The Boston Consortium of Services for Men in Recovery, which began in 2009, implements and evaluates a model of integrated substance abuse and mental health treatment for men of color. The BCSMR is housed within the Boston Public Health Commission’s (BPHC) Men’s Health and Recovery Program within the Bureau of Addictions Prevention, Treatment and Recovery Support Services. About 220 men will participate in the project and its evaluation. The Men’s Health and Recovery Program is an outpatient substance abuse treatment program that primarily serves low-income men in Boston. The program evaluation, conducted by IUHR researchers, documents the process of program development and measures client outcomes for substance abuse, mental health, HIV risk behaviors, quality of life and social functioning.
The project aids participants’ recovery by increasing access to high-quality, community-based, culturally sensitive outpatient substance abuse treatment services. Many of the men in the program have historically been vastly under served and do not typically have the economic means to pay for quality care. The program serves a population with a well- documented need for services related to substance abuse treatment, sexually transmitted infections, job training and placement, medical/mental health services and housing, and other services. An Interdisciplinary Resource Team, which includes IUHR staff members, works with professionals at the Boston Public Health Commission to integrate successful program elements, such as trauma-related counseling with treatment for clients who relapse during treatment.
