[Noozhawk’s note: First in a series sponsored by the Hutton Parker Foundation.]
The year was 1959 and Mildred “Millie” Pinheiro was in her late 40s and a recovering alcoholic, when she decided to open her private home in Santa Barbara to women like herself, who struggled with drug or alcohol addiction and had no place else to go.
She started with an Alcoholics Anonymous pamphlet, a few spare beds, and an unwavering desire to help others.
Pinheiro’s Bath Street home became known as a safe haven for women, providing structure, AA meetings and child care.
Word spread, more women arrived, and in 1974 she formalized her vision into the 503c nonprofit organization known today as Casa Serena.
That was 64 years ago, and in those ensuing decades more than 23,000 women and children have been helped through one of Casa Serena’s distinct programs.
“Women used to suffer in silence without a sisterhood,” explained Lisette Fraser, Casa Serena’s chief executive officer.
The female-only formula proved highly effective.
“Many women tell us it’s the first time they’ve felt safe enough to really open up and dig deep into their issues,” Fraser said.
“Women bond and empathize in profound ways that are not always possible if men are present.”
Casa Serena is Santa Barbara County’s only licensed and joint commission-accredited nonprofit residential treatment and rehab program for women. The center helps women in their recovery from drug and alcohol abuse, while managing dual diagnosis mental health disorders.
The Residential and Sober Living programs are often where women start. Here, adult women are treated for active detox from substance or polysubstance abuse.
Polysubstance refers to the use of combined psychoactive substances; often one drug is used as a base with additional drugs compensating for side effects or to heighten the effects of one drug.
It’s increasingly common and Fraser told Noozhawk that her organization is seeing a dramatic increase in fentanyl abuse, and prescription drugs coupled with alcohol.
“We have our IMS (incidental medical services) license, which allows us to treat any type of detox in a nonhospital, or subacute setting,” Fraser explained.
The facility has highly qualified nursing staff, round-the-clock support and a medical director who is a board-certified physician specializing in withdrawal management.
“This is a disease that does not discriminate,” Fraser said. “It can take women down at any stage of their life, so the treatments are very specific to women.”
The residential program has 15 beds, which are often filled to capacity with women of all ages.
The detox period typically lasts three to seven days, depending upon the individual and the addiction. Then the women move into the residential program where they usually stay four to six weeks, participating in Casa Serena’s therapeutic programs.
All of this takes place in Pinheiro’s original home.
Once women graduate from this stage of recovery, they are invited to live in transitional housing.
Millie’s House, named in honor of its founder, is Casa Serena’s signature sober and supportive living program, offering women a safe environment to continue working on sobriety, practice newly learned healthy coping skills and make the transition to living independently.
“We encourage women to live in Millie’s House while participating in our outpatient programs, to get what we call the gold standard of care,” Fraser said.
The gold standard represents 90 days of continuous treatment to get the full continuum of care.
“If they leave treatment prior to 90 days, it’s likely we will see them back here,” Fraser said. “It’s critical to address the root causes of trauma, and we are able to dig deeper with more time.”
The COVID-19 pandemic and its continuing effects have increased addictive behaviors while exacerbating many associated mental health challenges.
“The pandemic pushed women who were on the edge over the cliff,” Fraser said. “We are now seeing women who are much sicker and taking longer to get back to baseline.”
Casa Serena accepts private insurance and has a donor advised scholarship fund for those needing financial assistance. The organization is committed to helping all women in need in the community, regardless of their ability to pay.
Just as Millie envisioned.
Click here for more information about Casa Serena, or click here to make an online donation.