Wed, September 5 2007
Media Contact
David Henderson, Director of Communications
(212) 620-7310 X227
(917) 488-9086 cell
Release: September 5, 2007
Media Contact:
David Henderson, Director of Communications
(212) 620-7310 X227
(917) 488-9086 cell
Center CARE Recovery Opens – First LGBT-Specific Recovery Program in New York State
NEW YORK – “This is a milestone for our community,” said Andres Hoyos, the Director of Center CARE Recovery.
This month The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center opens Center CARE Recovery, the first licensed, outpatient recovery treatment program in New York State that’s specifically developed for LGBT persons. The program will provide recovery from substance abuse, eliminating the difficulties of treatment in a mixed gay/straight environment; introduce medical care to the Center; and allow counselors to spot potentially damaging abuse trends specific to the LGBT population.
Center CARE Recovery will officially arrive with an open house from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., followed by a dedication ceremony at 6 p.m., on Thursday, September 20. The facility is physically part of the Center’s Adult Services Building, just behind the main building at 208 W. 13th Street.
In 1987, under the leadership of Dr. Barbara Warren, the Center launched its first treatment program, a drug and alcohol prevention effort, that eventually evolved into the expansive Center CARE services of today. Center CARE provides prevention and harm reduction through counseling for individuals, couples, and significant others as well as myriad support groups. Center CARE helps clients combat smoking, alcohol and substance abuse, including crystal methamphetamine; offers the latest in HIV/AIDS information; arranges referrals for other therapeutic avenues; teaches intervention methods; and operates the Lesbian Cancer Initiative and the Gender Identity Project.
Center CARE Recovery brings prevention and harm reduction services to the final step, recovery – complete abstinence, complete freedom. “Prevention does not impose any criteria around abstinence, so we could say Center CARE offers a lower threshold of services. This new program is an abstinence-based service for people with substance abuse and for their significant others and families,” said Hoyos. But he points out the two programs will work hand-in-hand. A person not ready for abstinence will receive counseling in Center CARE until he can commit to full recovery, and then he will move to Center CARE Recovery. And unlike many other programs, if a person in recovery relapses, he will not be cut-off from the agency; he will simply return to the Center CARE program until he is ready to make the transition again.
“It might seem like a small issue,” he said. “But it creates a huge difference when the people feel the Center is there to help them no matter what they do, no matter where they’re at. They can do more harm reduction in Center CARE and then come back to our recovery services. In this way they will have access to more services than in a traditional substance abuse program. A person not ready for abstinence can be working on another part of her well-being. It’s a holistic approach, and that allows them to find help at many different levels. Everything is interrelated. Substance abuse affects every part of a person’s life.”
One of the most important things Center CARE Recovery has to offer is the most obvious: it is part of the Center, a community setting. In other programs, LGBT individuals are either in treatment or out on their own. The Center offers a more organic environment because it is a microcosm of the LGBT populace at large. Clients in treatment can visit the library, use the cyber center or sit-in with a self-help group. “The Center is a sheltered and holistic space, and this will provide a chance for a more comfortable and successful recovery process,” said Hoyos.
Center CARE Recovery will operate with a license from New York’s Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS), and this license will allow the Center to accept private insurance and Medicaid for the first time, making treatment accessible to more people. The Center’s Deputy Director for Programs, Elijah Nealy, shepherded the organization through the lengthy, complicated path to state licensing. OASAS will help fund the start-up for three years, with monetary support decreasing annually. Hoyos notes that no one will be turned away for lack of ability to pay, including immigrants, who will be treated regardless of their legal status.
Initially, a staff of four will manage the new service: Hoyos, M.S., LMSW, Director and Counselor; our first medical professional, Dr. Shane Spicer, M.D., Psychiatry; an administrator; and Carole Henry, CASAC, Counselor.
Hoyos said a program strictly for LGBT persons is of great need and long overdue. “There is a high amount of prejudice around sexual orientation and gender identity related to substance abuse, so it is important to bring that piece of the struggle to the recovery process. In order to do that, they have to be in a place where they are unafraid to acknowledge that piece.”
In mainstream programs, while many have a separate gay/lesbian component, LGBT people still feel many of their peers and the providers are homophobic, making full recovery difficult. Hoyos said, “Even without discrimination from the agency, because we have been trained by a society that has done so much harm and oppression to our community, people still tend to go back in the closet and not reveal their sexual orientation or gender identity, so they are splitting realities. Here you will know that you are completely safe and completely accepted. It’s a complete switch from fear based on discrimination to personal strength and value.”
Clinically, the team also expects to be better able to recognize health trends in a strictly LGBT environment. This may help treatment providers to spot the next epidemic like crystal meth before it has a chance to spread to thousands. The program will also provide conclusive proof of the need for, and success of, LGBT-specific health services.
Not having an LGBT-specific recovery outpatient treatment facility in New York was a huge gap in our community’s services, and having LGBT persons seek treatment in programs where they did not feel comfortable was disabling for many. Hoyos said, “If you have to deny something that is so important like your sexuality or identity, then how can you succeed in something so challenging as overcoming substance abuse?”
About the Center
A beacon of hope for 29 years, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center builds and supports our community through arts and culture, wellness and recovery, family services and life-saving youth programs designed to foster healthy development in a safe, affirming environment. The Center envisions a world where LGBT people will no longer face discrimination or isolation because of who we are or who we love. We offer a welcoming home to 300,000 visitors each year and we are committed to serving all LGBT people through a variety of programs, services and activities that are designed to meet existing and emerging needs.The Center is many things to many people. We invite you to experience our home at 208 West 13th Street in person and online at gaycenter.org
