Integrity House Helps Rebuild Lives After Addiction

Steve Adubato goes One-on-One with Robert Budsock, President & CEO of Integrity House to discuss Integrity House’s mission to provide individuals the opportunity to rebuild their lives after addiction, while also working to eliminate the stigma preventing so many from seeking the proper treatment they need and deserve.

6/6/18 #2147

 

 

 

 

Excerpt:

"We're pleased to welcome Mr. Robert J. Budsock, President and CEO of a great organization called Integrity House, celebrating its 50th anniversary. Integrity House is all about? So Integrity House is a non-profit, community based organization, that was founded in 1968, with the mission of providing opportunities for individuals to reclaim their lives. Let me ask you this. The opioid epidemic in this nation, was not around, obviously, when you guys started. It is just destroying the lives of so many. How has it changed what you do everyday and who you do it for? Yeah. Well, I could tell you, back in 1968... I wasn't around in 1968, I've been with Integrity House for 33 years, but that back in 1968, the founder of Integrity House started with a single house which was in the Lincoln Park section of Newark, New Jersey. It was a year after the Newark uprising... Right. ...and he identified a need within the Newark community to treat opiate addiction, and there were other addictions also, alcoholism, cocaine, but primarily opiate addiction. And he identified that need in the inner city. And we started with those very humble beginnings, with a single house with six clients, and we had a founder who had a passion and a vision for just helping people. Right. And helping people put their lives back together. And over the years, we have actually... you know, we've professionalized our services. We have licensed staff. We use evidence-based practices. We still have that home-like atmosphere at Integrity House. Right. Where... when it's a residential treatment, or even an outpatient treatment, we'd like to create a very warm, welcoming family environment, but we've added these evidence-based practices, specifically medication assisted treatment. Research has proven that addiction is a disease of the brain. Yeah let's talk about the mental health part of it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So research has shown that addiction is a disease of the brain. So we have addiction that impacts the brain, we also have mental illness that impacts the brain. Probably when we talk about mental illness, about ten years ago, Horizon Foundation really came to the aid of Integrity House. They're supporters of yours? By the way, full disclosure. They support us here at the... Yeah. ...Caucus Educational Corporation, and in public broadcasting as well. Go ahead. Yes. Yes. And, you know, Jonathan Pearson is the Executive Director of the Horizon Foundation. He has been a close friend of Integrity House for many years. About ten years ago, we really noticed an uptick in individuals that have a co-occurring mental health disorder, and at that time, the Horizon Foundation actually supported the..."