In this episode of Neighbors Helping Neighbors, we delve into a pivotal development for Father Joe’s Villages: the future opening of our new Detox Center. Join us as we explore the critical role detoxification plays in the recovery process, addressing the fundamental question, “What is detox?” We’ll discuss why detox is an essential step for individuals overcoming substance use disorder and how our new facility will provide the compassionate care and support needed to rebuild lives.
Hear firsthand accounts from our team, illustrating the profound impact of providing a safe, supportive environment for those beginning their journey to recovery. Don’t miss this insightful episode as we discuss the future opening of our Detox Center and reaffirm our commitment to rebuilding lives and building a healthier community.
🔔 Subscribe to our channel for more uplifting episodes and updates on our mission to end homelessness, one life at a time. 👍 Like, share, and comment to spread the word and help us continue to support our neighbors in need. 🌟 Stay connected: @FatherJoesVillages on all social platforms #FatherJoesVillages #NeighborsHelpingNeighbors #EndHomelessness #Podcast #RebuildingLives #Detox
Podcast Transcript: Rebuilding Lives: Detox
welcome back I’m Maggie the host of neighbors helping neighbors the podcast from father Joe’s Villages this is a
continuing Series where we explore homelessness its causes and solutions to the issue our guests include experts
leaders people with lived experience and unique perspectives on homelessness if
you’d like to learn more about our mission visit us at neighbor.org and follow us on social media at father
Joe’s Villages today’s topic is detox and most notably our just announced
brand new detox center we’ll talk all about what detox is why it’s so
desperately needed and how our new center will benefit our community and save lives we have wonderful guests
today both of whom can speak from lived experience having beat addiction themselves and are now strong proponents
of our brand new detox center join me in welcoming Mary Joe scarpetti the
director of our medical clinic at father Joe’s and Kimberly kopic one of our very
own substance use disorder counselors to get into this with us is as always my
co-host Deacon Jim the president and CEO of Father Joe’s Villages
welcome good to be here thank you for being here today thanks for being here thank you for having us going to be a
great session AB we’ve been talking about it for a long time we have been talking about it and we’re going to be making it happen so we’re going to get
into the different nuances of it that’s right well let’s start just by giving a brief introduction tell me who you are
and what you do at father Joe’s thank you U my name is Mary Joe I am Clinic director of The Village Health Center at
father Joe’s so I oversee our administrative team um also our Street Health Team and soon to be detox program
wonderful and my name is Kimberly and I work in a transformative Recovery Services I am a substance use counselor
um in the last 14 months um I’ve had 160 people placed in um some type of program
to be able to get this detox is huge for me I’m super excited to be here today super excited to talk about the need um
for this detox the lives that we’re gonna this this is amazing thank you for having me here thank you for being here
it’s good to have you and I’m Deacon Jim as Maggie mentioned I always like to give an overview of who we are as father
Joe’s Villages and the Village Health Center such an important component of that and then within it the VAR various
aspects like Street Health we were the first ones out there in 2019 doing Street Health and now as these fine
ladies know we have three vans out there morning and afternoon five days a week not only is it primary care but it’s
also psychiatric care as well as substance use assistance that we’re giving to those who have those
challenges a dental dental which is so important as well right so that’s a quick uh quick overview of our federally
qualified Health Centers one of our big gems one of our pillars so important there’s an intersection between health
and and homelessness a lot of people who are homeless have health issues especially if they’ve been chronically homeless so it’s important for us to
focus on that and then we focus on our kids we love our kids right and they come to us academically emotionally and
socially delayed in so many respects and it’s I the kids are so resilient I love
to see how the kids bounce back you apply the right level of resources and of course compassion and love and you
see how they’re prospering and keeping up with their peers and that’s what it’s all about because we know if we don’t mitigate their circumstances they’re
four times more apt to be homeless in adulthood right so we can’t have that right so we work with them as well and
with the families and building familial bonds and that’s so very very important as well then we have an employment and
education center again with marketable skills comes employment and then income
and self-sufficiency so we have vocational training in V various disciplines such as coloring arts and
security guard training facilities and so forth and so that’s an important element as well certificate bearing
courses and people then can move up and and and prosper right and find employment so it’s it’s really great to
see people um aspire to things that they never thought they could um and so it’s
an important element as well shelter beds we have about 900 shelter beds
right each and every single night and it’s not enough and we know that we’ve spoken about that in other segments and
we’ll continue to advocate for for more shelter beds right so that’s an important element as well and then we
have housing that’s what breaks us cycle of homelessness right our affordable housing and we know it well and we know
the difference that it’s making in the lives of individuals and not just the housing itself but the comprehensive
services that we apply which is why 97% of those who are in these affordable
housing homes or units I should say retain their housing and prosper long term and that’s what it’s all about
right so there is just a plethora of programs that that come together in
order to make a difference in in people’s lives and Maggie said we’ve been as excited as could be to about
this this segment and even more so what we’re doing between now and the end of the year in order to prepare for our
detox center and the establishment of that come the beginning of next year so we’ll get into that now all of these
beautiful services that you mentioned are towards our mission preventing and ending homelessness but we’ve identified
a Gap a serious unmet need in our community let’s start there Mary
Joe um yeah so detox is is so important for the patients that we serve um my
experience has been one both personally and professionally in trying to um my
own experience in in needing detox um I was someone that suffered with substance
use disorder um in silence um I never
thought that would be my life or my experience um I had been going through some hard times with some grief and
didn’t have coping skills at the time um and so I had prescription medication and
um I ended up becoming dependent upon that and and realizing I needed help
long before I was able to get it um there weren’t people that were talking about resources where I was from it
wasn’t something that was advertised there weren’t podcasts or at least I wasn’t seeing them um so you know I
wanted help for a long time um and so the experience of withdraw is absolutely
excruciating um it is you know I can equate it to the sickest flu you’ve ever had and then include um this spiritual
pain this emotional turmoil um you know you can’t think straight and so I was
trying to stop substances on my own with feeling like that um and I finally
realized that um I needed support and I went into residential treatment so I’m
from New Jersey I did geographical went into residential treatment and immediately went into withdrawal and I
was so sick um had I been closer to home I would never have been able to complete
treatment I would have left that treatment I would have told myself I tried um I would have I who knows what
would have happened um but by the grace of God I was I was able to get through that but it was about two weeks of
feeling really awful and trying to program um so in my own experience the
need of detox box um it would have been transformational I would have been able
to probably stop a lot sooner um but the fear of withdrawal really kept me in
that cycle of of substance use um and you know I’ve I remember being at
detox and at I’m sorry treatment and the counselor saying you think you need detox and being so afraid that they
would send me because I didn’t have insurance and I couldn’t imagine a hospital bill so I’m like no like I’m
fine I’ll be okay um so you know personally the need would have been great in my life and then
professionally you know I have experienced as a substance use disorder counselor as well um and so i’ I see a
lot of clients that come in and out of treatment and they leave within their first couple weeks because it’s the like
I said the feeling of withdrawal or or is is just too great to be able to program during that time so they start
treatment but because they haven’t you know completed their Det talk portion
they’re unsuccessful is that what you’re saying yes and we’ve just seen that time and time again within the first two weeks just leaving you know because
they’re hurting so it I mean the need is so great and we are so excited to be able
to offer this service we see clients all the time that are just ready to change
and to not be able to capitalize on that moment we we lose the opportunity um and the reason we’re not
able to capitalize on that as a community is because in the entire County of San Diego across 3.3 million
people there are 78 detox beds that’s incredible when you think about it and two only two of which are in the city of
San Diego right so it’s not there and especially for our population those who
we serve who are on the streets right none of those beds go to them right so this is this 45 45 beds we haven’t
mentioned it but it will be 45 detox beds that we’ll be establishing first of all it’s a 58% increase on the existing
beds right and our Focus will be those who we serve right those who we’re serving now but not effectively because
they’re coming tackling in and out of of the of these beds and you know them you know that better than even I and and and
so it’s heartbreaking that we’re not really getting to the heart of their issue right so being able to then offer
these these beds are targeted towards detox and then the recovery beds that follow thereafter because that’s
important as you you mentioned it’s it’s exciting as could be Mary Joe you mention mentioned or you kind of alluded
to the importance of timing timing is really important when you’re placing someone into detox or or into treatment
and these low this low number of bed inventory that we have really plays into that have you do you have any experience
with that Kimberley um I experience that every day um so uh so I I’m one of the
counselors for transformative Recovery Services and a lot of times it’s okay
let me back up for a minute okay so um I’m going to share a little bit bit about my life okay so I used drugs for
over 35 years um I’ve spent um over 18 years in state prison um I didn’t just
wake up one day and say you know what I think I want to be a drug addict and wreck my life um so when I started using
I was using because with my peers then it became I had to have it you know I had to keep using I wanted to stop every
time I got arrested and or I got put in a program and um but I but I couldn’t
you know um I couldn’t just stop because I would get a feeling and then I would self-medicate and then before long I was
numb for years um you know Burning Bridges um losing trust in people um not doing
things cuz I was a bad person it was the behaviors that I had there wasn’t the support you know the really and and I
don’t want to Trad through the mud about my life what I want to talk about is this amazing place that I work at right
now when I started there 14 months ago it was like I felt like I was at Disneyland and um and I said that in my
interview and um and I was like and and what I mean by that is there was so many people that need so much help you know
that somebody’s child that somebody’s mother somebody’s father that some of these people didn’t ask to be like that
however if you’re a woman or even a male these days and you’re out on the street what are you what are you going to do if you’re homeless you’re unsheltered you
have no place to go and you have that breaking moment and it’s like right now I’m ready to go to detox and I’m ready
to get help in that 14-day period that we would have you in detox that would give our team the opportunity to Rally
around you why we have M Services we have the we have the doctors we have the clinic we have all the nurses we have
psychiatrists you know we have therapists we have education we have an amazing lady Bonnie Cutler at EES that
she’s all about our people you know it’s like she wants to build them up it’s like I promise you that I beat myself
down so bad in my disease and I’m and I’ve been a chronic relapser my whole life you know I didn’t know I didn’t
know all the resources were there they’re there there’s no such thing as a perfect system but boy let me tell you
the joy that I have in my heart that this detox is coming because there’s days at I know that it’s wrong to take
your work home with you but you can’t help but care about your clients you know these are our neighbors and this could be you tomorrow I mean I am one
bad decision away from a life sentence in prison um since I’ve been released you know we do recover and it’s like
there’s nothing that you could tell me about me that I haven’t told myself times 10 you know what I mean I beat myself down I carry so much shame or I
did I carried so much shame and guilt and it’s like but at at father Joe’s Villages for me and I drive over an hour
to get to work every day not because I have to I do because I choose to because there’s I’ve met some of the most
amazing people there and it’s like but I I have clients now that I have in school and I reference father Joe say the belly
of the Beast right if you can maintain there and it’s like and now we’ve got opportunities coming for them we’re
going to have you know if you come to me today I’m going to go walk the streets and try to find you you know what I mean to get you into that detox bed it’s like
and then I have 14 days 14 days for me to try to speak some life into you and tell you look I don’t have your solution
Your solution don’t lie on me you know what I mean your solution lies in you I want to help you find it I want to
support you along the way they they’re not everybody’s perfect not everybody has the same goal there’s some amazing
wonderful people at father Joe’s and if there’s 3.3 million people in San Diego County and we have 78 detox beds shame
on us you know what I mean because these people are suffering out there they are hurting they need these beds they need a
hand up they don’t need to be beat down anymore they don’t need to be told they’re not worthy yesterday I got to
witness a really cool thing a cop walking up and down the streets by father Joe’s um interacting with the people on the street and um new cop and
um he’s like he he wanted to be a game changer and um I was like wow you know what I mean this is cool I see changes
coming and I’m excited and I’m so grateful to get to be a part of that what do what are you hearing from our neighbors who are unhoused are they are
they wanting detox beds are they wanting sober shelter beds so there’s a lot of people but here here’s the thing if you
if you take somebody and you put them in a detox okay here what the problem is is that you go to detox you’re in detox for
the 14 days then you trans transition back to to what you know what I mean if you’re not going into a program or you
don’t have a safe environment that that could be a barrier that could be a challenge you know what I mean it’s like they want to stay clean but if they
don’t have the place to stay clean at and somebody’s saying hey let us Build You Up hey let’s get you some job skills
hey let’s have you and everything is right there we have city blocks you know what I mean and people I I promise you
every day I am out running around father Joe’s trying to bring as many people as I can in and it’s like again there’s no
perfect program but we sure are we sure are working towards it and um I’m so grateful this detox is coming because
every time I tell somebody look I can’t they do their screenings between 8 and 10 if you’re not here and we don’t get
lucky you may not get in and the reality of that is is you might not be alive tomorrow for me to get you in someplace
so what an opportunity to be yes it is about the timing cuz some days it’s like we we go smoked dope and we do what ever
and we take that feeling away you know somebody somebody passes or I get a feeling I get uncomfortable I get
vulnerable you know I didn’t cry for over 35 years I didn’t care about anything but the next high you know
today my life is different so today it’s like I’m present I’m not just existing so today I’m educating myself I’m
gaining knowledge it’s like I just graduated from aods school at city college in in June congratulations thank
you I appreciate that so I I I’ve never completed anything other than a prison term you know but um also back in school
I’m still at city college working towards my bachelor’s degree I just got accepted to a program at UC San Diego um
as a specialized certification for a community health worker um we serve everybody at father Joe’s and it’s like
so I want to make sure I’m prepared to deal with people from maybe Somalia maybe from you know some cultures I
don’t understand you know um the ultimate goal is for me to get my lpcc um so I’m certified I I facilitate
groups for like the parle department like you know domestic violence anger management everything’s a growth
opportunity for me now and it’s like I hadn’t been in school in 35 years dropped out in ninth grade and it’s like and it’s amazing the brain fires back up
we’re not we’re not just wasted people you know what I mean we do recover we do change and um and the cool thing is is
that you know we work in a village you know what I mean and we have everything in the village and it’s like but we need
the community I mean this could be your family this could be your friends could be your kid and it’s like 3.3 million
people you guys if everybody gave a dollar $1 yes could you imagine you know
difference we could make this is our community and it’s like when I started at father Joe’s I didn’t know anything about the Creed but let me tell you I
live that Creed every day today and it’s like I am compassionate and it’s like and I do respect people and I I do try
to show empathy always and and I do Empower people and as I watch my clients Excel and I see the lights come back on
in their eyes I’m like in awe and um we have nothing but hope and resources at
father Joe’s and like you said the brain fires back on and they find it within themselves to rebuild their lives back I
tell people all the time look I’m just getting started yes that’s great have you I I was looking at some of the
statistics of Overdose deaths specifically recently do you think that the fentanyl crisis has all has been
part of that or worked its way into this yeah definitely um before coming here
today um
I reive news that a client that I worked very closely with um overdosed and you
know I know that um if I had been using now if I didn’t
get clean when I did I don’t think I’d be alive like fentanyl is in everything and it is killing people left and right
um you know people have periods of sobriety and they think they can just one more time or or just think they can
handle it and and Fentanyl is killing them left and right and it’s just heartbreaking it’s it’s so heart
breaking watching the light come back on for someone and then like it be permanently turned off mhm because they
so desperately want to live they do they do and zzing right I mean that’s that’s
also beginning to wreak havoc out there in the community as well thanks for sharing that personal story and it’s I’m sure it’s raw right now because it just
happened a couple of hours ago it really did someone with whom you you’ve grown close right and you’ve been working with
them right so no that’s incredible the two of you by the way humble me you really do I mean to hear your stories
they’re so powerful and you’re such strong women oh my gosh to overcome what
you’ve done and um and be where you are at this point in time and as you say you’re not you’re not done yet right I
mean so it it’s it’s really great I mean and we talk about the numbers I mean again I always carry a lot of numbers in
my head right at the end of the day I we have to remember that there a there a face behind each and every single one of
those numbers it’s an individual but to your point Maggie over 600 deaths on the streets in this past year and to put it
in perspective less about three years ago there were less than 100 deaths on the
street and of the over 600 over 300 375 to be exact um were from drug overdoses
so you’re right our people are dying on the streets um especially because of fentanyl so and and and by the way the
to drive the point home by again by order of magnitude to show how much we need those beds these beds these 45 beds
and many more we have over 10,000 individuals in the last point in time
count who are homeless in the county of San Diego let’s round it to 10,000 right
we know that about 40% of them have some level substance use challenges that’s
about 4,000 individuals that’s self report and that’s self-report that’s right and so do we need these 45 Beds
and Beyond oh absolutely we do because I’m my my my i’ would be overjoyed if
all 4,000 let’s say came through our programs throughout a period of time but if you think about it if only 10% it
right that’s 400 people there’s a lot of work to be done this is absolutely very very necessary
which is why it’s been waiting on my heart now for at least a couple of years and we finally decided at the end of
last year that we would absolutely go forward and do it right and and the community which has been so generous to
us in general because we have people out there who believe in us they see the success that we have the diff that we make in people’s lives between now and
the end of the year we need to raise $1.5 million right in order to renovate
our our facility and we will there’s no doubt in my mind because again this we’re blessed with a with a very
warm-hearted community and and especially in topic like this and this resonates you I think you were both
alluded to this people who whose lives have been touched personally by this they can they can understand and so
we’re going to get that done and then get it up and running always with God’s help and to his glory I always say right
and going to do it do what would you say perhaps there are some listeners
listening in right now that are thinking why should we build programs for people who are still using drugs why should we
help people out of homelessness that are still using drugs why can’t they just stop what can you share that might help
raise awareness around that topic you too Deacon um you know I think it could
happen to any of us you know I never in my wildest dreams thought I would suffer from substance use disorder my mother
never thought her daughter would would suffer um you know and and it’s just the
right thing to do you know people are suffering and they deserve compassion you know no one is immune from being
down and out and having struggles and so you know it I feel like it’s our duty to
support people and help lift them up what do you think so for me I kind of feel like
um I think I just lost the whole question what would you say to someone who who
questions whether or not we should be providing resources to people who are still using drugs why can’t they just
quit on their own so if I had cancer would you want to deny me medical
attention now you would want to treat that because it’s a disease I promise you I didn’t wake up and just say you
know what I’m going to be a drug addict and I’m going to wreck everything in my path um things happen so again I was
born back in the’ 60s gr up 7s and ‘ 80s so mental health wasn’t like something that was discussed or treated what goes
on in your house stays in your house my dad was a raging alcoholic he was in the military my mom was a waitress my whole
life um you know I didn’t even have health care insurance as I was growing up I didn’t get diagnosed with the
mental health diagnos diagnosed until I went to prison for the first time at 19 and um you know it was a a dirty little
secret then and it’s like every time that I got clean and sober I wanted that to be my last time I wanted to be clean
and sober but you know I didn’t have like coping skills I didn’t know how to verbally communicate till five years ago um you
know and now I’m pretty good with my words um you know I suffered in silence for a long long time and it’s like
everything that I would tell myself I wasn’t good enough I would never be anything I’m defined by my past all this
trauma that happened to me um you know I’ve been being traumatized my whole life and it’s like of course I want to
self-medicate you know what I mean of course I don’t want to feel but I never meant to hurt anybody along along my way
I never meant to caused pain I definitely didn’t mean to hurt my mom um so back in 2019 I lost both my parents 6
days apart and that was my last run and um I got rescued by the George at George
Bailey um I had drugs and stuff in my car going to give somebody a ride and um
I got rescued and I got put in um South Bay drug court and um and I surrendered and I’ve never surrendered anything in
my life and um here’s the thing is that somebody believed in me and um somebody somebody would
encourage me and it’s like I tell my clients all the time look if all it takes is one person that you need to believe in you I’m that person you know
what I mean and if I can drive you you know what I mean it’s like I’m not going to promise you things are going to be rainbows and unicorns CU that wouldn’t
be realistic you know but you can’t give up on your people I mean I know they say we can’t choose our family we can’t
choose the people that are in our lives but if life gets tough and you jump ship you know what I mean it’s like I’m going
to keep medicating I’m going to keep depressing my feelings because I don’t want to feel I’m tired of hurting you
know today I’m an open book it’s like I’ll tell you anything you want to know about me and I’m not a victim of anything anymore today I know today I
educate myself everything’s a growth opportunity for me and here’s the thing somebody reached back for me and um to
pull me up out and um that’s what I’m doing today and um I’m not like
Disneyland that’s such a part of of people’s stories that father chose to we all have a why why we’re here why we’re
serving that’s right and and to answer your question they’re before the grace of God goai right I think we
should all feel that way because we’re graced in many ways and if not where would we be and I’ll share personal
stories because you guys have been sharing very nicely and it has to do with my brother 15 years ago I I lost my
brother who I loveed very dearly at age 65 he was 12 years my senior and I lost
him to alcoholism right he had been drinking since a teenager and he was a
social Drinker I guess you would call him because he held down a job the entire period of time I had a family all right and so that was there income came
in and he provided um except the emotional the providing of the emotional
aspect to his family how could he do that totally when he had this this uh alcohol problem and time and time again
I’m thinking about what you said Mary Joe time and time again I I set him up for an appointment to get that treatment
right and to go in and and and spend the 14 days or whatever it was going to take to get him that treatment and the day
of at the time of picking him up he just wouldn’t do it and he would tell me he
said you make so much sense you would tell me but it’s too hard and I’m I’m afraid I can’t do it and then finally it
killed him killed him at age 65 here I thought we were to grow old together you know as brothers and enjoy enjoy each
other after the fact and when he retired when he retired then what did he have more time to do to drink to drink you
retire after all those years in instead of enjoying your family and so forth how
sad is that how sad was that right and I still he’s still prominently Carlos he’s still prominently on my mind I miss him
right and so you know it drives I’m going to get emotional it drives me as well that’s one of the reasons that I’m
driven by it right um and then of course those we encounter at father Joe’s Villages I mean we we have to do this we
have to do this this issue absolutely touches every family and so many of our
community members which is why it’s so vital let’s talk about what detox is what recovery is can you walk us through
that Mary Joe sure so detox is um a a stage of recovery where you’re able to
be in a residential space a safe environment you’re able to get connected with providers um I don’t know if that’s
all detoxes but but the one that we’re hoping to build is going to be connected to our Village Health Center so we’re
going to have integrated care available for these these patients these clients
um so they’ll be able to get comfort meds to help them through their Journey they’ll be able to have a psychiatrist
available Behavioral Health Services substance use disorder counselors um Dental if they need it and granted all
of that isn’t going to happen in the up to 14 days that they’ll be there um but the connections can start to be made
they can know where to go when they transition um so detox is is a place for someone to quite literally detox from
substances that they’re on um in order order for them to to move on to the next stage of their journey and it’s really
important to have these recovery beds or sober shelter beds for them to then transition into correct it is so here
here’s the thing about detox so if you’ve ever kicked um and when I say kicked I mean like withdraw withdraw
from like an Opia a heroin or anything so it’s a physical you know your body hurts your body screaming oh my God I
can’t do this um you know what I mean and it’s like so to take that edge off that’s why people continue to medicate
so the importance of getting put into a detox and going to detox one you already don’t feel well two they’re able to
provide matte services so that does help to take the edge off but again I’m sorry
Matt is Matt Med uh medic medication assistant treatment um so it’s like
suboxin um Vivitrol um you know stuff that takes takes the urge away and um
and that’s super important because with the opiates and the Fentanyl and all of that people their bodies are screaming
for that stuff they are physically sick it’s not like somebody who uses methamphetamines or something like that
but now you don’t know what you’re using because Tran is xylazine fentanyl is in everything and it’s like you just don’t
know so with the detox it’s the first couple days you’re not even going to feel like getting out of bed but if we can get you on something and we can we
can start working with you like get you to going to groups you know we don’t want to just put you in a bed and let you sit there for 14 days cuz that kind
of depletes the purpose first couple days we we want you to get the feeling better but then we want to get you up
and start showing you something different integrating you into like you know some recovery skills some relapse
prevention give you some coping skills some boundaries you know talk about what it looks like for you what was life life
like for you what brought you here you know what I mean what what were you running from because it’s like we we’re running from something it takes the pain
away you know and then we do so much damage I was like a Tasmanian devil out there you know it’s like I did all
damaged to these people that loved me and um and then finally you know what I mean it’s like they just had to step
back and let me find my own bottom you know and unfortunately for me and my bottom came losing both my parents um
you know and that’s I I they didn’t get to see me clean and sober when they passed and um and today it’s like um
today I drive myself and today I understand this disease I just keep educating myself and if we in my
pharmacology class it’s like I had a ball in that class because you know I would be learning about about how all these things work in your body and how
it’s made up but you know back in the day it wasn’t encouraged you go to school you get an education you do anything I’ve been in survival mode my
whole life you know and today it’s like I’m not just surviving I’m I’m I’m living and um and I make decisions today
and it’s like but I have people I don’t look at anybody like you’re my boss you’re my supervisor you are mentors in
my life and you are people that you know I mean as long as I remain teachable I can learn and I can grow and um and I
can be really good at whatever and it’s the same with with the clients that I get to serve now you know why I’m so
excited about this is I’m going to have someplace a safe place to put my people and it’s like and and that’s a huge
thing and God forbid it’s going to be it could be your people you know what I mean it’s that my family didn’t ask for
me to be like this and be a little Tasmanian Devil but it happened and those people um God’s a restorer of
things and he’s restored all of that to my life I wasn’t a perfect parent but I’m an amazing grandparent and um you
know and I’m present today and um I work hard it’s not going to be easy we’re not telling you here we don’t nobody owes
you nothing you know what I mean but we want to support you we want to get you you know what I mean we want you to be a
success story we want to help you grow as an individual there’s enough out there for all of us you know what I mean but we got to support each other and
instead of judging people I mean unless you’ve walked in my shoes you have no clue what I’ve been through and it’s
like but here’s the thing is we get to share glimpses into our lives with people and it’s like if they take the
hand at them you know what I mean and they put in the work and again I got multiple clients in school now I got
multiple clients that are are exceling in them and now to be able to share with
them that hey this is what’s coming and it’s going to be even safer for you you don’t have to be like okay I got to be
on guard you know what I mean that you’re going to be able to just go focus on self take the tools that we want to
provide you we’re going to teach you what’s going to work for you we’re going to do a treatment plan with you we’re going to get you Behavioral Health cuz
we have therapists we have psychiatrists we can get you medication we have some amazing doctors in our Clinic I mean if
you need wound care you need you know I mean we want to treat the whole person we don’t just want to put a Band-Aid on
something you know we want to treat the whole person and we got city blocks to do it we sure do you know what I mean
I’m super excited about the detox I can tell I am I’m like I couldn’t even believe you guys asked me to do this I
was like oh my gosh I’ve been praying for this but what a gift it is a gift it is a gift and a new a new type of gift
this detox and this shift to sober beds it’s something we’ve never done at father Joe’s I mean all of our beds are
sober but this focus on recovery and sobriety is new Deacon why is Father
Joe’s Villages the right organization to take this on I I think we’re uniquely positioned in that regard and your and
your point about sober beds that’s an important element of this the recovery beds right I mean that’s people don’t
want to be in that environment or can’t be in the environment of drugs after they’ve detoxed right they need to be in
a healthy environment from which to Spring Forward um so that’s an aspect of it and we do recognize also I just want
to say that we also recognize that not everybody’s there yet and we try to meet
people where they are all right in order to walk with them we you mentioned can
the the we don’t judge people that’s not what we do we don’t know what’s happened in the lives of individuals the abuses
that some of them have had so many things tragedies have happened in their lives right so we just we just are there
for them at the given point in time and be and journey with them in order to get
them to a healthy place and some move faster than others right that happens we’re all unique human beings and our
circumstances but I say that because as a result there are in recognizing that not everybody’s there yet and we have
beds where we recognize that we don’t we don’t require sobriety right they don’t use on site of course you ladies know
that but they don’t use on site but but we know that they’re on substances right but at least we’re providing a safe
haven for them right providing roof over the heads and and and then meals and then and we start working with them
towards that end right so yes this detox will have after the 45 Beds which will
turn over every two weeks right because it’s a 14-day intensive program but then
you move up to the third floor that’ll be on the second floor contiguous well with our federally qualified he Health
Center so it’s uniquely positioned there within our campus and the meals are there and and then on the third floor
we’ll have those 250 recovery beds so very very critical because during that
period of Time Mary Mary Jo you mentioned it during that period of time we continue it’s not 14 days we continue
to work with with individuals in order to truly get them up get them on their feet that’s where you come in Kim
believe and so many others and and and the and and part of that is okay so what else do they need from a health point of
view but also what else do they need as far as employment is concerned let’s start working with that let’s start
working with positioning them positioning them for housing as well right and if they have by the way if
they have children we have individuals who have lost custody of their children right women especially have lost custody
of their children because of their circumstances so what do we start doing start working with them in order to
regain custody of those children these individuals have agonized right I mean
as a parent I have parents you you mentioned grandchildren now I’m on the grandchildren states to and I love my grandkids it’s over the top type of love
right and and and the and the you know to lose a child is just devastating I
can I can’t imagine almost right and and so to be able to help them to reunite
with these these children that’s all part and parts of the healing process right and the recovery so so much then
happens after those 14 days right 14 days are important to detox but then
after those 14 days all these things that happen in the recovery of the individual and what an honor it is to
walk to Journey with these individuals right what an honor it truly is and then see them as you guys see time and time
again you see them them prospering and how um and in the midst of it all I mean
don’t have to we don’t have to paint and we shouldn’t paint a Rosie picture because the reality is that yes we Rejoice with those who are prospering
and then we ache as people backslide and that happens right it does happen and
because it’s hard it’s a lifetime worth of recovery I don’t need to tell you guys I’ve never had an addiction thank
God but but and so there are those relapses not a matter of judging is okay
well how can we help you now yet again right and yet again however long it takes so um yeah that’s the the program
as a whole and it’s such an important piece of the pie because we were doing all of these things before assisting
people with employment with health with meals you know reconnecting with their children but there was that instability
of substance use that so many were and are struggling with that we weren’t
addressing effectively I guess or as effectively as we could so this shift is really making best use of the space and
and the dollars and the dollars that’s right the pressures dollars actually how will this program be funded well as I
mentioned before Mega the the first to to establish a program the construction Renovations and so forth that’s about a
million and a half and over the course of the next six months and then once we get it up and running the actual
day-to-day in order to provide the services will be um a big sun funding source will be Cain right in medical and
so in the process of working with the county to establish that right now prop one I mean some people have may have
heard about prop one but that was passed um a number of months ago and that has
to do with Behavioral Health dollars coming down from the state right and so being able to tap that as another
funding source will be great will be great for infrastructure as an example um and and for some other services as
well but so we’re that we’ll be able to get a letter from the county certif ifying us as as an entity that can apply
to the state and we’re in the process of doing that as well there’s so many things that are having to fall in already are falling into place now um so
it’s again number of funding sources basically there’s a large philanthropic portion though oh always a philanthropy
the most of what we do is through philanthropy I mean that’s the real vast majority of our funding sources uh is is
philanthropy again our our the community is extremely generous um to us because
again they love to be a part of what of what we do and share in that right and see and and see the impact that we have
on on individuals this has been wonderful before we end the show what would you
like to ask the community how can the community get involved um I think just continuing to
spread awareness um to understand the need to to be willing to look past maybe
your own implicit bias or a lack of understanding and know that our
community members need help and they are worth it absolutely what I would say on that is
we got 3.3 million people I didn’t even know there were that many people in San Diego um so uh I would challenge you all
to donate at least a dollar to to our detox and um to our neighbors you guys
these people aren’t asking you know they they have a disease they have a sickness they need help and it’s like it could
happen to you it’s like I know for myself I am one bad decision away from picking up again I’m one bad decision
away from going back to prison and it’s like if we we can’t just turn our our backs on people these are our neighbors
this is our community you know what I mean they need some help they need a hand up not to be kicked down you know
what I mean all I’m saying is come check out father Joe’s Villages come see what we really do down there there are
amazing people there that want to help people and um again this need it doesn’t
matter if you’re a doctor you’re a lawyer you’re you’re a a waitress you know this disease affects us the same
you know you might have a different allergic reaction than I do but um it’s going to be a reaction and um you know
it’s not about breaking people these people are already broken you know it’s about us supporting them it’s about us
building them up it’s about giving them hope and inspiring them that you can do different I am a I am a violent second
Striker who they used to believe belonged up under the prison today I live my life different and today have
integrity and I fought very very hard to get where I’m at today and today I just ask you you know what I mean think about
this could be your family member out there this could be your neighbor it could be people don’t ask for this we
just we need we need to support our community um I have a whole lot more to say that I’ll keep it to
myself that’s great I love the dollar per $1 per person can you imagine right
and that that so some can even some can’t even give a dollar and I understand that but others can give much more than a dollar so you know if you
pull it all together think about it $3.3 million right I mean right off the bat
right so that would be that would be absolutely great now when there’s other ways you you I think you alluded to it
as well just coming down volunteering people who volunteer time and time again when and I I love thanking our
volunteers and they look at me right and they say no don’t thank don’t thank me I want to thank you for the opportunity
you get so much more out of it than you even give when you when you come and volunteer father Joe Villages it’s a
Nate in US built that way that’s part of our DNA it’s we’re not built to be just
about ourselves we we’re built to be about others you know whether it’s our family members our friends um even total
strangers we’re meant to be about others and that’s what really then brings us joy and completes us and so that is
that’s I invite other people to come and experience that at at father Joe’s Villages there also our retail stores
Maggie right so another way that you can get involved we have the um trucks that go out on a daily basis preset
appointments people so generous as they’re downsizing they they gift to us good good furniture that think still
great condition other household items and clothing and so forth what do we do we turn it around either we sell them at
our thrift stores or we auction Automobiles and boats and so forth that are gifted um in our auction houses all
the proceeds go to the services that we provide that father Joe’s Villages well thank you so much all of
you for sharing today for being part of this really exciting chapter in Father Joe’s Village’s
history it’s an honor to be here with you thank you appreciate it thank you for being here thank so much God bless
an honor thank you and thank you for joining in the conversation homelessness
is a human story and father Joe’s Villages is not only a service provider we’re a movement and a catalyst for
change the face of homelessness is changing and father Joe’s Villages is adapting to meet the moment if you feel
compelled to learn more about our mission or to make a donation please visit us at neighbor.org we’ll see you
next time how will you get involved join us and take action for our neighbors in
need father Joe’s Villages is rebuilding lives and you can make a difference whether it’s through cash donations
volunteering your time contributing HomeGoods or clothing shopping at our thrift stores or online or participating
in planned giving there are numerous ways to get involved take action today at neighbor.org because together we are
all neighbors helping neighbors
