United Community Center opens third residential treatment facility

Laura, a mother and grandmother, broke her left knee in two places in 2011, had surgery and went through physical therapy.

She also became addicted to prescription pain medication.

When her doctor ended the prescription, she started buying pain pills on the street. When that became too expensive, she moved on to heroin and began what she describes as a three-year journey through hell.

In July 2015, she entered the United Community Center’s residential treatment program and began learning the skills she would need to escape from that hell and begin her recovery.

“They inspire hope,” she said. “They give you the coping tools you need to begin a new life.”

This month, the United Community Center, commonly known as UCC, opened its third residential treatment facility for people working to overcome alcoholism and drug addictions.

The $1.1 million residence, named Latinas Unidas II, will enable 16 more women to participate in UCC’s residential treatment program at any given time.

The new residence, UCC’s second for women, also will treat women who are pregnant or who have infant children, and the program will include prenatal and post-partum care, child care coordination and parenting classes.

The birth of a child can be a crucial window, said Gena Sousa, the clinical director.

“We see it as a great opportunity to affect change for the whole family,” she said.

A total of 47 people — 32 women and 15 men — will be able to participate in the live-in treatment program with the addition of the third residence. All three residences are near UCC's Human Services Department at 1111 S. 6th St.

UCC had 36 people on its waiting list earlier this month, and it can take four to five months to get into the residential program. People on the waiting list are offered a place in UCC’s day treatment program.

In all, UCC has 94 people in its residential, day treatment and outpatient programs for people recovering from alcohol and drug addictions, said Marisol Cervera, director of human services at UCC.

Last year, 718 people participated in UCC treatment programs, including 213 in its residential treatment program.

The average length of stay in the residential program is about 42 days, though the length can range from a week to six months. Pregnant women typically remain a few months after the birth of a child.

The new residence is a response to the sharp increase in people addicted to opioids, either painkillers or heroin, in the past decade.

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People addicted to opioids accounted for about two-thirds of those in UCC’s treatment programs last year, Cervera said.

Many of them are people, such as Laura, who initially were prescribed medication by their doctors — as many as one in four people who receive prescription opioids long term for non-cancer pain struggle with addiction, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The increased use of painkillers and heroin regularly is likened to an epidemic.

In Milwaukee County, 218 people died from opioid overdoses in 2015, up from 122 in 2006, according to a recent report from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. And the rate of opioid overdose deaths statewide has almost doubled over the last decade.

The residential treatment program is one of the array of educational, health and human services, cultural and recreational programs that UCC provides to Latinos and other residents on the near south side of Milwaukee.

The new residence was funded with support from the Aurora Health Care Better Together Fund, the Fleck Foundation, the Milwaukee County Department of Health & Human Services, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority Foundation, and the Zilber Family Foundation.

The UCC program is one of four residential treatment programs that contract with the Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division, and one of two that can accept mothers with children.

Most of the people in the program have insurance, although Medicaid doesn’t cover residential treatment programs. The Behavioral Health Division does pay for residential treatment. Federal and state grants also help offset the cost of the program.

People may go through detoxification, an ordeal that typically lasts three to five days, before entering the residential treatment program.

The program's staff includes therapists, substance-abuse counselors, certified peer-support specialists and certified nurse assistants.

One of them is Laura. She started working at UCC in August.

In July, she took the state exam to become a certified peer specialist — someone who has experienced addiction or mental illness and received training in a common model in therapy.

“No one knows how you feel except someone who has been there,’’ she said.