Habilitat

The program is residential and long-term. Residents live there, and when they finish, transitional homes are available as an optional next step rather than a requirement.

Habilitat is built as an alternative to 12-step programs rather than a version of that model. It takes a non-psychiatric approach at every level, so psychiatric treatment is not the organizing method of the program.

Residents come from Hawaii, from the mainland and from other countries, so the group is mixed. Many arrive with formal education interrupted, a common thread among people involved with alcohol addiction or drug use.

The property runs to the edge of Kaneohe Bay, on 1.5 acres below the Koolau Mountains. The neighborhood on the windward side is quiet. Staff pick residents up at Honolulu airport on arrival, and there’s a gym with sauna, an aerobics studio and elective classes in yoga and breathwork.

A registered nurse oversees minor health concerns, and local primary care physicians are consulted when a resident’s needs run past that. Classes are taught by state-certified educators, so the teaching side has its own credentialed staff.