Credo Community Center for the Treatment of Addictions, Inc.
Carthage, New York
Transforming Lives Through Quality Treatment
Credo Community Center has been in the business of providing services and treatment for over 30 years to individuals, groups, families, adults, adolescents and children, whose lives have been negatively impacted by substance abuse. The agency has grown and developed to meet the changing needs of the clients, the community and society. Program and site development have happened in many ways and in many directions. The one constant has always been Credo’s philosophy: any individual needing and wanting treatment for substance abuse problems deserves to have the opportunity.
Guiding Principles:
- Everyone will be treated with respect and dignity
- All employees are accountable
- Honest communication is critical to success
- Integrity is non negotiable
- Dedicated staff is the backbone of the agency
- Honor confidentiality
- Maintain professional skills though on-going training
- Service with pride
Over the years Credo has gone through many changes and growth in response to client and community needs. The merge of the Credo Foundation and Community Center of Alcoholism in 2000 was a major accomplishment for the organization. Jim Scordo, Executive Director since 1990, and Patricia Hinckley, former Director of the Community Center for Alcoholism, led the way. Since the merge Mr. Scordo has been able to assemble a fine team of 10 management staff with a combined total of over 100 years employment with the Credo Community Center. The management staff has been the backbone of the organization as the agency continues to make improvements while providing quality professional services to our clients.
The Watertown Outpatient Clinic is located at 595 West Main Street in Watertown, NY and was established in 1978 to meet the alcohol abuse counseling needs of Jefferson County. Early in the year 2000 the clinic was combined with the Medically Supervised Substance Abuse Clinic, formerly at the Woolworth Building, that provided counseling specifically for drug involved persons. The joint program now operating under one roof at West Main Street in Watertown falls under the title of a “Chemical Dependency Clinic” offering comprehensive services that treat both alcohol and drug addictions.
The Carthage Outpatient Satellite Office was established in 1985 to meet the alcoholism counseling needs of eastern Jefferson County and Lewis County. This office services the tri-county area. The Carthage Clinic offers individualized treatment, including group and individual counseling groups established to meet the changing needs of the client population and the needs to the individual. Some of the groups include the following:
- Primary Group
- Relapse Prevention Group
The office has grown and developed in directions responding to the needs of the surrounding communities. Evaluations, group and individual counseling services are available as convenient for the client.
Outpatient Chemical Dependency Clinic
Credo’s Outpatient Chemical Dependency Services provide a full range of confidential counseling services at two sites in Jefferson County. The goal of the multidisciplinary treatment team is to provide the highest level of care using a person centered approach. Services include:
- Comprehensive evaluation and assessment
- Referral services to other levels of care
- Group and Individual counseling including but not limited to Primary Group, The AIP Group (alternative to inpatient), Women’s Issues Group, Transition Group, Adolescent Treatment Group, Drug Court Group, MICA Group, Relapse Prevention Group
- Services for any individual affected by another’s alcohol or drug use
- Case Management
- Vocational Educational Counseling
- Discharge Planning
- Individual Counseling Sessions
- Primary Group
- Relapse Prevention Group
Medicaid and most private insurances are accepted. A sliding fee scale is available for those without third party coverage.
Donald F. Pond, Sr. Men's Community Residence
The Aftercare Community Residence
The Donald F. Pond, Sr. Men's Community Residence is dedicated to providing services for men in the early stages of recovery from alcohol and/or chemical dependence. We recognize both alcohol and chemical dependence as treatable diseases. These addictions are chronic, progressive, and predictable in their devastation. We believe that with proper diagnosis and treatment, these addictions can be treated. The Donald F. Pond, Sr. Men's Community Residential services were established in 1970, and have continued to develop, meeting the ever changing needs of today's society.
The Aftercare Community Residence, established in 1977, serves as a discharge option for the residents completing high levels of care. Referrals are accepted from Credo residential programs, as well as other programs outside of the agency, for individuals seeking a sober group living situation that encourages responsibility. The Aftercare residence provides a family atmosphere that promotes individuality, healthy decision making and improving self awareness. This is made possible through peer support, individual treatment planning, and group and individual counseling. The Aftercare residence can house 15 individuals, and the age requirements are 16 years and older. Also, it is a 6-12 month program with variable lengths of stay depending on the individual's needs.
This residence provides adult males with a clean, safe, structured environment and caring support services in a substance free homelike atmosphere. The residents benefit from staff and peer support while developing and working their recovery programs, daily activities, personal hygiene, basic life skills, and recreational skills.
A wide variety of supportive services such as outpatient chemical dependence treatment, outpatient mental health counseling and self-help programs are available in the community, to assist each resident in the development of a healthy, chemical free, independent lifestyle. While in the program residents are also required to continue to follow-up in the areas of DSS assistance, medical check-ups, educational/vocational training options, and compliance with probation/parole.
Residents complete all assigned house chores, attend all group meetings (in house and at outpatient treatment), and participate in physical fitness activity 3-5 times each week. They volunteer in the community and on an ongoing basis. Eventually they will become employed part-time working 20-25 hours per week, and residents will contribute 30% of their gross wages to their shelter expense; in doing this they are balancing out the cost of the program. Also, if they don’t already have one, they will work toward a GED with the goal of receiving a diploma in 6 months.
Movement and advancement in the program are determined via progress in the level system. As individuals move up the level system they move from more structure to less structure in preparation for discharge. Each level has different responsibilities and freedoms, with requirements for progression to the next level. There is no set amount of time that a resident will remain at each level. It is dependent on the individual’s motivation and desire to progress.
Community Residences Offer:
- A community residence for men 16 years and up
- Relapse prevention education and planning
- Vocational assessment and assistance
- Serving up to 15 individuals from Jefferson County and throughout New York State
- Referral to outpatient counseling as needed
- Designed to provide staff and peer support while residents develop and work their individual programs of recovery, as well as caring for daily responsibilities, personal hygiene, and learning basic life skills and healthy sober recreational skills
- The immediate goal for each resident is abstinence, relapse education, the development of an individualized and effective relapse prevention plan, discovery and acceptance of self, increased self-control, responsible adult behavior, and improved self-esteem
- The average length of stay for individuals that complete all elements of the program is from 6 to 12 months
Community Residences Services
- A clean, safe structured environment in a substance- free, home-like family atmosphere
- Develop individualized programs of recovery
- Daily activities and responsibilities
- Life skills education and training
- Sharing of household duties
- Recreational opportunities
- Relapse prevention education
- Promoting independence, responsibility and improving self-awareness
- Residents encouraged to explore Educational/Vocational training and employment opportunities in the community
- Outpatient chemical dependency counseling, mental health counseling and self-help programs available in the surrounding area
- Serving adult males 16 years of age and over
- Residents are closer to achieving total independence toward recovery upon completion of our programs
- Variable length of stay, typically 6-12 months
Patricia Pond Hinckley
Women’s Intensive Residential Program
The Women’s Residence was established in April of 1998, serving 11 female alcoholics and drug addicts in a Recovery Home setting. The program now serves up to 15 women with children under the age of five and not enrolled in school along with women who are pregnant; which promotes the blending of healthy parenting skills with recovery skills, instead of losing bonding and relationship time by having to work in life areas in stages instead of concurrently. Also, women who have older children will have the opportunity to have their children visit for overnight stays during their stay at the house, which is beneficial for both the parent and child.
The Credo Women’s Residential Services are set in a beautifully renovated old house just outside of downtown Watertown. The homelike atmosphere promotes a feeling of family which lends support to the residents during difficult times in treatment. Residents all share in the upkeep of the home and grounds, and enjoy fare on the table from the vegetable garden in the back.
Close proximity to downtown Watertown makes accessing resources and services possible on foot or the agency van. A variety of specialized counseling and educational opportunities are available in Watertown, and volunteer opportunities abound. Also, recreational activities exist on many levels both in-house (a fitness room in the basement) and in the community (everything from passes to the YMCA to downhill skiing).
The program is designed to help women develop skills and plans for clean and sober lifestyles, and address the impact that addiction has had on their lives that have lead to damaging and/or life threatening abuse and dependence on drugs and alcohol.
This unique program offers admission into one of four levels representing higher to lesser structure, depending on history of previous treatment experiences and individual need. As the women progress in treatment they move within the levels toward self-sufficiency and independence.
At all stages, this program assists women in examining their own power and resources, as well as recognizing and accessing their own individual life options. The emphasis of the Women’s Residence is to help each resident in achieving the following:
- Empowerment
- Addiction/Cross Addiction Awareness
- Healthy Relationships
- Personal Safety
- Assertiveness
- Family Issues
- Physical and Nutritional Health
This is a Congregate Care Level II program.
The Women's Residence offers:
- A homelike structured, supportive environment
- A holistic recovery plan which addresses substance abuse, health related issues, family, parenting, relationship and social functioning, educational/employment issues and relapse prevention
- Daily house group to deal with recovery
- Issues and weekly house maintenance meetings
- Referral to other services and agencies
- Ongoing cooperation with referral sources and outpatient programs to offer habilitative and rehabilitative services
- Case management and vocation education services
- An alcohol and drug free environment, ensuring individual accountability through random urine screenings and breathalyzer tests
- Variable length of stay from 6 to 12 months, dependent on individual motivation and progress, for women 16 years of age and up
- Physical fitness opportunities, both in the community and on residence
Serving women 16 years of age and older, pregnant women and women with pre-school age children:
- Addressing the impact addiction has on women’s lives; as well as their needs as women
- Four levels allowing each client access to the level of structure and intensity that best suits her needs
- 40 hours minimum of treatment services weekly
- Individual, peer and group counseling. Minimum of 1 Individual Session and 5 Groups weekly
- Groups Include: Trauma, Childhood Roles, Self Matters, Drug History, Weekly House Group, Resident Group, Smoking Cessation, Spirituality, Family
- Specialized Classes Include: Parenting, Budgeting, Nutrition
- Family, parenting and relationship work
- Educational / Life Skills / Vocational components
- Recreational / Fitness opportunities
- Stress Reduction / Acupuncture Detoxification Therapy
- Relapse Prevention / Discharge Planning
- Re-Entry Process
- Opportunities Include: Volunteering, Education and Employment
- Encouraging the utilization of self help principles
- Variable length of stay, typically 6-12 months
Adolescent Residential Rehabilitation Services for Youth (RRSY)
“The Farm” in Evans Mills, New York: This Residential Rehabilitation Services for Youth program is located approximately 10 miles north of Watertown on a beautiful 115 acre farm. The “Farm” offers a holistic rehabilitative environment to young men in the age range from 16 to 20. The program is individualized to meet each resident’s diverse needs, and offers a variable length of stay, from 6 to 12 months, depending on progress in the program and individual circumstances. Clients come from across New York State. They are referred by Probation and Parole departments, Alternatives to Incarceration, Courts, other treatment providers, physicians, schools, and families.
The program encourages individuals to develop respect for the self and others and responsibility via a wide variety of therapeutic activities, vocational and educational components, and recreational opportunities. The farm environment is a good training ground for recovery because it requires commitment, self-discipline, patience, and forgiveness. Residents and staff work and play side by side in all aspects of the program.
The program encourages the use of various avenues of self-help. The residents learn to examine the impact that addiction has had on their lives and confront non-productive patterns that have lead to dependence on drugs and alcohol. We are eligible to be reimbursed by Medicaid and will accept insurance and offer a sliding fee scale for those who are private pay.
The program offers:
- Long term substance abuse rehabilitation
- Evidence based practice
- Vocational assessment and training
- Wide range of educational opportunities
- Family Therapist LMSW
- Healthy recreation and leisure time skill building
- Exposure to various spirituality groups and concerns
- Relapse prevention training
- MICA groups
- Medical Director
- Farming, gardening, maple syrup making, preserving, and enjoying the fruits of their labors
- Opportunities to participate in community service projects
- Ongoing cooperation with referral sources and legal entities
- Discharge planning, including Re-entry groups, Re-entry visits to the Aftercare to prepare for discharge
- Referral services as needed during the programming and approaching discharge
Services:
- A total rehabilitative environment and program set on a beautiful 115 acre farm
- 40+ hours of treatment per week
- Encouraging individuals to develop respect and responsibility through a variety of therapeutic activities
- Individual, peer and group counseling
- Family education and counseling
- General Education / Life Skills / Vocational components
- Recreational opportunities
- Stress Reduction / Acupuncture Detoxification Therapy
- Relapse Prevention / Discharge Planning
- Encouraging the utilization of self help principles
- Serving young men 16 to 20 years of age
- Variable length of stay, typically 6-12 months
Family Programming
Family involvement in chemical dependency treatment can have a positive impact on the effectiveness of treatment for clients. Addiction is the type of disorder that does not only affect the person using, but all of those he/she comes in contact with on a regular basis. Family members adapt their thoughts and behaviors in order to maintain some sort of normalcy around the person in distress. We ask that you participate in treatment with your resident so you too can change your thoughts and behaviors in a way that supports recovery, rather than chemical dependency.
- Communication: Letter writing is the primary means of communication between residents and family members; phone calls are not permitted. Residents must earn the privilege to write home to their families and this privilege is required in order to earn the visiting privilege.
- Family Services Contract: Each family participating in treatment at the Credo RRSY must develop a Family Services Contract with the Family Therapist. Each contract is unique to the individual family and outlines the goals the family has for treatment
- Family Orientation Sessions: Families intending to participate in treatment and visit their resident must attend an orientation session on site. These sessions are scheduled Monday through Friday during regular business hours. The orientation provides the opportunity for the family to meet primary counselors, RRSY administrative staff, and witness the regular programming each resident must participate in
- Family Seminars: Family Seminars are held several times a month on a weekday, and prior sign-up is required. The seminar is designed to provide education about issues important for families in recovery, and is conducted in a classroom setting with both lecture and written materials provided
- Family Counseling Sessions: Counseling sessions with the Family Therapist and Primary Counselor are part of the day-long seminar. Additional sessions can be scheduled throughout the resident’s treatment
- Sunday Family Visits: The Sunday Family Visit occurs on the first and third Sunday of each month, and is open only to family members who have attended an orientation session on the Farm AND a family seminar day. The visit is a privilege the family earns by participating with one another in treatment
- Family Support Group: The Family Support Group meets on the third Sunday of the month, prior to the visit. The group is facilitated by the Family Therapist and clinical counseling staff
- Drug Meeting: The Drug Meeting is a self-help meeting designed specifically for the Farm, and is a long held tradition of the program. It occurs each first Sunday of the month
Credo Community Center for the Treatment of Addictions is very pleased to announce we have added The Family Support Group to our already vast variety of group settings. The Family Support Group is designed for adults who have been impacted by alcohol or substance abuse by family members. This Group is open to the community and there is no fee to participate.
Scholarship
The Credo Community Center Endowment was first started by a relative of a graduate of Credo’s residential program. Upon her death she willed stock to Credo to be used to help clients further their education, vocational training, job training or develop a business. Since then others also left bequests to the Endowment and the Credo Community Center Board is now giving some of the interest earned from the Endowment to past clients who are clean and sober of any of the Credo Community Center Programs. The following will serve as guideline and criteria for the Client Scholarship as determined by the Credo Community Center for the Treatment of Addictions’ Board of Directors.
Financial Assistance Guidelines
- Must have completed a program of the Credo Foundation or the Community Center.
- Gift must be used for Higher Education, Vocational Training, or New Business Capital or training for a specific field (ex. CASAC trainings, etc.). Part time or Full time studies qualify.
- If utilized for education, the scholarship will be awarded at the end of the semester after the recipient submits documentation of a C or better.
- The applicant must complete an application and submit it by close of business. The deadline date will be October 30, 2009.
- Awards announced after Board of Directors Meeting that follows deadline date.
- The applications will be reviewed by a committee of the Board and a recommendation made to the full Board. The decision of a full Board will be final.
For more information about the Credo Community Center Outpatient Chemical Dependency Clinic and its programs, please visit http://www.credocommunitycenter.com/
Credo Community Center for the Treatment of Addictions, Inc.
595 West Main Street
Watertown, NY 13601
Phone: (315) 788-1530
FAX: (315) 788-3794
Carthage Satellite Office
5 Bridge Street, Suite 6
Carthage, NY 13619
Phone: (315) 493-4484
FAX: (315) 493-4485
E-mail: info@credocommunitycenter.com
