New Life Community Services Review
New Life Community Services opened in 1972 when a group of young professionals set out to address homelessness and chemical dependency in the Santa Cruz, California, area. It offers flexible treatment that lies somewhere between an intensive residential program and sober living care and can accommodate those who speak Korean, Chinese, Japanese or Spanish. New Life highlights 12-step and Christian values, but does not require residents to be Christian or particularly spiritual.
Accommodations and Food
Located in a large home a half mile from the shores of Monterey Bay, New Life Community Services’ location provides a quiet and cozy escape for recovery. Residents share rooms by gender. This facility has four double-occupancy rooms for men and three for women (which can be used to accommodate a mother and a child if need be) for a total occupancy of 14. Clients have access to a common area where they can relax during free time.
Breakfast and lunch are both casual and light. For breakfast, New Life Community Services provides a continental type spread of cereal, fruit and coffee, while staff leaves residents bread and deli meats to make sandwiches for lunch if they can make it back to the house during a break from their daily obligations. For dinner, New Life Community Services serves a full meal, which may be something like spaghetti or tacos.
Treatment and Staff
New Life Community Services considers itself to be a 12-step, vocational program. It expects residents to develop skills or work during the day and reinforce their sobriety with three hours of various treatments in the evening. Residents must complete 35 hours of employment, community services, or full-time education weekly while attending a mix of individual therapy, group therapy, on-site 12-step meetings, addiction education, relapse prevention, re-entry skills and parenting skills at night.
Residents get up early in the morning for breakfast and then follow their daily schedule, whether it be work, school or volunteering. Dinner is served at 5 pm, followed by treatment from 6 pm to 9 pm, which usually includes one group session, a 12-step meeting and some form of education. Residents then complete chores, which may be sweeping or helping clean up in the kitchen, and have a bit of free time before lights out at 11 pm.
The staff includes several licensed addiction counselors as well as two on-site managers with staggered shifts. At least two staff members are present throughout the night. The staff-to-resident ratio is about one to two.
Extras
New Life Community Services offers family counseling for those who request it. A counselor meets with a family member and the client to discuss a plan for the future as well as to address past trauma.
Staff sometimes take residents on outdoor outings, such as snowboarding or camping, which are intended to provide exercise as well as relaxation.
New Life Community Services encourages residents to continue with outpatient treatment after the residential period. It can also refer residents to 12-step meetings in the area or other nearby resources as needed.
In Summary
New Life Community Services could be an ideal option for those seeking an affordable and flexible program in a supportive environment that also promotes the maintenance of outside work, school or volunteering.
New Life Community Services Location
707 Fair Ave
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
New Life Community Services Cost
$630 (sliding scale, 30 days). Reach New Life Community Services by phone at (888) 474-6758 or (831) 427-1007 or via email at office@newlifesc.org. Find New Life Community Services on Facebook and Google+
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Sponsored DISCLAIMER: This is a paid advertisement for California Behavioral Health, LLC, a CA licensed substance abuse treatment provider and not a service provided by The Fix. Calls to this number are answered by CBH, free and without obligation to the consumer. No one who answers the call receives a fee based upon the consumer’s choice to enter treatment. For additional info on other treatment providers and options visit www.samhsa.gov.
