Who is the program for?
Vilavi offers an intake, assessment, and referral service that precedes its treatment program. The treatment program is designed for individuals who require a more structured level of support than what is provided through outpatient programs. Admission criteria take into account the individual’s pattern of substance use, but, more importantly, they are based on a multifactorial diagnostic assessment. This assessment examines the individual’s lifestyle and daily routines, as well as their cognitive and emotional development.
In summary, these are people who
- have a lifestyle centered on drug use,
- can benefit from being away from their usual environment
- have a desire for change but face significant difficulties in achieving it, which manifests as delays or challenges in both the emotional and social spheres
Cadre du programme
Treatment goals are personalized; however, the program is based on a framework that allows for a balance between an individual’s personal journey and life within the community. The stages of this process are as follows:
Reception, assessment, referral
Program overview, interviews, health assessment, and other tests (psychosocial functioning scale and/or Addiction Severity Index).
Initial contacts make it possible to assess an individual’s level of motivation, their capacity to undertake the program, and the voluntary and informed nature of their decision. "Voluntary" means that the individual is not under any external pressure. "Informed" means that they understand the implications of their decision—for example, what daily life in the center is like, or the terms of the charter outlining their rights and responsibilities. These initial contacts also serve to provide support and appropriate guidance to those who might benefit more from a different type of program, depending on their specific profile.
The assessment should aim to identify, as precisely as possible, the individual’s history of drug use, as well as any social, physical, or mental health factors that may contribute to an understanding of the problem. It is, therefore, a biopsychosocial assessment that takes into account relational and occupational aspects, psychodynamic factors, and the individual’s overall health status.
The stay
The program favors an individualized path, consisting of stages of varying duration, within which specific objectives must be met. In practice, the duration can range from 4 to 6 months, and may sometimes exceed a year.
The methods used to bring about the changes necessary for treatment—regarding both lifestyle and consumption habits—are as follows:
- community life,
- workshops or learning activities (social, recreational, functional),
- social integration services (in partnership with the public, private or community network),
- individual counseling,
- workshops or activities for stress management.
Une grande place est accordée à l’autonomie et à la responsabilisation personnelle dans son propre plan de changement. A cet effet, les différents types d’apprentissage offerts par la communauté sont résumés comme suit :
- Learning related to daily life
- meal preparation,
- hygiene and maintenance of the environment,
- learning to respect others and to adopt a disciplined way of life through mutual support, respect of the schedules, and regular attendance.
- Organizational-level learnings
- use of free time,
- occupational and budgetary planning.
- Relational learning
- group life,
- new meaningful relationships,
- reorganization of family ties.
- Skill development
- studies or work.
- Social integration and follow-up
- The final stage of the program involves preparation for social reintegration. This is an integral part of the Vilavi program, even though the reintegration process takes place outside the residential setting. The team of support staff is responsible for helping individuals maintain the progress they achieved while in the community, in collaboration with network partners. The goal is to support individuals during this high-risk phase by providing personalized assistance—such as connecting them with necessary resources, developing action plans to address risky behaviors, creating spaces for social interaction, and maintaining regular telephone contact.