Becoming Whole Again

In 2023, 12% of Americans 18 or older reported at some point in their lives, they had experienced a substance use disorder (SUD). Without a doubt, SUDs present a number of challenges, but one of the most heart-breaking difficulties is the loss of self that many face. Ralph experienced this firsthand. As his SUD enveloped his life, he transformed into a completely different person and needed help finding himself again. 

ECS CERRC helps Ralph reclaim his life and reconnect with the things that bring him joy. October 2024.

Ralph dealt with an SUD for many years. He attended rehab in the past but had been unsuccessful in maintaining sobriety. “I didn’t really think I had a problem then,” he explained.  

The problem escalated when his brother passed away in December of 2023. “It kind of took me over the edge,” Ralph said. He leaned even more heavily into drugs and alcohol. Eventually, he felt as if he was “running around in a haze.” He lost the person he was and began to get into all kinds of trouble. “Life is so much better than going down that road, but I was stealing, I was a bad person, I was angry, I was cursing people out,” he said. “When I saw myself at the end there, I couldn’t believe it was me. It was like a different person.” 

The moment of realization about his situation came after a confrontation with the police. Under the influence, Ralph was tampering with a bus, so the police were called. He resisted arrest and the police broke his leg in an attempt to stop him. As awful as the situation was, Ralph commented “if that hadn’t happened, where would I be... I would’ve probably been dead by now.” 

The court instructed him to go to an SUD treatment program, so Ralph ended up at ECS Central East Regional Recovery Center (CERRC). “God intervened; I really believe that,” he said.  

While he sees the experience as a blessing now, Ralph was hesitant at first. “I didn’t want to be here,” he said, but as he heard the stories of other CERRC clients and began to soak in the information the counselors shared, his perspective began to shift. “I felt good about coming,” Ralph said. “I was eager.” He leapt into recovery and learned tools to prevent relapse. 

As Ralph went through the program and moved further along the path to recovery, he also reconnected with himself. “I see the light. Just doing the right thing,” he said. “I feel great, I mean I’m doing basic life things. I get up and brush my teeth every day, wash my hands every day, work out every day, walk my dog.” At one point, even those everyday tasks were impossible. Now, Ralph is making music, looking for a job, and planning on returning to school to finish his degree. “I made that happen,” he said proudly. 

Ralph graduated from the program in August. He is now attending aftercare and getting involved with different opportunities through ECS such as a grief support system. “ECS has given me a purpose,” he said. 

It can be difficult to make the effort to achieve sobriety and find yourself again, but with the support of a program like CERRC and a leap of faith, anything is possible. “Just walk through the doors. Just go,” Ralph urged. “Participate and listen. It might seem like a long journey over three or four months, but it will go just like that. Get involved. Listen. Try to practice what they’re teaching.” 

To learn more about the work of ECS CERRC visit ecscalifornia.org/central-east-regional-recovery-center.  

Open House at New CERRC Facility

CERRC staff, donors, and clients celebrate the new facility. January 2025.

SAN DIEGO — Since 2017, ECS Central East Regional Recovery Center (CERRC) has been offering substance use recovery services to the community, ensuring clients are met with the utmost respect, compassion, and support. In August, CERRC found a new home to continue offering these services. The ECS community came together on Thursday to celebrate the new facility and the expansion of the program.

(From left to right) CEO Elizabeth Fitzsimons, Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe, and CERRC Case Manager Stephanie Duffy pose for a photo. January 2025.

Guests were given tours of the new facility by staff and learned about the services offered at CERRC. ECS CEO Elizabeth Fitzsimons, San Diego County District Four Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe, and CERRC Case Manager and former client Stephanie Duffy all spoke, sharing their gratification for the new facility and the continuance of CERRC’s work.

CERRC staff give guests a tour of the new building. January 2025.

Duffy, a current Case Manager at CERRC, was deeply impacted by the program as a former client. She shared that she had no family in California, so when she came to CERRC she told her counselor, “You’re my support.” They came through, guiding Stephie along each step of her recovery journey. “I’m really grateful because I know that this place, this building is going to change a lot of people’s lives,” Duffy said.

San Diego County was among the guests at the open house. January 2025.

The open house proved a valuable time for community members to engage with ECS and CERRC. ECS Board Member La Monica Everett-Haynes reflected on this and stated, “Having events and activities like this, it’s all about community building and helping us relate to one another which is the foundation of our work.”

CERRC is also preparing to expand its services through the addition of ambulatory withdrawal management and medication-assisted treatment (MAT). “Our vision is to make CERRC a cornerstone of community support, offering an innovative and comprehensive program that truly makes a difference,” said Embrie Tapia, Director of Behavioral Health Services at ECS.

The ECS Central East Regional Recovery Center (CERRC), funded by San Diego County Behavioral Health Services, provides outpatient treatment services to adults with substance use disorders. To learn more about the work of ECS CERRC visit ecscalifornia.org/central-east-regional-recovery-center.

Thankful for Community & Recovery

SAN DIEGO — Every year the ECS community comes together to give thanks and celebrate the recovery journeys of our clients with a Thanksgiving Recovery Lunch.

The event was held at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. Volunteers from parishes, schools, and organizations across San Diego showed up to serve the food, facilitate activities, and enjoy the afternoon with ECS clients from Central East Regional Recovery Center (CERRC), Uptown Safe Haven (UTSH), Community Harm Reduction Team (C-HRT) Safe Haven, and ACCORD. Guests enjoyed an array of appetizers, Italian soda made by volunteers from The Bishop’s School, and a classic Thanksgiving meal, complete with pumpkin pie for dessert.

Summer Kahoonei, the program coordinator for CERRC, commented on the importance of bringing Thanksgiving to ECS clients. “My favorite part about this event is being able to look at some of the clients come in and share Thanksgiving,” she said. “A lot of them won’t have that kind of situation with their own family members so being able to still see that there are places that help out with this kind of stuff makes me really happy to see.”

The Thanksgiving theme went far beyond just the food. Each table was decorated with artwork made by CERRC clients which featured messages of gratitude; from family to sobriety to music, the art created an atmosphere of optimism. The hopeful energy was also felt through a communal art piece — the Gratitude Tree. The project, which was run by volunteers from Christ Church Day School, allowed any guest or volunteer to write what they were thankful for on one of the tree’s many paper leaves.

The afternoon closed with the Chip Ceremony. Those in recovery were invited to stand and receive a special chip indicating their recovery time. Whether someone was 20 years clean or 20 days clean, the room was filled with applause and celebration for every individual.

Before the Chip Ceremony, Embrie Tapia, ECS’ director of behavioral health services stated, “This is a really special time that we get to come together and celebrate recovery and also acknowledge how important behavioral health services are to our community.”

The significance of the event was felt by the guests, too. Tiana, a current UTSH resident remarked, “It makes me feel important that I’m welcomed in a group of people that are helping me reenter into society.”

Thank you to Blue Shield California Promise Health Plan for making this event possible and to all of the wonderful volunteers whose support and care created a beautiful display of community.

Visit ecscalifornia.org to learn more about ECS’ behavioral health services and ways to get involved.

The Best is Yet to Come

Matthew found support and compassion at CERRC which helped him achieve his goals. October 2023.

Matthew, a 2023 graduate of the Central East Regional Recovery Center (CERRC) Outpatient Treatment Program, recently celebrated two years of sobriety since starting his recovery journey in October 2022.

Fresh out of a divorce, Matthew shared that he chose the wrong path, “running from my problems, then things continued to downfall.” Before he knew it, he was “going from that perfect imperfect life of owning a house and having a kid to being homeless on the street to getting in trouble with the police.” Matthew explained that he was charged with carjacking and robbery. “The carjacking was for breaking somebody’s window, and the robbery was for a salad,” he said. 

After being released from jail, Matthew was directed to CERRC for outpatient treatment services and support. In the beginning, he had difficulty committing himself to the program. Matthew recalled that he “kind of ran from the sober living,” at first. He said he remained without shelter for two more weeks, “but I would come here [CERRC] and check in. I wasn’t able to put together clean time… especially being on the street,” Matthew said. Even amid the harsh conditions of homelessness, he continued to push forward.   

But then, on Thanksgiving of 2022, about a month into the program, Matthew tried to *commit suicide. “It was a really hard day for me; it was my first Thanksgiving without family, without my daughter. And I just wanted to leave the world silently,” Matthew said. His attempt failed, and he miraculously received a second chance. “I didn’t pass away; I just ended up going to the hospital, breathing like Darth Vader for a long time.”  

After that, Matthew reached a turning point and spent some time healing from the traumatic experience. “I had established some clean time and had done some minor work on myself… that’s when ECS brought me in again. I stayed clean through the whole program,” Matthew said. 

The path to recovery is not easy, but with hard work and a program like CERRC to guide you, the joy of sobriety is possible. **October 2023.

Matthew shared that he has taken many steps in his journey to recovery, “but coming here [CERRC] and getting dedicated to a program and living in a sober living [home] for a long time...  has just changed my thinking, my dynamic.” Matthew said he learned to change his mindset to “keep fighting; I am good enough… I do recovery for myself today because it feels good.”  

Now, Matthew is completely sober, has a job he enjoys, has continuous support from his friends and the CERRC staff, and is currently seeing a therapist. “It’s fun being sober today,” he said. “I’ve never felt this good about myself.” 

CERRC would not have the healing effect it does without its dedicated staff. According to Matthew, “One of the most important things that I can hold on to is the compassion from the staff.” In returning to CERRC for this interview, Matthew shared how welcomed he still felt by all the friendly faces at the program. He explained how much the staff does for clients, ensuring they have the necessities they need. “I feel like my counselor Summer was very understanding of my situation, as far as just being broken at the time for many reasons,” Matthew said. “She has impacted my life forever. And I’ll never forget what she gave me.” 

“There’s a lot of people that want it, that want to get better,” he said. “But it makes it very hard when you can’t even provide for yourself due to circumstances that are sometimes so hard to move through financially, mentally, physically. A program like this really helps you get your foundation going and also brings you back to life mentally.” The work to help those struggling with addiction may not always be easy, but “I think the ones that want it are worth it,” Matthew said. Thanks to CERRC’s programming and the additional services, Matthew regained control of his life and now envisions his future with optimism. “I feel like my 40s are going to be the best years of my life,” he expressed. 

CERRC offers outpatient treatment for adults and transitional aged youth with substance use disorders, focusing on individual counseling, group therapy, and strategic planning. The multidisciplinary team specializes in co-occurring disorders, homelessness, and employment challenges, ensuring connection to additional community services. To learn more, please visit https://www.ecscalifornia.org/central-east-regional-recovery-center. 

*If you or a loved one is experiencing thoughts or suicide ideations, call 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or 1-888-724-7240 to reach The San Diego Access & Crisis Line (ACL). The hotline is a free and confidential support system available 24/7. 

**Caption dates may not be exact.