By Cindy Mullet
Ranger-Review Staff Writer
Every day Derek Gibbs goes to work at WATCh East expecting a miracle.
Gibbs, the WATCh East program administrator, knows miracles can happen in the lives of people caught up in addiction because he sees it in his work and because he has experienced it in his own life, he said.
He and his family moved to Lewistown from south Texas in 1999. The move changed their lives in positive ways, but going through the WATCh program in Warm Springs was the ultimate life changer, showing him the road to recovery from addiction, he explained.
After completing the WATCh program, he started volunteering at the Nexus Treatment Center in Lewistown in June 2007, was offered a paid position in November that year and worked there until June 2016 when he came to Glendive to take the administrative position at WATCh East, he said.
While working at Nexus, he earned a bachelor’s degree in behavioral science and became a licensed addiction counselor. He is currently working on a master’s degree, he added.
Addiction and substance use disorder is the number one health crisis in the United States. It is often considered a moral failing or something that leads to criminal acts. Programs like the one at WATCh recognize it as a disease and treat it accordingly, he added.
At WATCh East, Gibbs found an amazing staff, committed, dedicated and passionate. They have a vision for each and every one of the family members who come to the facility. They believe that recovery is possible and can lead to a complete lifestyle change that results in productive community members.
“Change happens,” he said. “Not a man or woman on this planet can tell me recovery doesn’t work. I’m sitting here as proof.”
The WATCh program works because it addresses errors in thinking and works to correct those faulty thought processes. Some new family members are angry when they start the program but by the time they leave, those attitudes have changed, he said.
Opened in February 2005, WATCh East provides treatment for offenders with a felony driving under the influence conviction. No violent offenders or sex offenders are admitted. Offenders must fill out an application for the program. Applications are screened by a local committee which meets every two months, Gibbs said.
WATCh East is the only treatment facility in the corrections system for female offenders so they and offenders from Billings and all of Eastern Montana are given priority in the selection process. Being in treatment in a facility close to home and having support systems is important, he explained.
After going through a medical checkup and being introduced to rules and procedures, new family members are put into the first of three phase groups. In the first group they learn to know themselves. In the second phase group they apply what they have learned and in the third phase group they learn how to prevent relapses and are introduced to the concept of paying it forward, he said.
All programs are individualized and family members move through the groups at their own speed. They earn every step. Nothing is given to them, he emphasized, explaining that when family members work hard for something, they protect and value it. If they have worked hard to get to phase two, they don’t want to go back down.
The day for family members at WATCh East starts at 6 a.m. with morning chores, then breakfast, morning recreation and a 30-minute community meeting. From 9:45 to lunch and after lunch until 5 p.m. family members are involved in their phase groups. After supper they have time to participate in activities such as AA groups led by people from outside the facility or to catch up on homework. They also have a nightly reflection time before bed at 10 p.m., he said.
Since taking the administrative position, Gibbs has introduced some changes in daily routines and emphasizes a more intense therapeutic community approach to recovery. He would also like to see WATCh East become a more integral part of the Glendive community.
“There is a wealth of knowledge in this building,” he said. “Somebody’s story might help someone in the community. Their voices are powerful.”
While family members are not allowed to leave the building, Gibbs would like to bring groups in to the facility to hear their stories. In Lewistown, he saw some powerful interactions between students and residents of the treatment center.
“It’s a win, win deal,” he said, adding, “This is an asset that’s not being utilized.”
Gibbs is a strong believer that prevention efforts are much better than treatment. Recovery is always possible, but teaching young people to make right decisions so they don’t end up at a facility such as WATCh is better, he said.
Working at WATCh East is an exciting new challenge for Gibbs, a new chapter in his life and a new adventure. He welcomes questions from people anyone in the community who want to know more about the program and encourages anyone to give him a call. He is eager to share the cool things happening there.
“I don’t work anymore,” he noted. “I just come up here and hang out and watch miracles happen.”
Reach Cindy Mullet at
crmullet@midrivers.com.