HATPC: The highest standard of holistic addiction treatment for social progress

Affordable housing and homelessness

Central LA County of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a countywide benefit)

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

The vast majority of addiction treatment centers include holistic group treatment as part of their regular programing. These holistic facilitators are generally trained/experienced in one modality, however, this training is not trauma or addiction informed and in many cases can do more harm than good. HATPC is the first organization to develop a standardized protocol for the work done by these holistic facilitators to ensure that their work will lead to lower relapse rates and higher success rates. This will also hold holistic facilitators to a higher level of professionalism, and, in turn, allow for higher pay and more hours. Furthermore, lower relapse rates and higher client success rates will have a positive impact on the issue of homelessness, as addiction/substance use disorder and homelessness are intertwined.

This grant will help HATP launch the first cohort of the Holistic Addiction Treatment Professional Certification Program (HATPC), the first standardized training program for holistic group facilitators working in addiction treatment settings. Most current facilitators are not trained in trauma-informed care, addiction science, or ethical group facilitation, which can unintentionally cause harm or undermine recovery. Our program changes that by providing a 400-hour certification rooted in neuroscience, somatic practices, and cultural competency.
This grant will fund critical early-stage components: hiring instructors, finalizing curriculum, launching a web-based learning portal, and implementing marketing and outreach efforts to recruit a diverse first cohort of trainees—prioritizing individuals in recovery or from underserved communities. It will also support scholarship distribution for low-income students.
By building a pipeline of highly trained, trauma-informed facilitators, HATP will improve outcomes in addiction treatment, reduce relapse-related homelessness, and create new career pathways with fair pay and professional recognition for facilitators. This project advances LA2050’s goals for health, income equity, and community resilience.

If our work is successful, Los Angeles will have a new workforce of trauma-informed holistic facilitators—many of whom are in recovery themselves—equipped to serve in treatment centers and community programs. By certifying individuals from underserved backgrounds, we create pathways to meaningful employment in behavioral health, increasing income equality. Simultaneously, we help improve outcomes in addiction recovery, a root cause of homelessness. HATP graduates will support individuals in rebuilding their lives through nervous system regulation, mindfulness, and group healing practices—reducing relapse, increasing job readiness, and fostering long-term stability. This dual-impact approach addresses both the workforce pipeline and the social conditions that perpetuate cycles of addiction, homelessness, and economic inequality in LA County.