Recovery Innovations

Starting with the more recent story, in 2006, META Services became Recovery Innovations, Inc. to create the opportunity to develop recovery-based programs and training opportunities throughout the United States and the world. Now, Recovery Innovations of Arizona, Inc. continues to provide recovery-based programs and supports to serve Maricopa County, Arizona, while new non-profit companies have been created in other states. The Recovery Opportunity Center, LLC provides training and technical assistance worldwide and META Certification, Inc. will provide individuals and organizations certification in recovery-based practice.

Our Vision

The vision was a transformation in the service delivery system grounded in the belief that people with mental health and substance use challenges do recover and move on with their life. The principle ingredients of this transformation include hope, education, employment, peer support and self-help. New programs are now available.

Our Background

In 1981, a class action suit was filed in Superior Court by the Maricopa County Public Fiduciary on behalf of a class of mentally ill adults against the state of Arizona and Maricopa County (Arnold vs. Sarn). After several years of deliberation, the case was settled in 1989. The Arizona Supreme Court affirmed the individual right of every chronically mentally ill person to adequate treatment in the community. The state and county were ordered to establish a comprehensive system of community-based mental health care.

"The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled that Arizona has failed to meet its moral and legal obligations to our state's chronically mentally ill population. Unanimously, the Court held that persons with chronically mental illness have a legal right to mental health treatment in the community and that the State of Arizona has failed to provide that treatment....The Supreme Court has stated unequivocally that 'Arizona has imprisoned its (chronically mentally ill) in the shadows of public apathy'. The court has put the defendants, and the state to the test: Arizona must finally put a decent and effective mental health system in place." (Plaintiff's "Plan for Implementation and Monitoring of Arnold v Sarn").

In 1989, new state funding was appropriated to expand the system of care and to fund the development of new services.

Early in 1990, a local mental health administrator, Eugene Johnson, was approached with a need for the development of crisis services for people served by the state funded case management system. In response to this request Mr. Johnson, with the assistance of several community leaders, founded META Services, Inc. The agency received a grant of state funds to develop a Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU). On June 13, 1991, a nine bed CSU was opened in a residential setting at 619 W. Southern Ave., Mesa, AZ, serving the East Valley in Maricopa County.

As community mandates continued to change, in 1992, a new county-wide system to administer state funds was created, the Regional Behavioral Health Authority (RBHA) system. ComCare was funded by the Arizona Department of Health Services as the RBHA.

With the new county-wide system, the population base expanded to Maricopa County, META expanded its services county wide. The demand for CSU services far exceeded META's capacity so in August 1995, Home Stabilization Services (HSS) was funded as a new stabilization alternative; intensive, short term services where a home health model was either the necessary or preferred method of service delivery. In 2000, the HSS was recreated as the Home Recovery Team (HRT) and added peer staff to the team to provide the powerful tool of peer support.

In 1995, the RBHA, began a redesign of community crisis services and META Services was awarded a contract to develop a behavioral health Urgent Care Center to serve western Maricopa County. After extensive community planning, META opened the Urgent Care Center in Peoria on November 28, 1996. Under the director of a physician, a multi-disciplinary team serves the community, the police, and other service providers as the point of entry for all types of behavioral crisis and emergencies.

Continuing its crisis stabilization initiative, META responded to a request for privatization of the Local Alcoholism Reception Center (LARC) which had been operated since 1972 by the Maricopa County Department of Health Services serving over 10,000 people with alcoholism and drug addiction annually. After being awarded the contract for the LARC service, META Services began providing services in a new 22,000 square foot facility at 28th Street and Van Buren in Phoenix in April 1997. The new program, known as META Center, provided a large intake area with 23 secure beds, a 16-bed wing for medical detoxification, and a large community meeting hall, Bill Wilson Hall. At META Center 750 clients per month were served until 2002 when the LARC service was transitioned to another provider.

In the fall of 1997, META Services was given the opportunity by the City of Phoenix to expand its substance abuse services with a HUD grant to provide treatment, supportive services, and housing for homeless substance abusers. This project, called Another Chance has served 120 people annually since 1997 with excellent recovery outcomes including permanent housing and employment opportunities for participants.

Throughout its history, META's Board of Directors and management has remained committed to developing grounding breaking advances in the service system. In 1999, META leadership recognized the need to move its service system beyond stabilization. A new RECOVERY vision was adopted. A new mission was declared:

"to create opportunities and environments that empower people to recover, to succeed in accomplishing their goals, and reconnect to themselves, others, and meaning and purpose in life."