Alumni

Alumni

Pine Grove’s treatment programs lay the foundation for a rich life in recovery. We value our alumni community, which is why we provide ongoing events, reunions, and support for our graduates.

The Pine Grove Alumni Program

Pine Grove Behavioral Health & Addiction Services offers recovery support services to every patient who completes one of Pine Grove’s addiction treatment programs. During treatment, Pine Grove creates the foundation for long-term contented recovery, and putting that education to work often begins when patients leave the treatment environment and integrate into the real world. The Pine Grove Alumni Program is designed to support the recovery process after treatment through a variety of programs that support our patients’ continued recovery.

The Pine Grove Network Program

The Pine Grove Network Program connects alumni with patients during treatment to begin a positive relationship prior to discharge. This creates a bond and opens the door for the newly sober to pick up the phone and ask for help when they return home. This program helps to connect alumni when they relocate or travel. Sometimes an exiting patient may be the first alumni in their home town, and it’s beneficial to their recovery to connect them with fellow Pine Grove alumni. Exiting patients find it helpful to talk with alumni via e-mail or phone calls. Permission to connect is requested, and participation is voluntary.

Recovery Meetings for Pine Grove Alumni

We have helped people find recovery meetings in their communities. If you need help finding a meeting in your hometown or while traveling, please contact our Alumni Department at alumni@pinegrovetreatment.com. Our office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The Alumni Days of Hope

Pine Grove invites Alumni to return to our beautiful campus for the Days of Hope. This recovery support program is an opportunity to return to Pine Grove and reconnect with treatment staff, fellow alumni, and current patients at no additional cost. Alumni are welcome to attend as many dates as they choose.

Click here for upcoming Alumni events

The Annual Alumni Reunion

Pine Grove’s Annual Alumni Reunion is an extended version of Pine Grove’s Days of Hope, which is offered throughout the year. Alumni and their families return to Pine Grove’s campus to re-connect with staff and current patients. The weekend concludes with a spiritual send off on Sunday morning.

Weekly Aftercare Meeting

One of the benefits of Pine Grove’s Alumni Program is the ability to participate in the weekly aftercare call that is facilitated by the organization’s professional Alumni staff. Every Thursday afternoon at 12 noon (CST), former Pine Grove patients, who are members of the Alumni Program, may join this weekly meeting via Zoom to continue their peer connections, maintain a relationship with Pine Grove’s staff, and receive support and guidance within a virtual group setting. Each week, specific topics that are important to living in recovery are discussed. These topics may include sponsorship, forgiveness, self-acceptance, resentments, fear, spirituality, expectations, and ego reduction. The group also addresses other topics as presented by the group. Some of the benefits of this weekly meeting for Pine Grove’s Alumni include learning to be accountable, developing communication and listening skills, and being open minded in recovery. For more information about the weekly Aftercare Meeting, please contact our Alumni Department at alumni@pinegrovetreatment.com.

Structured Family Recovery®

Structured Family Recovery is a program at Pine Grove Behavioral Health & Addiction Services that outlines how each family member impacts a patient’s recovery after treatment. Developed by Pine Grove Consultant Debra Jay, this program creates a defined family support system which can provide empathy, understanding, and accountability once a patient completes treatment.

Structured Family Recovery Video

Contact the Alumni Department

Pine Grove’s Alumni Program is interested in your feedback on how to improve communication with us. Alumni and their family members have important suggestions and we welcome this advice. If you are an alumnus or alumna of Pine Grove and have not been receiving our quarterly newsletters and other correspondence, please fill out the Alumni Consent Form and mail it to:

Pine Grove Alumni Department
2255 Broadway Drive
Hattiesburg, MS 39402

Alumni Program Staff

Erin Konves
Business Development & Alumni Coordinator

Erin Konves works as an Alumni Coordinator in the Business Development Department of Pine Grove Behavioral Health & Addiction Services, located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.  As the Alumni Coordinator, she leads a variety of diverse 12-step groups for Pine Grove’s nationally recognized and respected specialty treatment programs. Additionally, Ms. Konves meets with Pine Grove’s patients upon discharge to engage them in the organization’s alumni program, and she follows up with them once they have returned to their hometowns, following their treatment. She also hosts a weekly multi-family online session to educate families about addiction, and directs a weekly aftercare meeting for Pine Grove’s alumni, that focuses on specific recovery topics. In addition, Ms. Konves works diligently to coordinate Pine Grove’s quarterly Days of Hope reunions to connect alumni with current Pine Grove patients for continued hope and inspiration. Prior to working for Pine Grove, Ms. Konves worked in Property Management for nearly nine years.  She earned her Bachelor of Science degree at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH.  Ms. Konves is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Psychology at William Carey University, located in Hattiesburg, MS.  She is a member of Faces and Voices of Recovery, and through her own journey in recovery she thoroughly enjoys working with people who are struggling with addiction, and helping them find courage and peace.  In her spare time, you might find her rescuing animals and riding her bike on the trails in Hattiesburg.

Eileene McRae
Business Development & Alumni Coordinator

Eileene McRae is a Business Development & Alumni Coordinator for Pine Grove Behavioral Health & Addiction Services, and she has worked in the addiction services field for over 43 years. As a certified alcohol and drug counselor, earlier in her career, she guided families and residential patients to recovery. Ms. McRae has also worked in community outreach, educating students, civic clubs and other organizations about addiction and alcoholism. Her speaking demands have carried her all over the United States as well as Canada. She has particularly enjoyed working with young children living with parental addiction. As a result of that interest, she authored a book in 2008 titled, Home At Last, a story told through the eyes of two brother frogs that live with a practicing alcoholic father frog. While working at the Central Mississippi National Council on Alcoholism, she wrote and initiated the first educational program for young children in Mississippi who had a parent in treatment for addiction. This was taught through the medium of puppetry. During that time she also started the first Alatot group in Jackson, MS, a 12 Step group for kids ages four to eleven, who lived with parents in recovery. Ms. McRae also spent ten years traveling and supporting colleges and universities that contain Collegiate Recovery Programs. She has served on the Association of Recovery in Higher Education Board (ARHE), and she currently serves on the Collegiate Recovery Program Boards at The University of Mississippi and Mississippi State University. She has also been a member of the Steering Committee for the Gulf Coast Conference on Addiction Recovery for the past 30 years. Eileene McRae studied at Texas Women’s University, Millsaps College, and the University of Southern Mississippi.