“Having empathy for another person means your heart is breaking, because you understand the intensity of their experience, and at the same moment you are absolutely, equanimously present. You are not clinging to anything, just watching the phenomena of universal change.” 

-Ram Dass

It has been a great honor to listen to the participants at Santa Maria, recording their stories of recovery.  Santa Maria is, indeed, a special place that provides a safe space for healing. Our clients arrive from places of real danger, violence and desperation. Here at Santa Maria, their basic needs and security are met and they can focus on self-care and a journey to a better future.  

Recently while interviewing a participant in our program, she shared a journal entry of her first impression of her new surroundings, our courtyard at Jacquelyn. These thoughts were recorded just after she began her residential treatment stay.  Just a few nights before, she had been sleeping on the streets, in fear of everything around her and all that she faced.  A street rescue non-profit had placed her in a motel and connected her with an assessment interview and referral, a chance to find available help to leave the life she had been living. Once Santa Maria appeared on the horizon, she was provided an expanded motel stay until we had space ready for her. It was the first time that anyone had offered help to her in years.

From her journal:

Day 7 at SMH – I feel so at home here, as I sit on the staircase with the wind blowing such a gentle breeze, the sun’s rays hitting my body with the feeling of warmth. I acknowledge the peace that I feel. I haven’t felt this way in a very long time, or should I say, I can’t ever remember feeling this way. Ever. Never. Thank you for such a peaceful and pleasant moment, God.  As I continue sitting, I now see such a rainbow of women sitting with me in the beautiful courtyard, hanging out, smiling, and enjoying one another’s company. Women fighting every day, including me, with our addictions and trauma. Not knowing if the day will ever come, living a life of sobriety.  Today at this moment, I actually feel that I am here with these women at the right place and with perfect timing. Feelings of finally fitting in somewhere. After all, we are all struggling with the same issues. Such strong addictions that has us drowning for the best part of our existence.  I love these women.  I learn something every day from these strong, beautiful women.  (They are) living the same struggles as I have been until this day.  Thank you God for making way for such availability at Santa Maria.  Thank you for allowing me to meet these special women and for placing them on my path to recovery.

 All of this emotion and gratitude was expressed in April 2020, during the frightening early days of the pandemic.  The intention and strength to healing body, mind and spirit was so strong.  The acceptance of help, the recognition of hope, the strong feeling of belonging are all so beautiful to behold. 

We are only here to walk each other home.  At Santa Maria, you help us do that every day.  If you ever wondered if make a difference, know that you do.

National Recovery Month is a national observance held every September to educate Americans that substance use treatment and mental health services can enable those with mental and substance use disorders to live healthy and rewarding lives. Now in its 31st year, Recovery Month celebrates the gains made by those living in recovery. Here at Santa Maria Hostel (SMH), we celebrate recovery all year in the special work that we do with women and their families finding a path to a better life, a hopeful way forward.

National Recovery Month was founded and supported by SAMSHA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services) for the past 30 years. 2020 begins a new chapter with the organization Faces and Voices of Recovery leading the effort.  From their website, “Recovery month works to promote and support new evidence-based treatment and recovery practices, the emergence of a strong and proud recovery community and the dedication of service providers and community members across the nation who make recovery possible.”

Again, from the Faces and Voices of Recovery website, “This year’s recovery month theme, Join the Voice for Recovery: Celebrating Connections, embraces the adversity experienced in 2020. When we celebrate our connections diversity of people from all walks of life striving for recovery, we find support and courage to speak up for inclusion, respect and opportunity.”

SMH would like to join in this spirit of “speaking up” to honor those on our staff and our clients, past and present, who embody this diversity of people.  We are proud of the role that SMH plays in creating and connecting community.  We will continue to support inclusion and respect for all.  We will continue to provide opportunity and look for new paths forward.

We call to those who need help to seek services and treatment.  A better future is possible.  There is a recovery community waiting to embrace you.  And for that, we are grateful.

As the opioid epidemic rages, the world community has looked for answers to saving lives and providing a path to recovery for those that are affected.  We are proud to support:

It is possible to lower that grim statistic with training that allows friends, family, healthcare and social service workers, law enforcement and emergency responders to recognize the signs of overdose and the steps to administering naloxone, a lifesaving medication. By temporarily reversing the effects of opioid overdose, proper administration of naloxone (Narcan) saves lives. What it takes is awareness and training.  That’s what today’s awareness campaign is all about.

Our Partners

Recognizing the need for overdose prevention training at SMH, Nadine Scamp, CEO and Lucia DE Paloli, Senior Director of Programs at Jacquelyn House were thrilled to learn of services available from a new group founded in December of 2013 by retired state employees and colleagues Mark Kinzly and Charles Thibodeaux. The Texas Overdose and Naloxone Initiative (TONI) has been a vital partner ever since, providing training for family members, clients and staff on a regular basis. TONI also provides the lifesaving kits, dosages of Naloxone, that go home with our clients as they leave treatment.

Santa Maria is not alone in benefitting from the expertise and generosity of TONI. Mark and Charles’ efforts have served to educate organizations and communities across the state of Texas. TONI is dedicated to educating the public about overdose prevention and community support for the state of Texas and making life-saving medication more available to the opioid using population. As a result of these efforts, there have been over 600 overdose reversals since 2013.

“80% of all those who live after overdose are saved by another drug user or a family member, says Charles Thibodeaux. That’s why getting in front of the clients at SMH and their families is so valuable. Every time we get to train just five users on recognizing overdose and the use of naloxone, no doubt lives are saved. We have been working with the residents and staff of Santa Maria since our inception. Santa Maria has always been on my heroes list.”

Our latest training was just completed on August 21. Clients and staff sat side by side to learn the very important identification signs of overdose and the proper techniques for the administration of Naloxone.

COVID -19 Pushes and Fuels Addiction

The recent training could not have been more timely. In the middle of a pandemic, relapse and overdose are on the rise. The recovery community has been specifically hampered from important meetings and gatherings that are a hallmark of building resiliency for those affected by substance use.

“Substance use disorder is a disease of isolation and separation. COVID pushes those feelings and fuels the addiction,” says Charles Thibodeaux.

The vigilance of the SMH staff in recognizing the particular challenges brought about by social distancing is crucial to pulling our clients and graduates close. Amelia Murphy, Senior Director of Recovery Support Services for SMH said, “Alongside the clinical team, our recovery coaches have kept close contact with our vulnerable peers.  We were joined in this effort by our prevention team. COVID-19 has been a particular kind of threat to our community.  We have relied on extensive training and thank not only TONI, but the Texas Harm Reduction Alliance for their guidance, as well. The staff and especially the clients of Santa Maria are fortunate because not everyone has these services available to them. It is in situations like these that training and communication become vital for saving lives.”

On August 4, the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), a component of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP), awarded and announced $35,104,338 in grant funding to provide safe, stable housing and appropriate services to victims of human trafficking.  The grants will go to 73 organizations nationwide to provide six to 24 months of transitional or short-term housing assistance for trafficking victims, including rental, utilities or related expenses, such as security deposits and relocation costs.  The grants will also provide funding for support needed to help victims locate permanent housing, secure employment, as well as occupational training and counseling. Santa Maria (SMH) is one of two Houston area recipients to receive a $500,000 grant award. SMH will be able to provide treatment when needed and safe and secure transitional housing.  They will also be able to coordinate other services related to recovery through case management and peer recovery coaching.

In the release, OJP Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan said, “Human traffickers dangle the threat of homelessness over those they have entrapped, playing a ruthless game of psychological manipulation that victims are never in a position to win. These grants will empower survivors on their path to independence and a life of self-sufficiency and hope.”

Our Partners

SMH will also draw on expertise of partners, including Greater Houston PATH Collaborative (Pathways for Advocacy-Based Trauma-Informed Healthcare Collaborative), and members CHI St. Luke’s and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM)) in identifying, screening, and providing services for survivors of human trafficking.

CHI St. Luke’s created PATH Collaborative and the Houston Area Human Trafficking Healthcare Consortium, bringing together human trafficking service providers to share best practices, develop and enhance protocols and promote awareness of human trafficking.

BCM Anti-Trafficking Program was created in 2016 to respond to urgent needs of Houston-area survivors of human trafficking.  The program facilitates trauma-informed, collaborative identification and care coordination for the population.

SMH will also continue a very close and continuing partnership with Harris County Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen and Harris County Sheriff’s Office. We have received referrals of survivors and worked with both offices for number of years.

Our Gratitude

As elaborated by U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick in the funding announcement, “Human trafficking is a scourge. Prosecuting the pimps and enablers is sometimes not the hardest part. The support services for the victims can be difficult to find, fund and maintain. Grants like these take care of the victims with a safe space where they can begin to put their life back together.”

Santa Maria is grateful for the opportunity to coordinate services for some of our community’s deserving survivors.

Did You Know?

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health, 55 to 99% of women in substance use treatment and 85 to 95% of women in the public mental health system report a history of trauma, with the abuse most commonly having occurred in childhood.

Here at Santa Maria, the trauma screening tool we use at admission supports those grim statistics. We know that substance use is often an attempt to self-medicate the debilitating effects of trauma.  Sadly a resulting addiction serves only to further undermine the individual’s health and wellness.  Most of our clients have intertwined substance use disorder and a violent history of trauma.

April Dawn and Trauma-informed care – 2018 to 2019

(Excerpts from a previous story found here). Full story here. 

While in admissions at Santa Maria, April said, “I saw a sign that read trauma- informed care which I didn’t really understand, but I knew that my life was filled with violence and that I needed that.”  For the first time, she felt safe in her room at the Jacquelyn campus.  April began to identify with the other clients and her coach, receiving peer support. She learned much from their stories.  With the skilled help of her counselors, she began to rebuild her trust and confidence. She opened up in recovery, looking at the real reasons that she had become addicted to drugs. She found that she had suppressed her feelings for years and came to understand that the abuse, fear and humiliation were connected to her life choices.  She discovered that her brain had been rewired because of the years of trauma she suffered. April began the steps to heal and reprogram her brain. She became more resilient, believing she could think differently about her future. April began to envision a living a better, more hopeful life.

After completing the intensive and supportive program at our Jacquelyn campus, April continued her journey of healing at a faith-based transitional program.  She put her newly-found faith firmly at the center her life.

Today, April Dawn is back at Santa Maria. She is hard at work earning her GED through our education program.   She is living in sober housing on our campus.   She is enjoying some limited involvement with her children, thanks to the support of our CPS liaison services.  April and her children are receiving family counseling and although she won’t regain custody anytime soon, they are on the road to healing.  She jumps at the chance to stay connected to the community of those in recovery.  She is active in our Peer Advisory Council and takes every opportunity available to tell her story to others that are struggling.  She dreams of a shot at working in technology, learning programming skills; a dream she never dared voice before.

April Dawn today – August 2020

Today, April has been reunited with her twins, age 11.  The children arrived on July 16, 2020 and the family continues to live in our transitional housing.  Like all parents, she is negotiating our current virtual school enrollment.   She finds it challenging but is determined to make the most of remote learning.  She continues both individual and family trauma-based therapy.

April has seen a positive change in her parenting skills with her therapy.  Now, she is not so afraid or hypervigilant towards her sons.  She no longer lives in constant fear that something bad will happen to them, so she does not feel the need to “hide them away or even to hide herself”. Therapy has helped her recognize that her fears were a detriment to their development and independence.  This is just one of the many benefits that recovery from addiction and trauma has afforded her family.

After a lifetime of violence, trauma, addiction, and defeat April Dawn has worked with her team to create a supportive structure for healing and hope.  That structure is as individual as her own story and has been “wrapped around her” for maximum success.  It takes the extensive and dedicated work of an entire staff, in concert and with great compassion, to both recognize and provide the necessary services a woman and her family need to become whole, perhaps for the first time. April’s recovery support is the very definition of trauma-informed care.

She is the face of RecovHERy.

Last week, we looked at the science of debilitating trauma and discovered that the brain is often changed significantly with repeated, chronic or serious trauma and violence.  The study of trauma has made it clear that a specialized treatment course was necessary. Treatment must be informed by this information and guided through principles that give clients the best hope of lasting relief and change.

Click to read last week’s article about Understanding Trauma (part one of three)

Starting in the late ‘90’s a shift in addiction treatment began with the introduction of trauma-informed care.  Up to that point, most often treatment philosophy was guided by the single question – What is wrong with you?  Most treatment programs were designed around an approach with discipline and rigidity based on correcting course in the life choices of the client suffering a substance addiction.  The introduction of trauma-informed care changed everything.  The new question that began the treatment relationship became – What happened to you?

Santa Maria has been practicing the principles of trauma-informed care for many years.  We have written about it in our communications to you by describing our best practices.  What we have not done is give you an understanding of the terminology and the principles at work.  With this piece, we hope to make you more aware of the philosophy of trauma-informed care its’ importance and the need for continuous improvement and training.

Our program is completely guided by these principles.  Some of our practices include the administration of monthly trauma-informed surveys that are answered by our clients through an anonymous online tool, regarding these principles.  In response, our directors hold monthly quality improvement meetings to address both positive and negative reports made on the surveys.

Regular training of staff and continuous monitoring by our staff leaders also guide our work. Trauma-informed care requires vigilance in discovering and avoiding individual issues and agency decisions that would conflict with these principles and potentially retraumatize clients.  As new staff join the team, they are trained about trauma-informed care during orientation and regularly thereafter.

The continuous improvement component has certainly been tested during this current health crisis as our standard delivery of care has been threatened by social distancing needs and stay at home protocols.  Our team is currently addressing those challenges.

There are many other trauma-informed care practices at work, but this article is designed only to give you an overview. Next week, we will discover how the trauma-informed approach makes a difference to our clients with a testimonial about the treatment experience.

Holly made the Dean’s List for her third semester!  While attending HCC, fall 2019, spring 2020 and summer 2020, Holly continued to succeed in her studies with classes focusing on human services.  After completing her basic classes at HCC, her goal is to transfer to University of Houston Downtown and pursue a Bachelor’s in Behavioral Health.  She also wants to hold a certificate for Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor (LCDC).

You may remember Holly’s story from 2019, a story of triumph at Santa Maria.  Today, she is now firmly focused on her next goal, completing her education and beginning a career helping women with whom she shares experience and struggle.  She has moved out on her own and is balancing all the demands of life as a student and mother during this time of COVID-19.  She was elected to serve as President of the Peer Advisory Council (PAC) for the alums of SMH.  Although their in-person events have been severely limited, Holly brings the same joy and enthusiasm to this role as she does to everything else she does in her life.

Holly was awarded some important support from the Houston Hobby Area Rotary Club.  This past spring they donated $2000 for her academic costs, in the form of a scholarship granted by the Club and matched by supportive members Joyce and Mario Reyna of Traf –Tex, Inc.   Some time ago, the president of the Club had asked Tommy Austin, court liaison services staff for Santa Maria, to keep his eyes out for a promising SMH alum pursuing a college degree.  During a presentation to the group, Tommy told them of Holly and her academic pursuits. The membership asked for Holly to write a consideration letter to tell them of her studies.  They were so impressed that they immediately awarded the scholarship for her next semester.

At Santa Maria, we encourage our clients to reach their potential with dedication, hard work and a vision of a new life.  Their hope and tenacity open new doors for their future.  If you would like to support women like Holly, changing their lives, please donate and give what you can!  Sometimes a little help from our community is all that is needed.

TRAUMA -A series (part one of three)

Over the past several years, the staff at Santa Maria has benefited from training with nationally recognized FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders) specialist Dan Dubovsky. FASDs are a group of conditions that can occur to an unborn baby when an expectant mother drinks alcohol during her pregnancy. Although sometimes recognized at birth by physical characteristics, Dan realized that very few clinicians understood or recognized this disability in adults. The behavioral, intellectual and neurological problems that are lifelong were the factors that most engaged Dan with his research. He believed that typical substance use treatment programs fail individuals that present with FASDs. He also believed that there were many undiagnosed individuals who had suffered victimization and resultant trauma; were unable to live independently; were caught up in the criminal justice system because of their central nervous system damage; and suffered from addictions to alcohol and other substances. In short, he felt that many clients accepted into traditional treatment centers were affected by these disorders, but remained undiagnosed.