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| Father Joseph C. Martin — Answering the Call for Hope |
| Columns - Profile | |
| Written by Stephanie L. Muller | |
| Friday, 06 June 2008 | |
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Father Joseph C. Martin, who recently turned 83, is a renowned educator on the disease of alcoholism and drug addiction. He has touched the lives of millions during more than five decades of working with recovering people. He is probably best known for his film, Chalk Talk, which more than 35 years after its release, is still being described by addiction experts as one of the most effective and informative descriptions of alcoholism and addiction, to date. Born in Baltimore, Md., on Oct. 12, 1924, Father Martin was one of seven children to James and Marie Martin. Raised in a “happy and secure” environment, Father Martin attended Catholic schools, and was a good student. In the summer before his senior year at Loyola High School (a very selective all-male Jesuit school), Father Martin began working full-time at St. Mary’s Seminary in the evenings, and continued to work there while attending Loyola College. After his sophomore year, Father Martin entered St. Mary’s Seminary, where he spent the next two years studying for the priesthood. In 1948, at the age of 24, Father Martin was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Just two months after his ordination, Father Martin was sent to St. Joseph’s College in California, a prep seminary serving the Archdiocese of San Francisco. By 1951, he had completed even more rigorous training to become a Sulpician, a member of the highly regarded teaching society within the church. Father Martin had begun drinking moderately in 1948, but his drinking increased over the next several years, landing him in the psychiatric ward of St. Mary’s Hospital in San Francisco in 1956. Little was known about alcoholism and its treatment, at the time, and after three weeks of “complete rest,” Father Martin emerged feeling better, and resumed his drinking immediately upon being discharged. Within days of leaving the hospital, Father Martin was reassigned to St. Charles College in Catonsville, Md. His drinking had progressed to a point where he could no longer hide it, as it was affecting his work. So in the summer of 1958, Father Martin went to stay at Guest House in Michigan, a private sanctuary where Catholic priests could recover. Guest House and its founder, Austin Ripley, would both serve as a model for his own treatment center, Father Martin’s Ashley. Both Austin Ripley and Dr. Walter Greene would have a profound effect on Father Martin, and throughout his career, he credited both men for teaching him what he knew about alcoholism and recovery. In fact, it was Dr. Greene’s educational model on alcoholism that was the basis for Father Martin’s Blackboard Talk (which later became Chalk Talk). Austin Ripley was closely connected with Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith, the co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), and thus embraced the 12-Step model as the foundation for recovery. Father Martin’s message would later be based on this, as well as what he learned from Dr. Greene’s lectures on the disease of addiction. After seven months at Guest House, Father Martin returned to St. Charles, determined to live the 12-Steps. Over the next several years, changes in the Catholic Church, particularly with regard to the teaching practices of the Sulpician Society, resulted in Father Martin’s teaching duties to be cut back, and then eliminated altogether. Although he continued with the priesthood, Father Martin also had given his first Blackboard Talk in 1959, at an AA meeting, which led to command performances for other AA groups. Father Martin, who first and foremost considered himself an educator, endured some tough years when he was no longer given the opportunity to teach, under the newly adopted changes to the seminary curriculum by the Sulpician Society. Bolstered by the growing popularity of his Blackboard Talk, his dedication to helping others, and the support of friends like Mae Abraham — who he had met in AA — Father Martin was able to combine his recovery and his teaching, to become an iconic figure in the addiction treatment field. Given the overwhelmingly positive response to his Blackboard Talk, Father Martin was eventually hired as a lecturer and educator for the Division of Alcohol Control for the state of Maryland, and was also enlisted by the United States Navy in February 1972, to film what would be then renamed Chalk Talk. He has lectured and served as a consultant to the Army, Navy and Air Force, both in the United States and abroad. Since its inception, Chalk Talk has become the main educational resource on alcoholism for branches of the Federal Government, parts of industry, medical facilities, hospitals, rehabilitation centers and other substance abuse programs. The popularity of his first film led Father Martin and Mae Abraham to found Kelly Productions in 1972, a production company in Bel Air, Md., dedicated to educating alcoholics and drug addicts, as well as their families and friends. Kelly Productions has produced more than 30 films and other media on addiction, and continues to operate under Father Martin’s mission. In 1983, Father Martin and Mae Abraham founded Father Martin’s Ashley, a non-profit center in Havre de Grace, Md., dedicated to the treatment of persons with alcohol and drug addictions.              |
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