| |
Thinking about becoming
a SAGE client?
The SAGE Trauma
and Addiction Recovery
Center is an intensive outpatient program for women who are
in need of support services related to both trauma and addiction.
The STAR Center operates in downtown San Francisco, Monday
through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with occasional special
events on some Saturdays. We accept clients who "walk
in", as well as those whom we contact through outreach
or referrals.
The STAR Center collaborates with SAGE’s Early Intervention
Prostitution Prevention (EIPP) Program to provide services
to clients who have court-mandated hours to use in recovery
services, as an alternative to jail time. All STAR Center
services are free to our clients; there are no hidden costs
or fees.
If you are a potential SAGE client, we want you to know that
we operate pretty differently from many recovery programs.
We do not use a "confrontation" or "tough love"
approach to recovery—meaning we will not yell at you,
make accusations or challenge you; we believe a confrontational
approach is inappropriate for people who have been traumatized.
Instead, we focus on empowerment. We want to support you in
building your own strengths and skills and becoming safer
and more confident. We know that many women in the sex industries
may have difficulty trusting or connecting safely with other
women, because women and girls in the sex industries are often
put in positions to compete or to be used against one another.
At SAGE, we offer an environment in which women can support,
respect, and listen to each other, and get to experience healing
relationships and interactions with other women.
We also focus on harm reduction. We are committed to supporting
whatever small or large steps will improve your life, whether
or not you exit the sex industries, or try to become completely
clean and sober.
We initially do assessment and screening to verify that we
are an appropriate program for you, and can offer you resources
you’re looking for. If the STAR Center is not equipped
to work with your particular needs, we make referral suggestions
in the community, or to other components of SAGE.
For most people, initial treatment involves accessing resources
which help support your body in detoxifying and releasing
stress—including acupuncture and energetic healing.
We also do intensive individual case management with new clients
to build trust, identify your goals in seeking treatment,
and make referrals to other resources including government
assistance and SSI/disability, housing resources, medical
services, rape crisis services, and literacy and educational
resources.
Once we’ve gotten to know you and you’ve gotten
more information about the services at SAGE, most clients
will start participating in some of our groups. We have some
sort of group or resource available throughout the day during
our operating hours. We also provide life skills building,
including learning to cook and clean for your self if needed,
nutrition, and conversations about current events.
Clients can access some medical services directly at SAGE,
and also have access to our alternative medical services,
yoga, dance, and exercise classes. We provide free lunches
Monday-Friday, and access to clothing as needed. Most of our
clients are dealing with post-traumatic stress, and we work
on providing mental health referrals, either to SAGE’s
Mental Health program, or to other community resources.
The STAR Center has phases of treatment, and we support all
of our clients who are able and willing in working through
all the phases of treatment and accessing vocational training.
Clients who complete the whole program can graduate during
our annual Graduation—an event which celebrates and
honors the growth and healing of our clients.
Our clients include women who are male-to-female transgender;
self-identification as a woman is our key basis for accepting
clients. Our clients must be San Francisco residents. We receive
funding through Community Substance Abuse Services, and work
specifically with clients who are dealing with substance abuse
recovery.
We are sometimes unable to accept clients who have a history
of violent outbursts, who are in treatment for mental health
issues and are not compliant with medications, or who have
been recently dismissed from another recovery program. We
are glad to talk with you about your individual needs, interest
in the STAR Center, and recovery goals.
We currently offer groups on surviving sexual abuse, anger
management, domestic violence, relapse prevention, chanting,
HIV prevention, grief and loss, trauma education, street law,
creative writing, art, transitioning from treatment to work,
women’s empowerment, relationships and recovery, prostitution
and violence, health education, and anxiety and stress reduction.
Groups are led by SAGE staff, from the STAR Center or other
components, or occasionally by volunteers from the community.
Many of the STAR Center staff are survivors of sexual exploitation
and/or are recovering addicts. Some of us also have incarceration
experiences. We operate based on a peer education model—we
offer mentoring and support grounded in our own experiences
or knowledge of recovery and survival. We also have a therapist
on staff within the STAR Center, who works in cooperation
with our peer counselors. Our staff engage in a fair amount
of personal disclosure—meaning we may share our own
stories about surviving and recovering. We want you to know
that you’re not alone, and that we can connect with
many of your experiences.
Back to top
Return to
Survivor Center
|
