GEO News

Over the past year, the Monterey Day Reporting Center (DRC) has undergone a lot of change, but as GEO is aware, change is often beneficial. A sobriety wall, which allows participants to visualize their days of sobriety and move their name across as they reach milestones in that sobriety, is a recent addition to the Monterey DRC walls. This sobriety wall was designed by Janette Amezcua, a Behavior Change Manager. Ms. Amezcua requested to take the lead on the sobriety wall; one of many projects she has finished at the DRC over the last few months, after a recent Evidence-Based Practices (EBP) Fidelity Review brought attention to the lack of participant recognition at the DRC. Ms. Amezcua surprised her Program Manager by demonstrating a high level of creativity and completing the project quickly due to her interest in it. Her sobriety wall turned out fantastic. Every 30 days of sobriety gained is rewarded along the way. Using her imagination, Ms. Amezcua produced a sobriety wall that is both entertaining and adheres to the EBP principle of increasing positive reinforcement. Ms. Amezcua shared her talents further by updating the rewards system to include an artistic rewards binder that showcases possible reward options with a QR code that participants can scan to see the rewards any time and any where. This success highlights the importance of investing in staff strengths because they are our greatest asset!