Breaking the Cycle of Addiction, Mental Illness, Crime and Homelessness

Drug and alcohol addiction, crime and poverty are inextricably linked. The swelling number of homeless offenders and the enormous increase in drug-related arrests since the 1980s speak to the cycle of substance abuse, poverty, homelessness, violence and arrests. The severity and prevalence of substance abuse problems among criminal offenders is evident throughout the criminal justice system.

Since 1996, Options has offered a solution to this serious problem through a comprehensive relationship with the courts and community. Our mission is to rehabilitate and restore the dignity of people who have fallen as far as they can. Our treatment approach is rooted in individual empowerment and the recognition that the client is the instrument of change.

We believe that treatment for alcohol and drug dependency is a human right, regardless of a client’s ability to pay, therefore our services are provided free of charge. We engage the larger community in intelligently investing its resources to achieve public safety and promote the belief that people can indeed change— and thus the cycle of substance abuse and crime can be broken.

In 2004 a new program component was added with The California Endowment Communities First funding. This allowed us to expand services to dually diagnosed clients suffering from both addiction and mental illness.