FLORIDA GULF COAST

Camp Mariposa^® St. Petersburg is a year-round addiction prevention and mentoring program for youth affected by the substance use disorder of a family member.

Youth ages 9-12 attend weekend camps up to six times a year. Weekend camps offer fun, traditional camp activities combined with education and support sessions led by mental health professionals and trained adult mentors. Transportation is provided for campers from our WestCare facility to the camp location.

Additional social activities are offered for youth and their families throughout the year. Many Camp Mariposa locations offer programs for teens ages 13-17. All program activities are offered free of charge to families. Camp Mariposa St. Petersburg is part of Eluna’s national Camp Mariposa network. For more information, please visit elunanetwork.org.

Upcoming Camp Dates for 2023

• January 6-8
• March 3-5
• May 12-14
• July 7-9
• September 29 - October 1
• November 3-5

Applications

Youth Application
Mentor Application

Contact Information

Kendra Abraham, Camp Mariposa Director
Phone: (727) 515-3838
Email: kendra.abraham@westcare.com

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The Mustard Seed Inn provides transitional housing to homeless adults who have begun their recovery from alcohol, drug abuse and/or mental illness. Mustard Seed is certified by the Florida Association of Recovery Residences (FARR) in cooperation with the Department of Children and Families.

The Mustard Seed Inn, a tri-level facility (a former hotel), is centrally located just minutes from downtown St. Petersburg in a large catchment area for veterans due to the presence of two of the largest VA health care systems in the nation (James A. Haley Veterans Hospital and Bay Pines VA Health Care System).

The Mustard Seed Inn, established in 1991, offers 70 beds for 24/7 transitional living, substance use and co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders treatment, and recovery support services. The facility serves both males and females, although rooms are separated by gender. Residents can remain in the facility for up to 24 months if needed.

FARR Ethics: farronline.org/ethics
FARR Grievance Form: farronline.info/grievance

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WestCare provides twelve (12) weeks of group counseling and drug screening for individuals referred by the Pinellas County Drug Court. Placement in Levels II or III services will be determined at assessment and as ordered by the court. Funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration focuses on serving women with substance abuse issues who also suffer form prescription medication misuse issues. Persons served are required by the Pinellas County Drug Court to attend the Level II or III Outpatient Program at WestCare Florida, located at the North Belcher Road office in Clearwater for the north county group or in the Outpatient Office in St. Petersburg for the south county group. All Drug Court clients are provided with special offender counseling that recognizes that the learning needs, psychological problems and social skills of the client must be addressed to prevent relapse into substance abusing and criminal behavior. The program design recognizes that any relapse into criminal behavior is likely to cause a relapse into chemical use, and that any relapse into the use of drugs, including alcohol is likely to cause a relapse into criminal behavior. The focus is equally on abstinence from criminal behavior as well as substance use. The treatment providers functions as part of a treatment team which is made up of the court including the judge, and other members of that system, case managers, probation officers and attorneys. The treatment provider meets with the drug court team to discuss individual participants and will participate in provider meetings to address drug court issues and to continuously improve drug court effectiveness.

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Turning Point, an emergency intervention shelter and inebriate receiving facility, provides emergency intervention shelter services for homeless adults with substance abuse issues. The shelter is the only facility (in the local area) that accepts inebriated adults directly from the street. Overall, the shelter is designed to provide temporary emergency shelter and cold night shelter services for individuals who have not yet begun their journey into recovery from alcohol and drug abuse. In the Turning Point program, WestCare staff members attempt to engage individuals by offering supportive services. Clients may also be linked to community-based health and human services including temporary shelter, nourishment, shower facilities, case management, supportive counseling, skills building groups and 12-step meetings. Many clients transition into residential substance abuse treatment within WestCare at the Mustard Seed Inn located within minutes of the shelter. Special populations served by Turning Point include veterans and individuals with co-occurring issues.

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WestCare - Gulfcoast's residential program for men and women who are generally court ordered to participate in substance treatment. They can be referred by the courts, any legal system, self-referred, or by family members or friends. Participants in this treatment program all have a serious substance abuse problem or a co-occurring disorder. The modified therapeutic community model program consists of two phases or components. The first phase of the program is the Intensive Treatment Component (ITC), and the final phase of the program is the Employment/Re-entry Component (ERC). These residential programs are a modified TC located at the WestCare Community Involvement Center in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Target population is adult males with a substance use and/or co-occurring mental health disorder, who may be referred by the court system, family, and friends or self referral for residential treatment. The mission of Emerge is to provide comprehensive and innovative services to Central Florida's criminal justice involved substance abusers. Emerge is a 6-8 month program, divided into 3 phases:

• Orientation - Stabilization to the environment and orientation to the treatment program and the addiction and recovery process. Staff will teach the basic 10 functions of the Therapeutic Community philosophy through learning, practicing and being challenged on each skill.
• Engagement - produces constructive insights and changes in behavior. There is a strong emphasis on decision-making, acceptance of ones inability to use substances, pre-vocational and/or educational instruction and development of a plan for relapse prevention, including recognition of the need to continue in aftercare treatment or with self-help groups beyond the treatment experience.
• Reentry - Participants are required to secure and maintain full time employment during the day, and participate in treatment groups and activities either prior to or after work. Our treatment program blends a peer leadership model with professional supervision. Members reside on the premises, and participate in a full complement of treatment groups which focus on abstinence issues, criminal thinking, life skills, and prevocational readiness.

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WestCare Gulf Coast Prevention Programs serve youth ages 9 to 18 years of age. After school, diversion program for both delinquent and pre-delinquent youth ages 8-17. Participants receive substance abuse prevention, life skills and activities that are alternatives to crime and drug use. The services are offered on site at designated school locations and at 1735 Dr. Martin Luther King St, S. St Petersburg Fl 33705.

• The UPSIDE - Utilizing Positive Strategies in Developing Efficacy. The goal of the program is to reduce disproportionate minority contact with the Juvenile Justice System by developing community and school-based prevention and intervention programs for targeted youth.
• Girls Circle of Support Program: This program is gender-specific for girls and includes a strengths-based support group that addresses the specialized needs of minority middle-school aged girls in the South St. Petersburg area.
• Alternatives Prevention Program: This 24 week program will address areas of concern such as social skills, improving communication, making positive decisions, coping with depression and anxiety, anger management and education regarding drugs and their effects with a focus on reducing underage drinking. Additionally, we offer prevention presentations to assemblies and groups.

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SOUTH FLORIDA - VILLAGE SOUTH

The Adult Outreach Program seeks to reduce the negative impact and cost of substance abuse on our community and its families. This program serves the many diverse communities of Miami-Dade County by providing linkages to social services that the clients would not otherwise access. The target populations for the Outreach Program are persons ages 18 and up in need of substance abuse prevention or treatment services, who reside in Miami-Dade County. Trained outreach specialists work to identify persons in need of substance abuse services ranging from prevention to intervention to treatment and work, and to diligently match these persons with existing community resources. The outreach specialists empower the client to access needed services and assist them in navigating the substance abuse services delivery system within Miami-Dade County. Our program effectively increases clients' acceptance and readiness for services, resulting in more efficient utilization of and retention within programs. The array of services with which clients are connected include residential and outpatient substance abuse treatment, HIV counseling and testing, mental health counseling, domestic violence counseling, emergency shelter, job training, and various educational services. Through this vital program, The Village touches some 10,000 individuals annually through community outreach. Program benefits include increased identification of persons with substance-related issues, referral and linkage to community services and resources, and increased utilization of substance abuse related, clinic and other community-based services.

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The primary role of the HIV Early Intervention Program is to facilitate client risk-reduction behaviors in relation to HIV transmission. The Early Intervention Program utilizes the NIDA Community Based Outreach Model: A Manual to Reduce HIV and Other Blood-borne Infections in Drug Users. This proven, effective model has been adapted to be suitable for use in the residential treatment setting. Health education and risk-reduction components are delivered as a group-level intervention over four sessions. The early intervention specialist uses interactive skills to discern client concerns, needs and priorities and to provide information regarding technical aspects of HIV/AIDS. Clients are continually assessed in terms of their knowledge, behavior and attitudes relating to HIV risk factors. Individual-level interventions are based on this ongoing assessment process, and address individual client needs in relation to their HIV risks. Individual-level interventions are structured collaboratively with the client to increase their ability to meet basic needs and adapt risk-reduction behaviors. Program benefits include increased knowledge of HIV transmission, increased sex negotiation and communication skills and providing clients with behavioral change and support. The target populations for the Early Intervention Program are persons living with HIV/AIDS infection due to their substance abuse histories, who are currently receiving substance abuse treatment in Miami-Dade County.

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The Families in Transition (FIT) Program is a comprehensive, award-winning residential drug prevention and treatment program for substance abusing men and/or women and their children. The program began with the Federal Department of Health and Human Services SAMHSA grant in 1992. The program utilizes family systems theory to guide service planning. FIT serves drug-dependent men and/or women and their families by providing an array of treatment, intervention, educational and employment-oriented services including: substance abuse treatment, case management educational and vocational assessment, job development, placement and retention skills and services integrated throughout. The FIT Program focuses on the importance of parenting skills, family planning and economic self-sufficiency. A unique aspect of this program is there is no limit to the number of children allowed to reside with their parent(s) in treatment. The Village FIT Program received the Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association's Best Practice Award (Grand Prize) in 2002. Program benefits include the decrease in the use of and dependence on alcohol and drugs, increased knowledge of parenting skills, reunification of children with their parents, increased family functioning, decreased family conflict, increased academic and emotional functioning of the children and decrease in trauma symptoms using the Seeking Safety curriculum. The FIT Program targets drug-dependent adults and/or pregnant women, their children and families residing in Broward and Monroe counties.

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The Healthy Start Program for pregnant women and infants is intended to provide services that will help with a healthy birth outcome and/or healthy infant. Services include nutrition, psycho-social counseling, smoking cessation, childbirth education, breast-feeding education, support care coordination and parenting skills. Healthy Start services are individualized and provided onsite and in-home to best meet the client's needs. The program receives its referrals from OB/GYN providers who complete prenatal screens that are processed by the Department of Health Program Office. The Healthy Start Coalition also forwards self-referrals and referrals from the community-based providers. Referrals received are evaluated for highest risks and distributed to the care coordinator/case managers, who make the initial contact with the client. The client then receives a comprehensive assessment and assists in the development of their plan of care. The care coordinator/case manager provides referrals to community resources and establishes regular follow-up.

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The Village LIFE Project provides in-home/onsite family therapy to adolescents who exhibit moderate or severe substance abuse problems. Family therapists provide individual and family therapy twice per week. Therapy is a family-focused intervention, involving a structured process of continuous engagement with the adolescent, siblings, their parents and other family members. Therapy emphasizes youth and parent skill building, parent and adolescent relationship building, therapeutic interaction and crisis intervention, as needed.

The LIFE Program builds on family assets, working from points of strength rather than weaknesses. Services provided through LIFE include comprehensive assessment, service and treatment planning, case management, individual and family therapy and urinalysis monitoring. The average length of participation is three to four months. Participation in LIFE assists adolescents in stopping or reducing their alcohol and drug use and improving their overall quality of life. Families benefit from enhanced functioning and cohesiveness and reduction in conflict and disorganization. Participants in LIFE will receive therapy from either of two evidence models. The first is Adolescent Community Re-Enforcement Approach (ACRA) and the other is through Functional Family Therapy (FFT). The type of clinical model will depend on which modality best suits the family's individual needs. The target populations for the LIFE Program are youth, ages 13-17 who reside in Miami-Dade County and are abusing or dependent on alcohol or drugs, and their parents.

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The Continuing Care Programs consist of group and individual substance abuse and mental health counseling, education and relapse prevention for individuals who may be referred through family, employer, HMO, government, the justice system or as a continuum of care for the Village's residential clients. Individuals are placed in one of eight outpatient programs (day and night) to accommodate work and parenting schedules. The Continuing Care Programs offer varying levels of treatment services, ranging from the Intensive Continuing Care Program that provides 11 hours of group and individual therapy, to the Aftercare Program that entails one group session per week. Additional services provided by the Continuing Care Program include child-care services for women and children who are discharged from residential treatment. This Continuing Care Program includes in-home therapy and case management services, in addition to weekly group therapy. Continuing Care also provides a specialized program for clients living with HIV. This program utilizes an effective best-practice curriculum for risk reduction in clients who are living with HIV. Program benefits include decreased use and dependence on alcohol and drugs, increased knowledge of the disease of addiction and recovery process and the increased knowledge of a community-based support system.

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The main focus and benefits for the Primary Addiction Treatment Program for individuals enrolled are a decrease in use and dependence on substances, increased employment, decreased dependence on public assistance, an increase in knowledge of HIV transmission and an Increase in HIV risk reduction behaviors. This program is available to drug dependent adults, ages 18 and over who reside in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The program services 240 adults annually whose lives are adversely impacted by substance abuse. Individuals are assessed and referred to and admitted to the modality which best meets their changing needs at any given stage of the recovery process. The treatment process begins with a comprehensive assessment of the clients functioning in several areas. Next the client assists in the development of their individualized care plan. In addition to individual and group substance abuse counseling, the individual receives services ranging from couples and family therapy, medication management and support, HIV/AIDS education, GED preparation, employment counseling and vocational services, and housing assistance.

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Reach Out Miami's (ROM) street based outreach program provides homeless and runaway youth with survival resources, counseling services, comprehensive needs based community referrals and linkages to care, as well as HIV testing for at risk youth. A primary objective of Reach Out Miami is reunification of youth with the caregiver/ family, or having youth placed in shelter. Reach Out Miami provides services and resources to youth 12-17 who are experiencing homelessness, who have runaway, or are unaccompanied. Intervention strategies include individual counseling, family counseling, CLEAR counseling, HIV/AIDS testing and counseling, as well as risk reduction counseling. ROM distributes outreach materials such as basic survival kits (i.e. edibles, water, socks, and hygiene products for temporary support), provides safe sex kits for at risk youth, as well as distributes referral services pamphlets and ROM contact information. Community mentorship, youth advocacy, and educational lectures are also part of ROM's prevention strategy including concepts of positive youth development, peer mentoring, youth leadership, volunteerism, and service learning. Program benefits include decrease in homelessness and associated risk factors, reunification of children with their family/ caregiver, and decreased use of and dependence on alcohol and drugs

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The Village Project IMPACT (Integrating Multi-level Protective and Community Targets) was created to give both parents and school aged youth the ability to develop decision making skills, risk assessment, bring awareness and prevention methods towards illicit drugs and there usage.

The Village Project IMPACT program uses an evidence-based curriculum called Life Skills Training; the curriculum is designed for both Middle School and High School students and focuses on improving wellness attitudes, measured by increased perception of harm, and reduction of favorable attitudes toward, alcohol and illicit drugs. To continue the enhancement of the family unit we incorporate the Life Skills Training for parents as well that focus on family communication, parental modeling, being a good role model, effects and warning signs of substances abuse, and taking a clear stand on drug abuse.

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Project STYLE is a comprehensive, integrated substance abuse and HIV prevention program that has been specifically designed to provide age appropriate services to young adults (ages 18 to 24) living in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The program is supported through a 5-year Minority Aids Initiative (MAI) grant from The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Some of the services offered include:

• RESPECT - This counseling program is individualized. The goal is to help decrease the chances of attracting HIV. The RESPECT sessions look at the circumstances, context and consequences of recent high-risk behaviors. RESPECT also addresses the person's challenges in trying to reduce these risky behaviors. The counselor will work with the client to overcome these challenges.
• Choosing Life: Empowerment! Action! Results! (CLEAR) - CLEAR is a health promotion counseling plan for males and females, ages 16 and older, living with HIV/AIDS and/or individuals who are HIV-negative, but who are at high risk. CLEAR is comprehensive and provides the person the opportunity to learn, practice, and internalize behavioral skills that help the person reach the long term behavior change in six specific areas.
• PRIME For Life - PRIME For Life is an alcohol and other drug program designed to gently but powerfully challenge common beliefs and attitudes that directly contribute to high-risk alcohol and other drug use. The program goals are to reduce the risk for health problems and impairment problems by increasing abstinence, delaying initial use, and decreasing high-risk use.
• Community-Based Outreach - Project STYLE staff conducts outreach activities to provide substance abuse and HIV prevention education and other services to young adults throughout Miami-Dade County.
• HIV Testing - Project STYLE offers free confidential HIV counseling and testing to everyone. As part of the testing process, individuals are provided with basic HIV education and risk reduction information. Participation in these counseling and education services will have two main effects. First, it will help reduce the factors that make young adults more vulnerable to substance abuse disorders and/or HIV infection (risk factors). Second, it will help increase the factors that protect young adults from substance abuse disorders and/or HIV infection (protective factors). The reduction of risk factors and the simultaneous building of protective factors will decrease the incidence of substance abuse disorders and HIV case rates for young adults in Miami-Dade County.

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FLORIDA KEYS - GUIDANCE/CARE CENTER

Criminal Justice and Diversion Services of the Guidance/Care Center provides mental health and substance abuse services to increase and improve accessibility for persons in the criminal justice system through diversion programs and programs to reduce recidivism from the jail. GCC provides services to connect with persons entering the criminal justice, persons incarcerated, and persons released from the criminal justice system by focusing on strengths of the person in recovery and using evidence based models designed specifically for this population. Target population includes individuals who have been adjudicated Incompetent to Proceed due to mental illness, incarcerated persons with a substance abuse or co-occurring disorder, incarcerated persons due to be released with a substance abuse or co-occurring disorder and persons in a state forensic or civil treatment facility. Criminal Justice and Diversion Services include:

• Forensic Case Management
• Jail Diversion services
• Competency restoration evaluation and training
• Jail Incarceration Program (JIP)
• Other Side of the Fence (Offender Reentry Program)
• Homeless outreach and HIV testing and counseling
• Trauma support and treatment

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Children and Family Services of the Guidance/Care Center works in collaboration and partnership with community- based agencies to enhance the abilities of families to access community resources and support children's ability to remain in the community. GCC provides a full range of mental health and substance abuse community-based services including mental health and substance abuse services for children and adults at risk of being placed in a more restrictive environment and/or those who have a mental health or substance abuse disorder. Children's services are for children 0-18 yrs. Children and Family Services include:

• Assessment and evaluation
• In home and community family therapy
• Family intervention services (FIS)
• Family trauma services
• School based services
• Substance abuse prevention, intervention, outreach and education services
• Case Management

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Personal Growth Center of the Guidance/Care Center develops and increases a sense of purpose, value and hope for individuals with severe and persistent mental illness. The Center supports recovery by encouraging members to move ahead with their lives and to build an environment of support and relationships. PGC offers a friendly, safe environment for daily activities and socialization. It is a place for peer support and assistance in locating other services in the community and a way to contribute to the community by helping others. Persons may participate by dropping in for lunch or washing their clothes, by joining a meaningful work group, or attending/teaching an educational class. PGC activities include:

• Supported employment
• Peer support and case management
• Psychoeducation and advocacy classes including WRAP
• SOAR - access to disability benefit application process
• Social activities
• Wellness education

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Transportation program at GCC increases access to health care and improves physical connectivity to other services for persons living in the Keys. GCC Transportation is the designated Community Transportation Coordinator (CTC), the designated Medicaid Coordinator and the vendor contractor for Baker -Marchman Act transportation for Monroe County. As the CTC, GCC is responsible for all Florida Keys citizens who are transportation disadvantaged. As the Baker-Marchman transportation vendor, GCC dispatches special equipped vehicles to transport persons to local receiving facilities and state treatment.

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Medical/Psychiatric Program at GCC improves the level of functioning, prevents the further deterioration of symptoms, and increases the knowledge of clients and community through medical/psychiatric interventions. Medical/Psychiatric program offer psychiatric evaluations, medication management, client information, and community consultation to deal with the medical aspects of mental health and substance abuse issues. Medical/Psychiatric services include:

• Baker Act Receiving Facility
• Crisis Stabilization Unit
• Marchman Act Detox Facility
• Mental Health Residential beds
• Discharge planning and coordination
• Outpatient Psychiatric services
• Off site Psychiatric services / Detention Facility/Schools
• Medication Assistance Programs: Indigent Drug Program, Patient Assistance Program, Samples

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The Heron was opened in 1988 in response to the needs of local families and is a 16 bed Assisted Living Facility with a limited mental health license (#AL8523). Located in Marathon, the Heron provides room and board along with supportive services including transportation, medication management, social activities and links to mental health professionals. Services include:

• Affordable Housing Including 3 Meals a Day and Snacks
• 24 Hour Availability of Staff
• Furnished Rooms
• Supportive Services

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