Casa esperanzas transcend: empowerment, recovery and RE-entry program will serve latine returning citizens with substance use or CO-occurring mental health disorders in massachusetts

This $750,000 Project Grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance (CFDA 16.812 - Second Chance Act Reentry Initiative) will fund the "TRANSCEND: Empowerment, Recovery and Re-entry Program" delivered by Casa Esperanza Inc., a minority-owned, woman-owned nonprofit organization in Boston, Massachusetts. The program will provide integrated recovery-oriented services in culturally appropriate Spanish language to over 125 Latino individuals returning from incarceration with substance use or co-occurring mental health disorders. Key program activities include pre-release screenings, case management, and recovery support services focused on reintegration and reducing recidivism. Expected outcomes include decreased substance use, reduced feelings of depression and anxiety, increased employment, and improved housing stability. Casa Esperanza will collaborate with an independent evaluator, TRX Development Solutions LLC, to measure the program's success.

By delivering integrated recovery-oriented services in culturally appropriate spanish language, participants will have access to expanded services focused on reintegration and reduced recidivism. Casa expects over 40 percent of clients to be monolingual spanish speakers and all to be below the national poverty line. Casa will subcontract with an independent evaluator (TRX development solutions LLC) to measure the programs success through the number of assessments completed, case management services provided, and staff training. Casas transcend team will administer prerelease screenings for services directly in the correctional facilities to support successful transitions from incarceration to reintegration. Casa anticipates completing 200 screening assessments throughout the projects lifespan, with 125 receiving prerelease services and 100 continuing to engage through post-release. Expected outcomes include reduced recidivism, significant decreases in substance use at the six-month follow-up, reduction in feelings of depression and anxiety, increased rates of sustained employment, and increases in permanent or long-term transitional housing.