New Re-entry Program for Prisoners in Plymouth County Features Innovative Wrap-around Team Approach For many former prisoners transitioning back into their communities, the cycle of re-incarceration is difficult to break. And studies show that released inmates who have substance use disorder—often combined with another mental disorder—are more likely to end up back behind bars if they don’t get proper treatment and access to community services. The five-year Gándara Center-Plymouth County MISSION Re-entry Program, which began in September at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility, provides coordinated and integrated services for 260 incarcerated men who are assessed with substance use disorder, co-occurring other mental health issues, and are at high risk to reoffend. The project was funded by a $425,000 grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). In the first year, the program is assisting 40 individuals who are within four months of finishing their sentences and returning to the greater Brockton and Plymouth communities. All 260 clients across five years will be the focus of the evidence-based practice called MISSION-CJ (Maintaining Independence and Sobriety through Systems Integration, Outreach, and Networking-Criminal Justice). Hope for Holyoke Hosts MOAR Western Massachusetts Policy Forum Powerful recovery stories were told at the Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery (MOAR) Western Massachusetts Policy Forum, which was hosted by the Hope for Holyoke recovery support center on May 24. Hope for Holyoke, one of Gándara’s peer-to-peer recovery centers, provides such services as relapse prevention and tobacco cessation support groups, social events, access to computers for job readiness/job search activities, and advocacy and recovery coaching. Several people shared testimonials about how recovery support centers helped change their lives. Maritza, a member of Hope for Holyoke, thanked “those who saw me when I felt invisible.” Another member, Marcos, called Hope for Holyoke his second home. “I learned how to read here,” he said. He also related a story about his bicycle being stolen and how the center’s peers bought him a new one. State Rep. Aaron Vega was in attendance and spoke about centers like Hope for Holyoke doing more than their part in fighting the addiction crisis. Project Health Infectious Disease Initiative to Reduce Hepatitis & HIV Gándara Center received a four-year, $445,000 federal SAMHSA grant for our outpatient recovery services in Springfield to reduce the incidence of hepatitis, HIV, and other chronic health conditions for individuals with a serious mental illness or co-occurring disorder. An onsite pharmacy will open in 2019 and a bilingual co-located infectious diseases physician, Dr. Claudia Martorell, will join clinicians in offering minorityfocused primary and behavioral health integrated care to screen and treat clients living with—or at high risk of contracting—hepatitis and HIV, which are prevalent among the communities we serve. Each year, 400 individuals will receive treatment for hepatitis/HIV and 2,500 will receive enhanced risk screening.
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