‘We’re the bridge’

By Donna Wickerd

City editor dwickerd@gallupindependent.com

GALLUP — The street outreach team at Four Corners Detox and Recovery Center hits the streets every Wednesday to connect with people experiencing homelessness and substance use disorder. The team partners with St. Paul’s Missionary Baptist Church to provide food and water, build relationships and advocate for people in need.

“We are the ground troops,” said Kyle Manuelito, a member of the street outreach team. “Every person is important.”

The team visits different locations in the community to provide food, water, and other resources, such as clothing, shoes and hygiene supplies, while offering information about treatment options and other services.

Comprised of certifi ed peer support workers who have personal experience with addiction and recovery, the team listens to people’s stories and offer support. They also work to address the stigma of addiction and to help people feel supported in their recovery.

A vital part of the center’s mission is to provide comprehensive care to people struggling with substance use disorder; the team’s work helps people get the services they need to stay healthy and provides them with the support they need to stay sober.

Four Corners Center, 105 Hasler Valley Road, is a non-profi t organization that provides a medically monitored detox and a 30-day residential program for people struggling with substance use

See Outreach team, Page 5

Street outreach team members, from left to right, James Lange, Jaylyn Randles, Kyle Manuelito and Britni Billy, pose in front of the sign at Four Corners Detox and Recovery Center on Hasler Valley Rd. in Gallup in this July 14 photo.

Kayla McHale/For The Independent

A sign on the wall inside Four Corners Detox and Recovery Center reminds clients they are cared for and important in this July 14 photo.

Kayla McHale/For The Independent

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disorder. The Gallup center is open to people of all ages and backgrounds.

The detox program at Four Corners is designed to help clients safely and comfortably withdraw from alcohol and drugs. The detox program includes 24/7 medical supervision and medication-assisted treatment, while the 30-day residential program helps clients develop the skills and tools they need to maintain long-term sobriety. The program includes individual and group counseling, relapse-prevention education, and life skills training.

In addition to its detox and residential programs, Four Corners also offers outpatient counseling, case management and peer support. The center is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities and is a member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

“It only takes one person to make a difference,” Manuelito said, “We make people feel at home, wanted, heard, understood and cared for.”

Manuelito is a certified nursing assistant and certified peer support worker. He said he views his work as part of his personal recovery.

The CPSW certification is designed for a person who has experienced addiction and has sustained recovery for at least three years. Manuelito is able to share his experiences and struggles with his clients and understands their needs, having been in similar situations himself.

Building trust

Jaylyn Randles, the street outreach team coordinator, says the team’s mission is to connect with the unsheltered and individuals experiencing substance use disorder in the community and educate them about resources that can help them while building trust.

“We’re the bridge between the community and treatment,” Randles said. “We’re person-centered and try to meet clients where they are at. We’ve been very successful by building relationships, offering resources and just being available.”

The team usually makes first contact with clients in the pre-contemplative stage of recovery. At this stage, most clients need help with basics like food, clothing and medical care and are not actively seeking treatment. The team will arrange for care or services based on that person’s needs.

Britni Billy, case manager for the outreach team, oversees outpatient clients in both the regular and intensive programs, as well as prospective clients before they check into the program.

Billy has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and is working on becoming a licensed counselor. She said she originally planned on moving directly into a master’s degree program after graduation, but COVID-19 disrupted her education.

“Life led me here,” she said. “I had a narrative in my head that I wanted to help people.”

Billy “got her feet wet” as a case manager at a Tempe, Arizona, behavioral health clinic. It was fastpaced, she said, with a caseload of 30 to 60 people at any given time and with a high turnover rate.

“I had to learn my role quickly,” she said. “I felt like I couldn’t help people as much as they needed.”

At Four Corners, Billy’s caseload is much more manageable. She said the highest it’s been is 17 individuals, but that it dropped to three clients not long after. She keeps people on her caseload as long as they stay in contact with the team.

“If they need help, that’s what I’m here for,” Billy said. “We are local, we don’t turn anyone away, (and) we are available when you are ready.”

James Lange, who is working on his CPSW certification, is the newest addition to the team, having joined in March.

As part of his own recovery, Lange made it a goal to sign up for college classes at UNM-Gallup.

While exploring fields of study, he found himself interested in substance use disorder treatment and decided to work toward an associates degree in human services, alcohol and substance abuse.

“I wanted to learn more about my addiction,” Lange said. “Working with substance abuse counselors, things they said made sense, saved my life.”

"One day (during my sobriety) I had just finished a hike, I felt so good, and asked myself, ‘Why can’t other people have this feeling?’ and I wanted to help other people suffering from the same problem I have.”

Lange is currently studying for a bachelor’s degree in rehabilitation services and chemical dependency.

“It’s been a long journey to get my foot in the door,” he said.

His current professional goal is to earn the hours to be a licensed alcohol and drug abuse counselor.

Lange advocates for the use of 12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. He sponsors people and helps guide them through the steps.

Lange suggests clients be goal-oriented in their recovery: “keep taking steps away from your addiction, so it's more difficult to step back into it."

'The past doesn't define who you are today'

Vivienne Begay, CPSW youth and adult first-aider, focuses on harm reduction in her clients. She helps people struggling with substance use disorder by distributing food and water, watching their health, offering resources and fighting the stigma of addiction.

When people need medical help, Begay will stay with them until medical staff arrives. “I want them to know people care about them.”

Like the others, Begay has lost family and friends to substance use disorder — her mother died of liver cirrhosis — and has struggled with it herself.

“I know what it is like to feel that way,” she said. “Tomorrow is another day. I want to live life to its fullest. The past doesn't define who you are today." Many of the people on the street are transgender, Randles said.

“We are LGBT-friendly, we go by gender identity,” she said. “Honoring (a client) as a whole person is an important part of the recovery process.”

Manuelito ties part of his struggle with substance use disorder to hiding his sexuality. Part of his struggle was maintaining self-care, including unmanaged diabetes. He identifies as gay and came out after becoming sober. He started going out with his partner publicly.

“It wasn’t until I came out to my family, to my brothers, that I could be proud of who I am,” he said.

Like anyone else, Manuelito said he has daily struggles and has to be active and creative to maintain his sobriety. Helping others is his way of helping himself.

“Boredom is the enemy,” he explained. “You deal with triggers and have to be creative in your recovery.”

Four Corners has developed partnerships with many local organizations to provide comprehensive and coordinated care to people struggling with substance use disorder.

The center’s partnerships include: St. Paul’s, Hope Garden, Catholic Charities, Gallup Community Health, Community Food Pantry, Heading Home and the McKinley County Adult Detention Center.

These partnerships allow the center to provide a more holistic and comprehensive approach to substance use disorder treatment. By working together, the center and its partners can help clients maintain their recovery.

Anyone interested in obtaining services may call Four Corners at 505-413-3447 or ring the bell at the front door.

This is part one of a two-part story. The second part will focus on the intake process and residential services provided by Four Corners Detox and Recovery center.

Street outreach coordinator Jaylyn Randles smiles in front of the Four Corners Detox and Recovery Center outreach van in this July 14 photo.

Kayla McHale/For The Independent

Vivienne Begay, a mental health first aider and peer support worker, distributes water bottles as part of her job duties in this undated photo.

Courtesy photo