Dual-Diagnosis Transitional Residential Services 
In the 1970s, when California’s policy of “de-institutionalization” of the mentally ill increased homelessness significantly, more and more adults with psychiatric disorders became part of the drug-street culture.  PORTALS started identifying significant numbers of its members with co-occurring substance abuse and mental health problems, and began to develop specialized programs to serve them.   

Over time, the unique PORTALS “dual-diagnosis” approach has helped thousands of adults with both mental and substance abuse disorders to:

• Stay off the streets and out of locked inpatient psychiatric facilities;
• Move into safe, stable housing;
• Reintegrate into society; and
• Recover lives that are meaningful, drug-free and productive.

 

For its dually-diagnosed adult members, PORTALS operates the Twin Peaks and Rampart transitional residences located in Central Los Angeles. In these very special settings, staffed by PORTALS professionals 24 hours a day and seven days a week, members in recovery from co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse live in a safe, supportive environment while they work to develop vital independent living skills. Members benefit from:

·         Onsite mental health services and case management;

·         Individual and group counseling;

·         Socialization activities;

·         Coaching on relapse prevention;

·         Access to 12-Step and other recovery groups; and

·         Independent living skills training.

 

From 2003 through 2005, the PORTALS dual diagnosis transitional residential programs:

 

·      Provided 23,807 bed days of residential care for 148 unduplicated           members; and

·       Helped 59 percent of members maintain at least six months of sobriety.

 

Importantly, during this same time period, 53 percent of the members served by the PORTALS dual diagnosis residential program progressed to independent living status, or returned to live with their families.