Academy Award winner Richard Dreyfuss came to the Rosecrance addictions facility in Rockford, Monday to console recovering drug and alcohol addicts.

Earlier in life, Dreyfuss was an addict using an assortment of drugs, and he described his recovery as one of the most difficult periods of his life.

“I think that drugs are an epic, dangerous and important problem. They are not to be taken lightly,” he said, hands folded, looking down.

He would not comment on the specifics of his addiction, only replying, “My addiction is my addiction.”

Addiction is far more complex than people realize, he said. It has a 5,000 year history and is one of humanity’s greatest dilemmas.

His visit to Rosecrance was not a part of a series, but a reply to a single invitation. He was the keynote speaker at the sold-out evening banquet, where there was a waiting list of 60 people.

Rosecrance has a number of facilities spread across Rockford, and as Dreyfuss noted, has a national reputation for quality.

As Rosecrance has grown, so too has its need to measure success. In this way, NIU and the agency have a long history.

The NIU Center for Allied Health performs the agency’s outcome study, an important tool for continued development at Rosecrance, said Toni Gartner, director of performance improvement at Rosecrance. It is now in its seventh year.

The year-long, longitudinal study analyzes not only prevalence of relapses, but also success in employment, parenting and academics, said James Ciesla, a principle coordinator of the study.

The agency interprets the results, which provide both a narrow and broad understanding of how successful they are, and makes additions to their programs where necessary.

Success is not only dependent upon curbing the addiction, but also in creating circumstances that encourage it, Gartner said.

Addiction is misunderstood because it is hard to cast it within a context that is understandable to passers-by, Dreyfuss said.

The agency realized discharged patients were having difficulty finding jobs or maintaining a steady income, Gartner said. They then created RoseTech Industries. Companies local to Rockford outsource work at RoseTech, and patients are able to reacclimate to a work environment as line workers.

Equally important, the agency learned from the study that patients who return to drug-related friendships are 40 times more likely to relapse, Ciesla said. A program was created to help patients form new friends.

The study does not coerce the agency to develop in certain areas, but it acts as a guideline, one that is trusted and relied upon, Gartner said.

For NIU students interested in working in the field, vice president of marketing Janis Waddell said a number of Rosecrance interns are NIU students.

For information about the agency, internships or treatment, call 391-1000.