology at Western Washington University....

We cannot treat harm with harm

We cannot treat harm with harm

By Michelle Conley and Brandie Flood, REACH program—   Incarceration and recidivism rates in King County make clear that our overreliance on policing and the criminal legal system is failing....

ETS Board Chair Passes the Baton

ETS Board Chair Passes the Baton

When former ETS Board Chair Betsy Wells—a trained psychologist and research scientist—was hired to run a federally funded study at ETS in 1989, she had no idea what she was...

Motivational Interviewing at ETS

Motivational Interviewing at ETS

Evergreen Treatment Services is training all clinic staff—from counselors to public safety—in the practice of motivational interviewing (MI). ETS believes in having a common language and approach for our team...

Reminding people they’re not forgotten

Reminding people they’re not forgotten

We want to give you an inside look at our response to the COVID-19 crisis from the points of view of our incredible staff. They’ve been working together to keep...

Taking a Deep Breath

Taking a Deep Breath

We want to give you an inside look at our response to the COVID-19 crisis from the points of view of our incredible staff. They’ve been working together to keep...

Hands and hearts coming together

Hands and hearts coming together

We are so thankful for our incredible hosts, the Metropolist Group who used their space to invite members of the Seattle community to discuss homelessness with those on the front...

Meet our Masters of Social Work interns

Meet our Masters of Social Work interns

Tasha Pedersen and Kasey Cragg are both students at the University of Washington, pursuing Master's degrees in social work (MSWs). As a part of their first year in the program,...

Kelley Craig: Human connection comes first

Kelley Craig: Human connection comes first

—Human connection comes first   By Kelley Craig   Kelley Craig is a co-director of the REACH program at Evergreen Treatment Services. In 2015, she told her story on The...

Addiction, discrimination, and building a “rat park”

Addiction, discrimination, and building a “rat park”

—Meet ETS Director of Clinical Services, Sean Soth   “This beautiful, amazing man was so active in our college community, fighting for marginalized people. I watched him get destroyed by addiction. Then one day,...

Honoring our sustaining donors

Honoring our sustaining donors

"I give to ETS on a monthly basis in solidarity with people who have substance use disorders. They don't get to work on recovery just once a year!  ...so I want my...

A moment of clarity

A moment of clarity

Born and raised in Seattle by a loving single mom, Joseph went from living in a large home with his family, to living in his car, and then a tent....

Mobile clinics break barriers to treatment

Mobile clinics break barriers to treatment

We first reported on Treatment in Motion (TIM) back in April. We’re proud to report that TIM made great progress taking treatment on the road over the summer. TIM is...

Reach on a Roll

Reach on a Roll

Homelessness is a hot topic, both in our Seattle community and across the nation. The ETS REACH team is often asked to participate in media stories about effective solutions to...

South Sound Clinic Is Now Bigger and Better

South Sound Clinic Is Now Bigger and Better

Evergreen Treatment Services recently celebrated an expansion and renovation of our clinic in the South Sound area. Thanks to the increase in space, we are now able to serve more...

Life After Homelessness

Life After Homelessness

When she needed it most, Lena benefited from our medicated-assisted treatment for opioid use disorders. At the same time, our REACH team helped her gain access to housing. For Lena, that combination...

Celebrating the Grays Harbor Clinic

Celebrating the Grays Harbor Clinic

Evergreen Treatment Services is regretfully closing our Grays Harbor County facility in May 2019.   Our patients are in the process of transitioning to a new clinic, Grays Harbor Treatment...

We’re taking our life-saving treatment on the road!

We’re taking our life-saving treatment on the road!

We're excited to launch Treatment in Transit! Our life-saving treatment will be traveling to our patients in the University District, Belltown, and North Seattle. The program is expected to start...

Preventing the Spread of Hepatitis C

Preventing the Spread of Hepatitis C

Many people start down the road to addiction with a prescription from their doctors to manage pain – from getting a tooth pulled to major surgery to deal with chronic...

What’s Working in Seattle

What’s Working in Seattle

By Chloe Gale, REACH Co-Director and Sean Soth, Director of Clinical Services—   If you haven’t seen the recent KOMO special “Seattle is Dying,” watch it with a skeptical eye....

The Heart Reaches The Heart

The Heart Reaches The Heart

Candis Dover is ETS’s first peer engagement counselor, supporting patients in their earliest days of recovery. She knows exactly where many of these patients are coming from; Candis has had...

Don’t Hang on to Meds!

Don’t Hang on to Meds!

King County campaign helps residents properly dispose of old and unwanted medications safely and easily. It’s something many people don’t often think about. The near-empty orange cylinder of hydrocodone from...

Honoring Molly Carney, ETS Executive Director

Honoring Molly Carney, ETS Executive Director

Please join us in honoring Molly Carney's service as our executive director. She has been a tireless patient and staff advocate and will be missed. Give to ETS in honor...

REACH goes above and beyond

REACH goes above and beyond

“Where are you from?” is a common question asked when people meet for the first time in Seattle, the assumption being that so few people are actually from the city....

Brandon’s story

Brandon’s story

“Every day of your life is already scripted for you. You wake up and you’re sick and you have to find dope,” says Brandon, a former patient at Evergreen Treatment...

April’s Story

April’s Story

“I was tired of living, had nothing, lost everything, just tired of it,” says April.   April is a Flex Care patient at Evergreen Treatment Services. “I truly feel if...

When defining recovery, let the patient decide.

When defining recovery, let the patient decide.

“Recovery looks different for everyone,” says Michael, a counselor at Evergreen Treatment Services South King County Clinic in Renton. “I’m not here to tell people how they should recover; I...

Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) Myths vs. Facts

Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) Myths vs. Facts

The National Council addresses the myths of medication-assisted treatment and opioid use disorder. Myth #1: Medication-assisted treatment just substitutes one drug for another. Download this quick reference to see why this...

Joseph’s Story

Joseph’s Story

We recently sat down with Joseph Conniff, a treatment provider for people with substance use disorder at Therapeutic Health Services (THS) in Seattle. Joseph struggled with substance use for much...

Why you should read our latest impact report

Why you should read our latest impact report

We want you to read our newly published impact report for three reasons:   In the midst of a crushing opioid epidemic and homelessness crisis, this report provides hope. Last...

Ride on to Recovery

Ride on to Recovery

One morning while doing outreach in downtown Seattle, one of our REACH care managers, Garrett, met a woman who was packing up a bedroll into her Harley Davidson three-wheeled motorcycle....

From Recluse to Reconnection

From Recluse to Reconnection

When Becky, a REACH care manager, met Cody*, he was living in a trailer in South King County. It was desolate; he had no water or waste hook ups and...

In Conversation with Michelle Peavy

In Conversation with Michelle Peavy

While pursuing her undergraduate degree in psychology at the University of Washington in 1999, Michelle Peavy was introduced to Molly Carney, who was conducting research at the UW’s Alcohol and...

Unleashing Potential

Unleashing Potential

  News headlines serve as a bleak reminder of the toll the opioid epidemic has had on our cities and nation. But, groups like Evergreen Treatment Services are addressing these...

Recovery is Possible

Recovery is Possible

Six days a week for 52 weeks a year, nearly 3,000 people come from all over Western Washington to Evergreen Treatment Services to get the support they need to recover...

A Positive Influence

A Positive Influence

Stolch is 35 years old, and describes himself as an American Indian or Alaska native. He was training to be director at the Nisqually tribe, but opioids stood in the...

Shatterproof: Stronger than Addiction

Shatterproof: Stronger than Addiction

The evidence is clear. Opioid use disorder is a disease, and medication-assisted treatment (MAT) which includes counseling and other wraparound services – the ETS model – is the surest path...

Flex Care: Check out our new video!

Flex Care: Check out our new video!

Flex Care is a medication assisted treatment program that provides patients the option to be prescribed buprenorphine from a medical prescriber. Through this program, we pair the medical prescriber with...

A Helping Hand Leads to Housing

A Helping Hand Leads to Housing

REACH case managers are steadfast in their support of clients. They meet them where they are, and forge partnerships with the community to achieve the best possible outcomes. Jerry and...