{"id":22939,"date":"2025-12-10T17:49:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T00:49:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=22939"},"modified":"2026-01-06T17:52:54","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T00:52:54","slug":"finding-a-way-at-the-walker-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/10\/finding-a-way-at-the-walker-center\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding A Way at The Walker Center"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Mike McKenna<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"As the story goes, Archie Walker was a local legend around Gooding, but not for all the right reasons.<\/p>\n

Archie was a successful farmer and businessman. He was also an alcoholic. \u00a0Archie eventually realized that alcoholism had led him to wreak horror on the town and the people he loved long enough, so in 1976 Archie teamed up with Dr. Douglass Smith to found The Walker Center in the heart of Gooding. It was the first facility of its kind in the Pacific Northwest.<\/p>\n

Nearly 50 years later, the nationally-accredited nonprofit has helped thousands of people find a way to recover from alcohol and drug addictions.<\/p>\n

\u201cRecovery is possible. There is a different path,\u201d Christine Standlee, the Director for Community Relations for The Walker Center, said. And she knows first-hand.<\/p>\n

Christine has successfully gone through programs at The Walker Center herself, before being offered a job there.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mess became my message,\u201d Christine said. \u201cI got my purpose and a new perspective. Recovery is possible. There is a different path.\u201d<\/p>\n

It takes a lot of courage to ask for help, especially if you\u2019re battling substance abuse issues. But they are challenges that are all too common and will impact everyone in some way, shape or form.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis doesn\u2019t just happen to other people. We all know and care about someone who is struggling with addiction or mental health issues,\u201d said Debbie Thomas, The Walker Center\u2019s CEO. \u201cIt\u2019s not about what or how much you use, it\u2019s about what happens to you when you use it. You have to have the courage to be willing to look at yourself and say, \u2018I need to change,\u2019 and the courage to accept some help.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the keys to The Walker Center\u2019s success is that back in 1983, Dr. Smith became the first addictionologist in Idaho. He focused the Center\u2019s programs around a person-first approach, adhering to more socially-based philosophies heralded for treating individuals with support and dignity.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery recovery pattern is going to be a bit different,\u201d Christine said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just a matter of will power. It\u2019s a matter of willingness. You have to be willing to make that change, to make a difference, and the staff we have is so remarkable, so caring.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe meet the person where they\u2019re at,\u201d Debbie said. \u201cOften, there\u2019s a sense of hopelessness, but we\u2019re here to talk to anyone. You can change and we\u2019re here to help.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other key to success for The Walker Center is that they also provide help and guidance for the family members who often struggle psychologically, physically and financially as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that these evidence-based practices work,\u201d Debbie said. \u201cAnything is possible if we have meaningfulness, purpose and quality connections with others.\u201d<\/p>\n

As their social media hashtag reminds us, it\u2019s never too late to start #WalkingSober.<\/p>\n

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The Walker Center has a main treatment facility in Gooding and outpatient location in Twin Falls. Find out more at TheWalkerCenter.org or call 800-227-4190.<\/em><\/p>\n

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By Mike McKenna As the story goes, Archie Walker was a local legend around Gooding, but not for all the right reasons. Archie was a successful farmer and businessman. He was also an alcoholic. \u00a0Archie eventually realized that alcoholism had led him to wreak horror on the town and the people he loved long enough, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":479,"featured_media":10323,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[84],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-22939","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-in-brief"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/479"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22939"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22939\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22941,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22939\/revisions\/22941"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}