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Regional Opportunity Center
New Directions North
Women’s Program, comprised of Mitchell
House and Barrington House
New Directions leases
the Regional Opportunity Center and New Directions North from
the Department of Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare
System (VA) in order to provide services at a location that
is familiar to veterans and located on several public bus
routes.
Map & Driving Directions
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The Regional Opportunity Center
(VA Bldg. 116) houses up to 156 men at a time: 24 beds
are used for detoxification, 24 beds for "Shelter
Plus Care" permanent housing for elderly or disabled
veterans, and 108 beds for New Directions’ long-term
drug and alcohol treatment program. This 60,000 square-foot
building was rehabilitated in 1997 and contains:
- residential facilities,
- kitchen and dining facilities,
- remedial education classroom,
- a "one-stop" vocational rehabilitation
center containing fully equipped classrooms for Computer
training, Culinary Arts and Handiworker skills,
- employment services offices, including vocational
assessment and career counseling,
- meeting rooms,
- gymnasium,
- recreation & TV lounges,
- administrative offices, including the admin office
of our Social Enterprises.
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New Directions North (VA Bldg.
257) provides substance abuse treatment and mental health
services for homeless veterans with co-occurring substance
abuse disorders and severe and persistent mental illness
(e.g., schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, severe depression).
Opened in March 2002, the program has a 50-person capacity
and treated more than 100 veterans in its first year.
Each New Directions North resident:
- receives substance abuse treatment,
- becomes part of the Dual Diagnosis recovery community
- attends 12-Step meetings and finds sponsors
- is assigned to a VA Treatment Team--an interdisciplinary
group of clinical staff including a psychiatrist,
psychologist, social worker, nurse/case manager (RN)
and nurse’s assistant (LVN), and
- receives mental health services from the team 1-3
times a week.
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New Directions’ Women’s Program
serves homeless female veterans in two separate facilities: Mitchell
House and Barrington House. The Women’s Program
offers substance abuse rehabilitation, trauma counseling (100%
of our clients have been abused), parenting classes, and job-training.
New Directions serves homeless women veterans--as well as
the wives, adult daughters and sisters of veterans--because
the military made a commitment to the veteran when he entered
the service, to care for the veteran, widow, and orphan. Because
the veteran’s entire family unit is affected by the veteran’s
service to the country; therefore, this agency must serve
the family, too.
Mitchell House accommodates
those women who are in Phase I, drug
and alcohol rehabilitation. Mitchell House is located in Mar
Vista. The average length of stay is 6-9 months. While clients
are in Phase I, they receive:
- housing, food, clothing,
- case management services,
- drug and alcohol treatment,
- relapse-prevention education,
- sexual trauma counseling,
- family reunification services (and help locating
family members), and
- legal services and representation, and
- medical care (The VA Medical Center, Venice
Family Clinic, the Los Angeles County Medical Center, UCLA,
and the Henry Hudson Medical Center provide free medical
and psychiatric services for clients).
Women residents who are in Phase II of the treatment program
– job training and placement, and preparation to reenter
the community – live in Barrington House, also located
in Mar Vista. In Phase II, residents receive a complete vocational
assessment, career counseling by New Directions’ vocational
staff, and job training. After obtaining employment, clients
may remain in residency while saving money to move out on
their own (first month’s rent plus deposit).
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