Area CDC to close after 39 years

Published 8:56 am Monday, November 29, 2010

The Freeborn County Chemical Dependency Center will close its doors to the public Tuesday after 39 years in operation. From left are Ronald Gonzalez, a longtime worker at the center, and K and John Adamec, who originated the center. -- Sarah Stultz/Albert Lea

For 39 years, the Freeborn County Chemical Dependency Center has been a central component in Albert Lea.

Started Dec. 21, 1971, by John Adamec, under the funding of Freeborn County, the center has been critical for hundreds of adults and children who have dealt with drug and alcohol problems.

At the center, counselors assess each person who comes in and refers them to appropriate levels of treatment and counseling. However, not all need treatment outside of the center.

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The center has worked with the Freeborn County District Court system, schools, parents, employers, doctors and mental health workers. It has also accepted walk-ins.

However, on Tuesday, after helping many, the nonprofit organization will close its doors.

Co-directors John and K Adamec, who are certified clinical supervisors, said they are not closing the center through any choice of their own.

“You cannot imagine the gratitude we’ve felt for being able to work with so many families,” John said. “The community support, it’s just been amazing.”

K said over the years, the center has seen many changes and moved to various places, including the upper floor and basement of the courthouse, the professional office building on Main Street and to its current location on South Broadway Avenue.

When it first started, there were no girls or women who came into the center, but through time, that changed. The Adamecs said they have also seen the dynamics of a family change.

“There’s been some tough things you see in here, but many accepted the things they needed to change,” K said.

Despite the challenges of the job, K said every day there has been a reward.

All the challenges have paid off to see the people they’ve helped years later, still sober. In fact, John said, they see people they’ve helped all over the place — locally and out of town.

John said the center has served about 13,300 people — not including spouses and children who have also been indirectly affected.

He said they’ve worked with doctors, police, dentists, ministers and even school administrators.

“Too many people think just the down and out get here, but it isn’t that way,” K said.

John worked with the adults, while K worked with the youth. Both completed 90 hours of training each year to keep their license.

The couple said they found it to be an advantage to have the support of each other in their work.

Once struggling with their own chemical dependency, John and K know a large part of what the people who have come into the center have experienced.

In fact, they even shared their stories with the people who came into the center.

“We’ve always stayed real,” K said. “They’ll hear our story, and I think people know we are real. We are interested in their lives.”

K had used alcohol and drugs when she was raising her kids, and John said he started drinking in college.

Both said they accepted God into their lives, and they eventually were directed to this job, and ultimately, to each other.

“We believe God had a plan for our lives,” K said, noting that they ran the center with God’s help.

They said they are sad the center will be closing, and now they will have to find something new to do. Both said they think they are too young to retire, so they will probably be looking for new jobs.

They also plan to spend more time with family as they have four children, nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.