Isabel Byon: 0:00

The New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports, or OASAS, provides this podcast as a public service. Thoughts and opinions expressed do not necessarily represent or reflect those of the agency or state. This is Addiction: The Next Step.

Jerry Gretzinger: 0:18

Jerry Gretzinger, here, your host for Addiction, the Next Step coming to you from the New York State Offices of Addiction Services and Supports. You know, at OASAS, we have four pillars right that we focus on, and they are prevention, treatment, harm reduction and recovery. And today our topic is going to focus in on the last of those, that's, recovery and, specifically, recovery centers. And maybe you're saying to yourself okay, a recovery center, I've heard about it. What is it? What do they do? What do people who go get out of it? Well, those are the questions we're going to answer today, and we brought in somebody who knows a thing or two about them, Jessica Feliciano. She's the Senior Director Recovery Services with Samaritan Daytop Village. Jessica, thanks for sitting down with us today.

Jessica Feliciano: 0:59

Thank you for having me, Jerry.

Jerry Gretzinger: 1:00

And I want to start with you know we talk about recovery centers and these. You know it's sort of surprising to think that there haven't always been recovery centers, but you were there kind of right at the onset of this whole idea to have a recovery center back in 2009, 2010, you were telling me. So I'm going to let you start our story there. How did the whole idea of having recovery centers come about?

Jessica Feliciano: 1:24

So, yeah, in 2009, I was working for Phoenix House and after doing some interviews with individuals that were about to leave treatment or had left treatment, we realized that they needed a place to stay connected, to continue their journey on their recovery, and so we submitted for an RFP. And in 2010, we were awarded the first recovery center, which was Bronx Community Recovery Center.

Jerry Gretzinger: 1:52

And so that was in 2010. And I was just mentioning that before that people would go through treatment and once they completed that program it was like all right, good luck, hope, everything goes well, and there wasn't like a continuing connection with these people.

Jessica Feliciano: 2:07

Correct. There was no continuum of care, really Like there was a graduation if, hopefully, the program that they were completing had an alumni association where they could have some connection and possibly meet once or twice a year. But that ongoing connection was not there. So that's what the recovery centers played a part. And then after 2010, when we opened our recovery center, we saw how successful it was and OASAS and SAMHSA really wanted to see more of these and got more involved and we opened a recovery center in Brooklyn which is still up and running, glad to say it's ran by Sean. It's called the Brooklyn Community Recovery Center.

Jerry Gretzinger: 2:50

And that's great. I'm so glad that it started as strongly as it did and that we obviously saw the value in it, and I think for some people now, today, it's like wow. Like I said, can't believe that this wasn't always something that was available to people, but talk about when that recovery center first opened its doors and you started to see how important it could be for people. What was that importance? What was it delivering to people who'd been through, you know, a treatment process? How did it help them stay in recovery?

Jessica Feliciano: 3:20

Yes, so the main thing that helped was peer professionals. Right, we have individuals with shared lived experience who have walked the life that they are walking and can assist them in breaking down some barriers, connecting them to some social supports in their community, resources in their community. So that's where we saw the value of peer professionals.

Jerry Gretzinger: 3:44

And when you say resources, I mean somebody's going through a treatment process and they come to an end. There's could be a whole host of things that they need to now be able to, you know, live their lives substance free, and that could be things like a home employment right.

Jessica Feliciano: 3:59

Correct. It could be something as simple, as I don't have an ID. Can you help me get an ID? It could be something, as I need detox. I had a lapse. It could be I no longer have my children in my life. I have an ACS case. Can you help me advocate with me? Can you go accompany me to my appointments? It looks completely different for everyone.

Jerry Gretzinger: 4:22

And so I know today you're with Samaritan and I said you were with Phoenix House originally when these opened up and certainly over the past 15 years you know, as we see what's successful, what's most helpful, things change, programs get added. What is the picture today? If somebody goes to a recovery center, what can they expect?

Jessica Feliciano: 4:42

They can expect that we're going to foster a welcoming, supportive environment for them. They can expect that they're going to be treated with respect, no stigma attached, no judgment. They're going to be helped.

Jerry Gretzinger: 4:57

And I would imagine too, if somebody is concerned about going in because you talk about stigma A lot of times, that can be such a barrier to people seeking treatment or even continuum of recovery. There's no expectations of the people coming in Again. Stigma is certainly not something they need to worry about. What are some of the hesitations that you see, though, that still might keep somebody from walking in that door?

Jessica Feliciano: 5:19

The unknown right. They don't know what they're going to expect when they walk in the door, the first thing that they may ask is are you going to charge my Medicaid? Do you need my Medicaid? And we're like no, our services are completely free. How do you feel, though? Would you like a sandwich? Would you like a cup of coffee? So we're you know, we're building that trust, we're letting them know we're here for you, whatever that looks like.

Jerry Gretzinger: 5:42

So basically someone in recovery, any type of need that might have, the recovery center is there to help them reach that.

Jessica Feliciano: 5:49

Correct. And the word recovery is very broad, right, because we're meeting people where they're at wherever they say they're in recovery. So it could be someone who is seeking recovery, or in recovery, someone who is practicing harm reduction, who is minimizing their use. It could be someone who's on Medicaid assisted treatment. It could be someone who doesn't know what they want yet.

Jerry Gretzinger: 6:16

Yeah, and so you just kind of touched on my next question too. It's called a recovery center and we talk about, you know, prevention, treatment, harm reduction, recovery, recovery, sort of being the last of those four and someone's gone through treatment and now they're living in recovery, because it's an ongoing journey, not a destination. But if somebody is not yet at a point where they're in recovery, they're still welcome to walk into a recovery center and say I want to be in recovery. Can you help me find a path there?

Jessica Feliciano: 6:44

Absolutely. We connect them with one of our peer professionals, they have a one-on-one session, they develop a wellness plan and we take it from there.

Jerry Gretzinger: 6:52

So for someone who was there, you know at day one, you know when the whole idea of recovery centers first started coming about, to see that it's been successful, to see that there is more recovery centers coming about, it's got to be, it's got to make you feel pretty good that this was a good idea. Other people said, yeah, it's a great idea and that it's continuing to grow the way it is.

Jessica Feliciano: 7:14

Absolutely. It warms my heart. This is such a need. Our peer professionals are change agents. They inspire hope. They have walked the walk, they know what a person needs and they can walk them through it.

Jerry Gretzinger: 7:29

Oh, that's terrific.

Jerry Gretzinger: 7:30

So let me ask you this now too. I mean, again, we're talking about more and more recovery centers popping up for where you are. Now somebody says hey, you know, I'm downstate, I want to find out where I can get a hold of these people. I think there's something they can do to help me. How do they go about it? Phone number, address, website, what do you want?

Jessica Feliciano: 7:46

So Samaritan has two recovery centers. We have Park Queens, that is in the Jamaica location. The number is 929-244-15. Sorry, 1445. Our email address is park@ samaritanvillage. org. Okay, our Park Bronx Center is 929-244-1500. And that email address is parkbronx@samaritanvillage. org. They can call or email and we'll connect them immediately with a peer professional.

Jerry Gretzinger: 8:17

Yeah, and you know you mentioned before too sometimes just the unknown is what makes people hesitate to make that phone call, to walk in that door, send that email. But hopefully they've heard this today and that there's no expectations, there's no stigma. Certainly, Just get connected and start working together with the Recovery Center, because the work you guys are doing is great.

Jessica Feliciano: 8:38

Thank you.

Jerry Gretzinger: 8:39

Thank you for sitting down with us to share more information about it and I know hopefully we've reached some people with this today. Thanks so much for checking out this episode of Addiction: The Next Step, I'm Jerry Gretzinger. Until we talk to you again next time, be well.