Our Legacy

Our Legacy

​1971

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CRI-Help opened its doors in Sun Valley, CA and moved to its current location in North Hollywood, CA shortly thereafter. Our initial 6 clients and their families paid what they could and stayed in treatment for up to 18 months. One of CRI-Help’s first clients reported paying $25 a month, while another reported paying $200 upfront to cover their entire stay. ​

 

From its humble start, CRI-Help has served the greater Los Angeles community for over 44 years creating a lasting legacy that has touched thousands of lives.

 1988​

 

CRI-Help developed Socorro to address the lack of addiction services for the Latino community in Los Angeles. Established in South Pasadena, Socorro relocated soon after to Lincoln Heights, expanding into a 78-bed facility. At first, there was disapproval in the new neighborhood; families expressed discomfort with a rehab opening near where they raised their children. A community forum was held, and to their surprise, old neighbors from the El Sereno location came out to voice their public support for CRI-Help. Since then, Socorro has become an accepted member of the Lincoln Heights community, serving as a beautification resource by helping to improve the surrounding neighborhood and parks.

​1990​

 

CRI-Help began working with UCLA to improve addiction treatment options. The science of neurofeedback, a proven therapeutic method that uses brainwave frequency, started as a research project at CRI-Help with Bill Scott, a pioneer in biofeedback technology. From the earliest stages of research, CRI-Help was already noting how clients participating in neurofeedback treatment were faring better than those who were not. Neurofeedback was soon made available and continues to be provided to clients.

1994​

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With growing public acceptance of addiction as a disease, the need for medically equipped facilities increased and CRI-Help soon began looking to renovate the North Hollywood site. Thanks to a significant gift from the George T. Pfleger Foundation, along with raised funds from a supportive community, CRI-Help was able to remodel and expand to a 120-bed residential facility complete with a 15-bed, state-of-the art sub-acute detox unit for incoming clients.

2005​

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Work with HIV positive clients became a priority at CRI-Help after the impact of the disease on the local community. This led to CRI-Help instituting a policy of immediate admission for patients who were diagnosed with HIV, as well as at-risk or unknown-status methamphetamine-dependent individuals.

2011​

 

CRI-Help has a longstanding relationship with addiction medicine researchers dating back to our neurofeedback studies. Through a federal grant in collaboration with UCLA’s Integrated Substance Abuse Programs, CRI-Help participated in a multi-year study to determine the value of regular exercise as a treatment component for clients recovering from methamphetamine use. The beneficial results of the study aided in the integration of regular exercise programs in other rehabilitation centers  nationwide.