The Victoria community has needed an inpatient drug and alcohol detox facility for years. While Billy T. Cattan Recovery Outreach’s outpatient services have helped many in the community, many others still need inpatient treatment locally.
That inpatient facility is close to arriving soon in the form of Billy T. Cattan’s Hope Ranch, which has kicked off its fundraising campaign for what will be the only inpatient facility in Victoria.
One such person who has benefited from the existing outpatient treatment is Skip Mozisek, now a Billy T. Cattan recovery coach who helps people recover from addiction. However, if circumstances had been different, he could have needed inpatient treatment himself.
“When people reach out for help, they tend to have high recovery capital, which means they still have a home, have a job, have a family, and have the ability to succeed in outpatient,” Mozisek said.
However, not everyone is fortunate enough to have those support structures and may need more help than outpatient care can provide, he said.
Currently, if someone needs to go to a residential inpatient treatment facility, they not only have to travel two plus hours to larger surrounding metro areas, but it can take weeks to get an appointment for an evaluation for inpatient treatment and even more time to get a bed for them, Mozisek said.
“A lot of times when somebody is mentally ready to go into treatment, if you make them delay a month, they may not be ready in a month,” he said. “Then how are they going to the treatment places? They may not have a ride. They may not have someone to take care of a pet, or if they are a parent, it is tough going out of town.”
Mozisek was addicted to prescription painkillers for almost 20 years after receiving them as part of his hip and joint replacement. After his recovery, he eventually became dependent on them to deal with life’s daily stresses.
“I tried to quit tons of times on my own. I wanted to just quit, never have to tell anybody that I was struggling with this, and just get past it,” he said. “I failed over and over again on my own. And it finally got to a point to where I knew I needed help, and I reached out.”
Mozisek went into treatment in July 2021 after an “extreme” heart-to-heart discussion with his wife after going through cycles of withdrawal and relapse and the addiction affecting their finances after years of him being “high functioning” with his addiction.
“It just came to a huge crash where I had to quit. There was no other choice,” he said. “I’m so blessed that I was able to go through it. Nowadays, they have such an issue with counterfeit medication. They’re putting fentanyl in these pills and pressing them and making them look just like real pills. So I got out right before that got bad because that’s terrifying.”
During the pandemic, substance abuse increased as people coped with the stress of the global event, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For those who aren’t as fortunate to have a support system or lost it, a local inpatient facility can do wonders for those struggling with addiction, Mozisek said.
It is estimated that 30-35% of the people who walk into Billy T. Cattan’s doors need residential treatment or detox, Billy T. Cattan Executive Director Daniel Barrientos said.
Over the last three years, Billy T. Cattan averaged 490 admissions yearly into outpatient treatment, according to its 2023 capital campaign brochure. In 2020, 502 patients were admitted into outpatient services, and 78% of those patients were considered indigent.
“Over the last three or four years, we’ve really had difficulty finding people, detox and residential beds when they need it,” Barrientos said. “We see a lot of people, and some people require a higher level of care, and it just kind of seemed to intensify during COVID.”
The Billy T. Cattan board has had a long-term goal for an inpatient facility. After a feasibility study result showed a “unanimous” need in Victoria, the board moved forward with the project, he said.
Both the county and the city have contributed $1 million combined for the project through American Rescue Plan Act Funds, Barrientos said.
The center will be looking to raise the remaining $8.25 million for the project through its fundraiser campaign, he said.
It is expected to be a 35,700 square-foot facility located on SH 185, just outside of Victoria, according to the brochure. The facility will include 30 male and 22 female treatment beds, 12 of which will serve as detox beds at any time.
The center hopes to break ground and begin construction on the project at the start of 2024, Barrientos said.
