{"id":219714,"date":"2025-08-05T15:00:44","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T01:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=219714"},"modified":"2025-08-05T15:29:27","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T01:29:27","slug":"substance-use-disorders-self-healing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/08\/05\/substance-use-disorders-self-healing\/","title":{"rendered":"Helping those with substance use disorders heal often leads to self-healing"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Gerry
Gerry Crespo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After experiencing houselessness and addiction, Gerry Crespo never imagined becoming a counselor. However, in May 2025, he earned his Certificate of Competence in Substance Use Disorders (COSUDS<\/abbr>) Counseling at Leeward Community College\u2019s Waiʻanae<\/span> Moku education center—and now works full-time for Salvation Army Addiction Treatment Services.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s one of the most rewarding professions,” said Crespo. “I feel extraordinarily fulfilled whenever I witness someone achieve recovery and transform their life.”<\/p>\n

Crespo is one of 10 recent graduates of the COSUDS<\/abbr> program, and among the eight who received an award and support from the Hawaiʻi<\/span> Behavioral Health Training Institute<\/a> (HBHTI<\/abbr>), which was created to support individuals from across the state seeking careers as substance use disorders counselors. Crespo\u2019s grant helped to cover his rent and bill payments.<\/p>\n

“This program enables you to transform lives, including your own,” he said.<\/p>\n

“This program fills a vital gap in our community,” said Gwen Williams, co-principal investigator of HBHTI<\/abbr> and coordinator of Leeward CC<\/abbr>\u2019s COSUDS<\/abbr> Counseling program. “We\u2019ve seen how tuition coverage and stipends make education possible for individuals who might otherwise never have this opportunity. If our grant is renewed, we hope to continue supporting those ready to serve Hawaiʻi<\/span> in one of its most urgent workforce needs.”<\/p>\n

Leveling up<\/h2>\n

HBHTI<\/abbr> has included the Level 1 COSUDS<\/abbr> program at Leeward CC<\/abbr> and a Level 2 apprenticeship coordinated by the University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> at M\u0101noa, Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health, Department of Social Work. Apprentices work at state-registered treatment sites as they pursue certified substance abuse counselor (CSAC<\/abbr>) credentials. A four-year grant from the U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration has helped to provide tuition assistance, stipends during fieldwork experiences, and stipends for apprenticeships. An award for tuition is expected to be available for one more year for qualified candidates.<\/p>\n

\"Edmond
Edmond Pulu Jr.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Like Crespo, Edmond Pulu Jr<\/abbr>.<\/a> entered the program with a history of addiction\u2014and a desire to change his life.<\/p>\n

“HBHTI<\/abbr> has been life-changing. Coming from addiction, incarceration and having to start over with nothing, the program gave me more than training\u2014it gave me a second chance,” said Pulu Jr<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n

Now a CSAC<\/abbr> at Kokua Support Services, he facilitates group sessions, mentors clients and supports Chuukese individuals in recovery. He earned degrees from Leeward CC<\/abbr> and 东精影业<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span> and is completing his Master of Social Work at 东精影业<\/abbr> M\u0101noa.<\/p>\n

“What drives me is knowing every client I serve could\u2019ve been me,” Pulu Jr<\/abbr>. said.<\/p>\n

For current 东精影业<\/abbr> students interested in enrolling in the COSUDS<\/abbr> program, contact gwenw@hawaii.edu<\/a> or HBHTI<\/abbr> at hawaii.edu\/hbhti<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA<\/abbr>) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS<\/abbr>) under 1 M01HP42453\u201001\u201000, Hawaiʻi<\/span> Behavioral Health Training Institute, totaling $2,216,000, with 0 percent financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the authors and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA<\/abbr>, HHS<\/abbr> or the U.S. Government.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Substance use disorders counseling offers new beginnings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[1146,165,65,244,596,71,9,59,1233],"class_list":["post-219714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-counseling","tag-health","tag-leeward-community-college","tag-social-work","tag-myron-b-thompson-school-of-social-work","tag-uh-community-colleges","tag-uh-manoa","tag-uh-west-oahu","tag-waianae-moku-education-center","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219714"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219714\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":219772,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219714\/revisions\/219772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}