With three treatment centers available for men, women, and teenagers, the 25th City Hall led by Mayor Ismael Burgueño Ruiz of Tijuana encourages people with serious addiction problems to get rehabilitation treatment at the Comunidad Terapéutica de Rehabilitación y Reinserción Social (Therapeutic Community for Social Rehabilitation and Reintegration) facility in their area.
Two therapeutic communities are currently available to treat people and give them a place to stay, which are managed by the Municipal Government through the Municipal Institute Against Addictions (IMCAD) led by Florina Righetti Rojo. However, the assistance center for teenagers currently only provides ambulatory services.
Criteria for access to IMCAD Programs, associated with the Secretariat of Well-Being, are very simple. The most important thing is that people come in voluntarily, as it is important to be willing to change habits and improve psychosocial functioning with specialists’ help so consumption never occurs again.
Treatment lasts 9 months. In the first 6 months, users receive comprehensive assistance consisting of psychology sessions and counseling in single, group, and family addictions; meetings with Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA); spiritual guidance; meditation; training in jobs such as tortilla making, baking, carpentry, etcetera.
The last 3 months of treatment are named “Media Luz” (Half Light) and, from that moment onwards, patients begin their social reintegration process in which they get the chance to work and come back to their community to continue their rehabilitation. Throughout this period, people trying to retake their lives, with a change of habits, are assessed and supervised by psychological and addiction counseling staff to provide the necessary assistance and containment.
Currently, the therapeutic community for women provides assistance for 16 users. However, facilities have space for up to 30 people. Meanwhile, the assistance center for men currently treats 62 users, and there is space for 100 users. The therapeutic community for teenagers so far only provides outpatient treatment through psychoeducational therapies and preventive talks for around 50 minors.
The Tijuana 25th City Hall’s commitment is to humanely aid and improve the quality of life of people by promoting comprehensive health assistance programs and reinforcing a culture of prevention, identification, and prompt channelings for people with addictions for an early intervention.
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