Mental health care that meets you where you are.
Group counseling for people navigating substance use and the justice system — grounded in your culture, your history, and your whole self.
H.E.A.T. is different. We practice culturally responsive care: we start from the belief that your culture and your history are strengths, not complications. We treat the whole person — spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, environmental, and experiential. Our goal is to validate your life experience and work through the issues that have shaped your self-image, your behavior, and your choices.
We are a group-counseling intervention for people facing problematic substance use and involvement in the justice system. Our approach does not assume a severe substance use disorder — we focus on what drives the behavior rather than how far it has gone.
Our intensive curriculum works on the patterns that keep people stuck, and on the daily realities that put them there, including stigma, economic hardship, and limited access to support. We offer a safe space to explore self-perception, family dynamics, and community engagement. Our strength-based approach draws on the resilience participants already carry, so they can confront and overturn the barriers in front of them.
Join us in this journey of transformation and empowerment.
Four programs serving adults and teens facing substance use and involvement in the justice system.
A group-counseling intervention for men aged 18 to 29 who are facing problematic substance use and involvement in the criminal justice system.
A therapy program for young men aged 13 to 17 involved in the juvenile justice system. It applies a holistic, culturally responsive, strength-based model built for young people — positive and engaging rather than punitive.
Habilitation Empowerment Recovery — a therapeutic intervention for women who have been involved in the justice system, addressing substance use, mental health, and trauma together. Gender-responsive and trauma-informed by design.
A therapy program for girls aged 13 to 17 involved in the juvenile justice system, combining the H.E.A.T. for Youth approach with the gender-responsive, trauma-informed care at the heart of H.E.R.
20%
of people in jails have a serious mental illness
Source: Treatment Advocacy Center, 2016
15%
of people in state prisons have a serious mental illness
Source: Treatment Advocacy Center, 2016
1 in 6
people who needed substance use treatment in 2025 received it (16.0%)
Source: SAMHSA, National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2025
Mental health and substance use are widespread among people in jails and prisons, and most never receive the care they need. The first two figures above are Treatment Advocacy Center estimates from 2016; the third is SAMHSA's finding for 2025. Many people leave custody still carrying the issues that brought them there. Our programs exist to meet people at exactly that point.
Most people who need substance use treatment never get it. Here is what the research shows about that gap, about mental health in jails and prisons, and about what happens to people who leave custody without support.
Culturally responsive care means understanding the specific pressures people carry. Racial trauma is one of them — what the research shows about its effect on mental and physical health, and what resilience looks like.
