Fresno County Hispanic Commission on

About Fresno County Hispanic Commission on

The Fresno County Hispanic Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services is a nonprofit substance use treatment provider with sites across Fresno County, including Sanger, Fresno, Coalinga, and Firebaugh. Concerned community members founded them in 1977 because there were no local alcoholism services for Spanish speakers, and they now serve both English- and Spanish-speaking individuals and their families. Their two main programs are a state-licensed DUI program, the largest in the county, and Nuestra Casa Recovery Home, a 12-bed residential program for adult Spanish-speaking men. The residential program accepts Drug Medi-Cal and charges fees on a sliding scale based on ability to pay.

Their Driving Abuse Treatment and Education (D.A.T.E.) program serves people convicted of driving under the influence, with court-recognized tracks that range from a 12-hour wet reckless course to an 18-month multiple-offender program. Each track combines education, group counseling, and short individual sessions. Nuestra Casa is a structured, Spanish-language program that includes individual treatment planning, individual and group counseling, substance use education, stress management and relapse prevention, and counseling for significant others, along with recreation such as fitness, gardening, and reading. After discharge planning, residents can continue with 24 weeks of weekly relapse-prevention groups, and admission requires being 18 or older, Spanish-speaking, ambulatory, and free of a history of excessive violence.