Morton Center expands services in Louisville to help more families heal

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- For years, Alex Svendsen's life looked picture-perfect from the outside — finishing a Ph.D., building a family and living in Louisville. But, behind the scenes, alcohol was slowly taking control.

"It's your neighbor next door ..." Svendsen said Thursday. "It was definitely a problem. When I was starting to drink, to just cope with everything ... started to be less of a drinking for all of my good times to drinking in good times and bad times to drinking all of the time."

That spiral lasted for more than a year, until it nearly killed him.

"The worst is ending up at U of L hospital with a blood alcohol 0.42," Svendsen said. "That was actually what made me come over to the Morton Center."

He remembers being found by his wife after trying to sleep off a binge in his car.

Alex Svendsen's life changed when he walked into the Morton Center in Louisville. *(WDRB Photo)*

"Somehow, my wife found me while I had put my keys underneath the seat so that I didn't get what I thought would have been a DUI," he said. "She ended up finding me trying to sleep it off and taking me over to UofL Hospital, which was a few roads away."

The next day, Svendsen called the Morton Center.

"I called Monday afternoon because I was just so deep in shame, and they had me in for an evaluation the next day," he said.

Svendsen said it wasn't just about saving his own life. It was about saving his family.

"It isn't just me. I have repercussions on everybody around me," he said. "Before I really got sober ... it was either I was gonna keep drinking or I was gonna kill myself. And the third path finally opened up — and it was legitimately asking for help."

Now, more than two years sober, Svendsen said he's finally at peace.

"I'm a million times happier than I've ever been in my life now that I'm sober," he said. "... two years, four months and seven days."

The Morton Center gave Svendsen a lifeline and now it's expanding to give more families the same chance. Priscilla McIntosh, CEO of the Morton Center, said the nonprofit has launched a pre-treatment program for people who need support but aren't ready to stop using completely.

"That program is for individuals that are coming to us and needing support and help based on their substance use but they may not be ready to step in and completely stopping the use," McIntosh said.

She said the center is also expanding its mental health services to children as young as 4, along with counseling for adolescents, parents and entire families.

"We are also opening up to offer mental health services and being able to work with kids, starting at age 4, and to be able to help navigate parents," McIntosh said. "Because we have counselors who are able to help not only with children and adolescents, but also in families. A family can come here, let's say, at 3 o'clock, and be able to have the entire family seen with individual therapists at the same time."

That approach, McIntosh said, makes treatment more accessible for families who are already stretched thin.

"So that they're not trying to navigate 'How do I get everyone everywhere when we're already trying to figure out how do we get them to school, how do we get them to the athletic sport?'" she said. "So it really helps and supports the community in allowing for them to come here in one place."

The expansion is supported by the Morton Center's annual "Heroes for Hope" luncheon, which raises scholarship money for people who can't afford treatment.

"That fundraiser allows us to say 'Yes' to someone when they're ready to get help without that financial barrier," McIntosh said.

Svendsen said money should never be the reason someone can't get help.

"People need help all throughout the city, and money should not be the reason that they can't get better," he said.

For him, the Morton Center meant survival.

"Legitimately, I'd be dead — 100%," Svendsen said. "Being able to walk in, have a smiling face and having a place here and legitimately not having anybody think differently or down on you for having a problem — it's a special place."

The Morton Center's "Heroes for Hope" luncheon is set for Sept. 23 at The Olmsted. To learn more about The Morton Center, click here.

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