When homeless New Yorkers suffer from drug and alcohol abuse they are welcome at Project Renewal's Outpatient Detox Clinic.Housed on the second floor of Third Street the clinic allows clients to receive medication and counseling while staying at the shelter. Program Director Bill Frey believes the program works "because we are licensed as outpatient and can provide services at a much lower cost - a fifth the cost of hospital detox. (Approximately $120/day vs. an average of $1,300/day for hospital detox.) We are also able to keep clients here longer which is valuable to encourage long term treatment."
The average client is between 35 and 45 years old and most have abused drugs or alcohol for ten years.70% are alcoholics and 30% are drug addicts. While the average stay is 14 days, Bill says it can be a challenge "getting people to realize that detox is more than just feeling better.We'll see someone for the first time and after three days, when they've received a hot shower and clean clothes, they feel better and want to leave.We encourage them to stick it out, build upon the skills we give them and then enroll in long-term treatment."
Bill measures success on how many clients complete the program. "Right now about 50% complete the program. Our next measurement is how many clients take a referral for the next step, show up, and accept treatment. 20 to 25% take that next step.It's hard to keep track of these guys and if we see them again it's usually because they've relapsed.However, there are times when a client comes back a year later to visit.They'll tell us how they made it through treatment and now have a home.For me, that is the most rewarding."
Jose Roman's Journey
Jose Roman is typical of many detox patients. His life went downhill because of his drug abuse.
As Jose himself said, "Years went by. Every time I left detox, I went straight into the street. You keep hanging out in the same area, and you get the urges. I finally got the power to say, I'm going to rehab this time. I stayed for a month and it worked for me. I really took it in this time. When I came out...I needed a place to live. That's how I came to Project Renewal. They accepted me at Kenton Hall because I was on methadone. The staff at Project Renewal is great. They worked with me and treated me with respect. They helped me get off methadone. I was on it for a good ten years, so it's a very big deal. I've been clean now for four years and eight months."
Comfort Foods: Creating Cuisine and Careers
Did you know that Project Renewal operates a social-purpose enterprise called Comfort Foods?Comfort Foods Catering was launched as an institutional catering business to create jobs for graduates of our award-winning Culinary Arts Training Program and generate income for Project Renewal.
Since Comfort Foods was established in 1997, it has grown from a small catering operation doing in-house events into a full scale business that employs 17 people. Comfort Foods serves over 18,000 meals per week with a revenue of $2.3 million.
From a small elegant dinner party to a celebration for hundreds, Comfort Foods does it all.Uniquely tailored menus, delicious food and dedicated staff make any event memorable.
Let Comfort Foods create a delicious feast for your next event!Contact Barbara Hughes at 212-533-8400, ext. 162 or Barbara.Hughes@ProjectRenewal.org.
Jose Roman is typical of many detox patients. His life went downhill because of his drug abuse. 
