Hector Reyes House.

The Hector Reyes House is a new model of residential substance use treatment. It will provide services for 25 Latino men. This program will offer in-house medical treatment, along with intensive cognitive behavioral therapy and motivational interviewing. It will address nationally recognized health care disparities, alleviate a shortage of treatment options for Latinos, offer training and employment options designed to promote recovery, and reduce the odds of relapse. There are currently NO such programs in the region.

During the first month the residents will be restricted to the in-house program. The goal is to help the men establish a daily routine, and begin the intensive phase of treatment. It will also provide skills that will be necessary for maintaining abstinence. These skills are designed to enhance the ability to cope with the temptation to use substances. Instruction in Job training skills will be emphasized during this phase.

During the 2nd and 3rd month the men will be able to leave the house for outside activities. They will be expected to actively pursue employment during this phase. They will still be living in an environment that will support abstinence. One important focus of this phase of treatment will be to establish new social networks with people who do not use drugs or alcohol, in order to develop new, non-drug related recreational and social activities. During this phase of treatment, the men will be helped to establish a “balanced lifestyle.” This phase will provide a “bridge” to living independently in the community without the intensive support of the program.

During the 4th through the 6th month will be the final preparations for independent living. The Hector Reyes House will utilize the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s (NIDA) evidence-based approach to Relapse Prevention. This treatment is a cognitive-behavioral therapy based on the theory that learning processes play a critical role in the development of maladaptive behavioral patterns. Individuals learn to identify and correct problematic behaviors.

Motivational interviewing, which is another evidence-based intervention, will be used in conjunction with cognitive-behavioral/relapse prevention interventions. Motivational interviewing is an innovative approach to addressing the problem of resistance or denial, which are major challenges in substance abuse treatment.

Relapse prevention and motivational interviewing are “state-of-the-art” interventions for substance abuse. NIDA considers these interventions to be among the most promising interventions for substance abuse problems.

This comprehensive treatment plan addresses much more than the substance abuse problem alone. It will address psychological, social, work, medical, family/interpersonal, and spiritual problems for each person.

The evidence is clear that comprehensive programs are more effective than programs that deal with only one aspect of the problem. For the community, both immediate and extended, this means that the program should have an impact far beyond its immediate treatment successes.

• Individual treatment plans

• Offer ESL

• Educational programs for Literacy and GED completion

• Spirituality

• Health Awareness through Physical Fitness programs, Nutrition Education, and Disease Management support.

• Access to AA, NA, and other 12 step programs

• Employment opportunities, with development of labor agreements with local businesses

• Training in vocational, educational, and social skills

• Business Model to allow work experience in order to help the residents defray cost of care and allow them to develop the skills to continue directly into the workforce after completion of the program