The Resource Training & Counseling Center

The Resource Training Center's mission is twofold. We provide "Treatment on Demand" for individuals suffering from Alcoholism & Substance Abuse, and provide the required educational hours for those seeking to become a Credentialed Alcohol & Substance Abuse Counselor in New York State.

The Resource Counseling Center, our New York State Office of Alcohol & Substance Abuse Services (NYS OASAS) licensed outpatient chemical dependency program provides treatment for those individuals suffering from dependency on alcohol and drugs, a need that has grown exponentially with the continued growth of the prescription drug abuse epidemic. Many of our patients also suffer from co-occurring disorders, such as mental health or medical issues. We provide medical and psychiatric care for our patients at out main
location in Sunset Park Brooklyn, as well as group & individual counseling services at both our Sunset Park & our new expansion site, located in Bay Ridge Brooklyn. Our Counseling Centers motto is "treatment on demand" as we do not require individuals seeking help to wait a long period for an appointment, which could lead to a missed opportunity to help them.

The Resource Training Center's educational program, (TRTC) is a job training and placement non-profit organization that prepares low-income individuals, mostly former substance abusers, many of whom have also been homeless and incarcerated to enter the workforce as credentialed drug counselors (CASAC) and other substance abuse professionals.· Using innovative adult learning approaches, TRTC successfully trains 300 individuals a year; has a 90% completion rate; and an unprecedented 98% pass rate on the state credentialing exam.

According to the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS), 1.8 million New Yorkers have a substance abuse problem;of these, less than 15 percent get treated annually. Throughout the state, 110,000 people are in chemical addiction treatment programs at any given time, placing an enormous burden on the relatively small number of treatment programs available. According to OASAS,2.5 million New Yorkers, or 11percent of the population, have a substance abuse problem;
of these only 260,000, or barely 10 percent, get treated annually. In a 2006 national survey conducted by Therapeutic Communities of America, 81 percent of the association's member organizations reported they had a workforce shortage.

New York State estimates that there is a current need for at least 6,000 CASAC-credentialed counselors. To be an addiction counselor, an individual must be certified by CASAS after taking a 350-hour training course and working a minimum number of hours as a counselor in the field. Once students have completed the training, they can receive a counselor-in-training credential (CASAC-T) and then have five years to complete their work requirement and take the CASAC exams.

At this time of financial stress and continued high unemployment,there is an increased need for effective job training and placement organizations that train and place individuals in well-paying jobs in fields with a demand for qualified workers. For this reason, we plan to continue to expand the number of people we train and to provide supplemental training and additional support services especially those who do not qualify for funding through ACCES or TANF government programs, and to substantially improve the internship,placement and post-placement support services we provide.