WestCare, a family of tax-exempt
nonprofit organizations, provides a wide spectrum of health
and human services in both residential and outpatient environments.
Our services include substance abuse and addiction treatment,
homeless and runaway shelters, domestic violence treatment
and prevention, and mental health programs.
These services are available to adults, children, adolescents,
and families; we specialize in helping people traditionally
considered difficult to treat, such as those who are indigent,
have multiple disorders, or are involved with the criminal
justice system.
Much of our growth has resulted
from partnering with like-minded, community-oriented treatment
programs that focus on providing the highest quality services.
All of these partnerships are to the mutual benefit of the
organizations involved and have enabled the partners to
sustain and enhance the provision of treatment services
for those who need such help. A brief historical overview
shows how this strategy has further strengthened and broadened
the treatment continuum WestCare provides in its many regions.
1973
• WestCare was created
to provide community-based substance abuse treatment for
people who are indigent or from low-income households
and who would not otherwise have had access to treatment
services. Founded as a residential treatment program called
Fitzsimmons House, or “Fitz House,” adopted
the therapeutic community treatment modality and focused
on long-term care for hard-core adult male heroin addicts.
Within a few years, WestCare responded to the community’s
need for expanded substance abuse treatment and made available
to women and to individuals abusing drugs other than heroin.
1981
• The Board of Directors
reincorporated the agency under Western Counseling Associations,
Inc. (WCA). With this re-incorporation, the agency further
expanded to provide adult outpatient and day treatment
services, as well as a substance abuse education and prevention
school for adults convicted of driving under the influence.
1984
• WCA acquired Vegas
House, Inc. (now known as WestCare’s Youth Residential
Program), an adolescent residential program that utilizes
the therapeutic community treatment modality: 75% of the
treatment population is youthful offenders.
1985
• Our service delivery
system expanded to include a youth day treatment component
with an accredited school program sponsored by the Clark
County School District, primarily serving probationers
and parolees.
1986
• The Regional Family
Resource Center (RFRC) was added to our family of programs
to provide a comprehensive system of crisis intervention,
substance abuse assessments, and referral/placement services
for youth and families in need. This program was the result
of collaboration between the Nevada Association of Counties,
Juvenile Court Services, and WCA. The RFRC has continued
to grow and now provides shelter and drug abuse prevention
services to runaway, homeless, and exploited youth; adult
social model civil protective custody and detoxification
program (primarily serving individuals with criminal justice
backgrounds or public inebriates referred by local law
enforcement); and an adult transitional living program
and aftercare support services.
1988
• The agency changed
its name to WestCare. The agency’s new name reflected
more accurately the diversity of treatment alternatives
made available to the community.
1991
• WestCare continued
to expand its focus on special populations with the addition
of a school-based substance abuse education and prevention
project focusing on serving Hispanic youth.
1992
• Programs in neighboring
states began to request WestCare’s assistance and
expertise in developing and managing substance abuse education,
prevention, and treatment programs for both youth and
adults. WestCare started its Colorado River Region Youth
Services Project (CRRYS), located in Mohave County, Arizona,
to address gaps in services for youth corrections and
child welfare referrals in the tri-state region of Arizona,
California, and Nevada. WestCare also acquired fiscal
and clinical management of The Third Floor in Fresno,
California in 1992. The Third Floor, incorporated in 1974,
provides critical substance abuse treatment and prevention
programs as well as support services for homeless and
families in need throughout Fresno County. The Third Floor
(now WestCare California) provides service to over 3,000
individuals annually. The WestCare California treatment
facility in Fresno is one of the largest community-based
programs in the United States with a capacity of almost
350 residential and detoxification treatment beds providing
specialty services to youth, women with children, and
adults.
1996 - 1997
• WestCare initiated
a rural outpatient substance abuse treatment program for
youthful offenders in Pahrump, Nevada. WestCare opened
an adolescent social model detoxification program, and
added a domestic violence program for chemically dependent
women to its Nevada operations. We also acquired a domestic
violence shelter that annually serves approximately 320
women and their children, known as Safe House, in Arizona;
60% of the women in the program have criminal justice
involvement. The Safe House operation was added at the
request of its Board of Directors, which wanted the program
to benefit from WestCare’s experienced management
team.
1998
• WestCare Nevada develops a Street Outreach Team Project named "Dusk to Dawn" which provides crisis intervention on the streets and transportation of homeless and runaway youth from the streets of Las Vegas.
2001
• In January, WestCare
established a Community Involvement Center and administrative
office in St. Petersburg, Florida and began building partnerships
with local treatment providers and community organizations.
WestCare currently provides outpatient substance abuse
treatment services to individuals affected or infected
with HIV/AIDS.
• In April, WestCare Nevada added the Healthy Families
Project, a residential substance abuse treatment program
serving pregnant and postpartum women and their children.
Healthy Families Project offers a continuum of care ranging
from medium/high intensity residential, intensive outpatient,
outpatient individual and group, and transitional housing
treatment services. This program provides gender specific
case management substance abuse treatment services to
pregnant/parenting women and women with dependent children.
This is the only substance abuse treatment facility in
Southern Nevada that specifically targets this population,
allows the clients to bring children into treatment with
them, and provides intensive case management during the
treatment process.
2002
• WestCare California contracted with the Department
of Corrections, and in February 2003, began operating
residential treatment and outpatient counseling for prison
inmates.
2003
• WestCare Nevada begins operating a Community Triage
Center with support from the city of Las Vegas, Clark
County, and the local medical community.
• WestCare Florida assumed operational responsibility
for Turning Point and The Mustard Seed Inn, two programs
that serve homeless drug-dependent individuals in the
Pinellas County area, at the invitation of the Mustard
Seed Foundation early in 2003.
• WestCare assumed operations of the Living Room,
a nonprofit agency in 2003, thus providing WestCare California
with an opportunity to develop a full complement of HIV/AIDS-related
services in the Fresno community. In addition to offering
counseling and related services, The Living Room offers
a drop-in center, a food bank, and a hot meals program.
• Blossom House, an independent living program that
prepares drug-free women for a life of sobriety and productivity,
joined WestCare Arizona’s service array in 2003.
Staff assists residents in finding meaningful work and
in finding affordable permanent housing.
• WestCare Nevada opened the Women and Children’s
Campus in November 2003. Licensed for 130 beds, the facility
offers a crisis intervention program for runaways and
homeless adolescents; separate treatment programs for
adolescents and adult women address gender-specific needs
of campus residents; and Healthy Families.
• The Village South, located in Miami, The Village
- Virgin Islands and WestCare affiliated in December 2003,
thus joining forces. Through this partnership, both organizations
came together with the expectation of maximizing their
respective strengths by sharing resources and “best
practices” of service delivery, and by improving
administrative efficiencies.
2004
• WestCare Georgia enters into a contract with DeKalb County and began operation of two independent living facilities for foster children and adjudicated youths. One for Boys in Tucker, Georgia, and one for Girls in Stone Mountain, Georgia.
• Charles G. Curie,
Administrator of the federal Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) presented a grant
award to WestCare for $2 million over five years to integrate
treatment for health problems, substance abuse and mental
disorders for homeless adults at The Turning Point.
• In preparation for establishing community-base
substance abuse treatment services in the Commonwealth
of Kentucky, WestCare Foundation filed articles of incorporation.
Initially, WestCare will provide services in eastern and
central Kentucky, with plans to expand into western Kentucky.
• The Colorado River Youth Shelter (CRRYS) celebrated
its 10-year anniversary with a gala celebration.
• WestCare Florida began offering targeted case
management services in Pensacola, Florida, for severely
and persistently mentally ill adults and children.
• WestCare Florida subcontracted with the University
of South Florida for HIV/AIDS testing and counseling services.
• WestCare Nevada opened the Girls Intermediate
Residential Living and Support Services (GIRRLS) program
at the Women and Children’s Campus. The program
offers alternative placements for females who have committed
non-violent offenses, yet are not categorized as delinquents
because they are often victims of crime. The program is
a collaboration of Department of Juvenile Justice Services,
the Metropolitan Police Department, and WestCare.
• WestCare Nevada begins Prevention Education services in rural and Urban Nevada. This new program covers two counties and is included in the school curriculum in three cities.
• WestCare Georgia begins operation of two Independent Living Facilities; one for Boys, in Tucker Georgia and one for Girls, in Stone Mountain Georgia.
2005
• WestCare Kentucky opened a residential substance abuse treatment facility in August of 2005. The facility is licensed for 72 adult men and women in Eastern Kentucky.
• WestCare Arizona opens Emery House, a men’s sober living home that provides housing and services for ten adult men in recovery.
• WestCare Arizona opens Sage House, a respite day center for seniors that provides supervised care for those who cannot be left home alone.
• WestCare receives funding to begin expansion of Street Outreach Services to include identification of victims of trafficking
• The Care Center for Mental Health affiliated with WestCare. The Care Center for Mental Health has been providing substance abuse and mental health services to the residents of Monroe County and the Florida Keys over two decades.
• The Guidance Clinic of the Middle Keys affiliated with WestCare. The Guidance Clinic of the Middle Keys has been faithfully serving the residents of the Middle Keys of Monroe County for more than three decades.
2006
• WestCare Nevada opened the Butterflies Emergency Shelter Program which provides an immediate safe haven for girls referred by Child Haven. The Unit provides alternatives for girls age 10-17 in danger of abuse or neglect, and works with caseworkers to coordinate services to meet each individuals needs.
• WestCare California opened a Therapeutic Community inside Pleasant Valley State Prison which can provide substance abuse services for 200 inmate participants.
• Drug Court services begin in town of Pahrump, Nevada. Adult and Youth Drug Court Clients are able to receive compassionate care in their own community.
• On November 1, 2006, WestCare Illinois enters into a contract with the Illinois Department of Corrections to provide substance abuse treatment for all 950 offenders at the Sheridan Correctional Facility -Fully Dedicated Drug Treatment Prison and Reentry Program. The Sheridan program utilizes a therapeutic community model of care.
• WestCare Arizona’s Colorado River Regional Youth Services (CRRYS) is the recipient of three major community inspired renovation projects.
Mohave County Probation Department, volunteers and neighbors from the community came together to help build a new baseball field for the youth at CRRYS. In November CRRYS held its 1st annual softball tournament on the new field to mark the occasion. Staff from Mohave County Probation played the opening game.
The CRRYS facility opened a new classroom. This classroom is state of the art, equipped with 20 computers where students can complete school work assignments on-line and work at their own pace, while earning credits toward graduation. This project was made possible by Apple Construction and local Kiwanis Clubs.
Local businesses and volunteers join together to create an outside picnic area furnished with picnic tables and canopy for the youth and staff at CRRYS.
2007
• WestCare Arizona's Thrift Store gets a new name, new manager and a much needed makeover. This project was made possible by the hard work and dedication of the WestCare Arizona staff. Formerly known as "My Sister’s Closet" this new and improved thrift store now proudly bears the name of WestCare Arizona Thrift Store.
• Mohave County Probation Department, volunteers and neighbors unite to build a new basketball court at CRRYS. In celebration, WestCare Arizona staff held a celebrity "shoot the hoops with the kids day" at CRRYS, where the local Needles, CA Judge, Honorable Joe Brisco, Mohave County Attorney, Matt Smith and WestCare Sr. Vice President, Kirby Burgess shot hoops with the kids.
• Scheduled for winter 2007, WestCare Nevada, will open the doors to its newest facility, the Community Triage Center (CTC), located in Reno, Nevada. The CTC – Reno will provide safe, medically supervised detoxification services, as well as provide triage services for individuals in need of acute mental health treatment. The CTC will offer safe and effective treatment options for early interventions for both populations.
• In fall 2007 WestCare began operating the new WestCare Charter School. WestCare Charter School is a publicly-funded charter school geared at assisting children and adolescents with behavioral and/or emotional problems. The school will combine a middle school and high school educational program with emotional wellness training and behavioral modification techniques.
• WestCare Nevada awarded State of Nevada grant to provide integrated mental health and substance abuse treatment services to Seriously Emotionally Disturbed (SED) adolescents with Co-occurring Disorders. The Co-Occurring Disorders Pilot Project of Clark County is a comprehensive, integrated, evidence-based program which incorporates intensive outpatient services and Family Behavioral Therapy.
• WestCare Nevada expands the Healthy Families Project. In a collaborative effort, WestCare Nevada, State of Nevada Division of Child and Family Services, the State of Nevada Attorney General's Office and other partner agencies awarded $3.7 million federal grant through the Administration for Children and Families to improve permanency outcomes for children affected by methamphetamine and other substance abuse. The Healthy Families Project, the only licensed treatment services for mothers and their young children in Las Vegas, provides residential and transitional substance abuse treatment services to pregnant, postpartum, and parenting women. This funding will allow WestCare to expand services by an additional 12 treatment beds, enabling the HFP to serve 30 mothers and up to 30 children. The enhanced services will benefit an additional 48 women and children annually.
