Habilitat

Habilitat? In 1988 I was 32 years old. Although working full time in a professional manner in the medical field and outwardly able to maintain a picture to others of being " okay" , my life was unraveling. My addiction to narcotics and stimulants was becoming an all encompassing priority; slowly at first, as with many things, but growing in strength and speed. My family and my professional life became secondary priorities; my highest priority was to maintain my access to pharmaceuticals as well as to do everything in my power to " cloak and dagger" this behavior, to hide it and attempt a facade of normalcy to my family and professional acquaintances... My family had insight; a relative of mine had walked essentially this same path at one point in his life. THE WRITING WAS ON THE WALL. This as well as other " bumps in the road" led to my families decision to throw on the brakes. Despite a professional salary I was always broke. The excuses began to wear thin. Thankfully the desperation of my family became the driving force in confronting me, my lifestyle and the tragic impact this was having on them and my life in general. I couldn't see the forest from the trees anymore. At my job others were voicing concern.. I was going nowhere fast....This family pressure and my inability to to sustain my hedonistic lifestyle led me to Habilitat. Today I am 65. I would like to thank HABILITAT. Without the program I sincerely doubt I would be here today to write about it.. A difficult program? Sure.. ! Yet ..well , for those like me who lose the ability to see the forest from the trees...perhaps the best thing that could have happened...Thank you HABILITAT

Not...I REAPEAT NOT for Heroin addicts or anyone with dual diagnosis or ANY type of mental issues. I was there for 6 months and was a local living in Hawaii for 3 years afterwards. I actually ran into and was sad to see 3 or 4 of their " Graduates" die from overdoses and one was hit by a car riding rollerskates while high. Another one actually stabbed and broke a board over another graduate from the same class. This place is a joke. It was actually started by a former mobster looking to squirrel his illegal money away and launder US funds so he bought the property and totally screwed TONS of poor addicts. This place will lie up and down to you and NOT tell you what goes on there unless you ask the right questions. If you want a bootcamp in your face total shit show, bu all means go for it. But this place survives on signing you up and putting you on welfare, then them taking all of your state awarded wellfare and putting it towards your stay. Sounds ok right? Till you leave and actually get a bill from the IRS that you owe money to them. They take anyone because they feed everyone off local foodbanks, YOUR welfare checks and benefits and everything else that crappy state gives to anyone thats addicted to drugs. Ask the RIGHT questions and STAY AWAY. From a former slave that went there. Go to Salvation Army...they SAVED my life.

This facility doesn't serve drug addicts with mental health diagnoses. Reportedly none of their clients take psych meds. They don't know how to deal with this population....treatment for mental health diagnoses (especially people with Axis 1 personality disorders) is NOT the same as treating 'regular' addicts...a boot camp approach like that adopted at Habilitat is NOT appropriate; it usually makes things worse for these clients. Even if they graduate treatment, which is unlikely, they don't come close to treating the root cause of the drug use, so a relapse is highly probable. Dual diagnosis (mental health and drug addiction) treatments are PROVEN to be more effective. Dialectical Behavioral Therapy is proven to be more effective for people with Borderline Personality Disorder, and it isn't even a rehab-focused therapy.Yet I've watched Habilitat accept several clients who are on meds and who have mental health diagnoses as a jail diversion alternative. One was a friend who is very important to me, Habilitat is setting these people up to FAIL.Why are they doing it? Because they get paid through clients' medical insurance. Self pay costs about $2000/month at Habilitat. Assume the same rate is paid through insurance. An inappropriate client who lasts 4 months before blowing out or getting kicked out brings Habilitat $8000 that they wouldn't otherwise have gotten is that clients bed sat empty. If the mentally ill client who should be on meds graduates the program...I haven't seen it happen yet but its possible...that number rises to $60,000 in Habilitat's pocket while the client still likely lacks the tools to prevent relapse given their diagnoses.Why do they get away with it? Graduation rates at rehab facilities are TERRIBLE across the board. a 25% graduation / no relapse rate is REALLY REALLY high. Most facilities claim they are much more successful than this but that's usually a bald faced lie. So...MOST clients don't succeed anyway in ANY rehab program. So who's going to really notice if a mentally ill client doesn't graduate? Nobody. They just did what most clients do anyway...fail.The difference is they were set up to fail because the program was inappropriate in the first place. Its completely unethical, potentially damaging, and morally disgusting.They might help some people. But they intentionally screw others by even accepting them into the program at all.