Laredo, TX – Today, U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar, Ph.D. (TX-28) announced $2,000,000 in federal funding for People with Ideas of Love, Liberty, Acceptance, and Respect’s (PILLAR) Project Re-entry and Treatment Network. The funds, awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), will be used to provide re-entry services, treatment, and recovery support services for 330 individuals.

Specifically, PILLAR will utilize the award over a 5-year period to treat incarcerated individuals struggling with substance use disorders and/or co-occurring disorders as they return to their families and community. 50 persons will be treated in Year 1, and 70 persons will be treated each year in Years 2 through 5.

“Mental health care is essential to our community’s wellbeing. This $2,000,000 investment will help PILLAR provide the care and treatment needed to get individuals suffering with substance use disorders back on their feet and back into the world,” said Dr. Cuellar, a Senior Member of the House Appropriations Committee. “The 28^th Congressional District of Texas faces unique health care challenges, but visionary solutions like PILLAR’s Project Re-entry and Treatment Network are working to meet those demands. This initiative will provide critical resources to the people who need them most. Thank you to PILLAR Co-Founders Arturo Diaz, Jr., and Manuel Sanchez for working with me to deliver for our community.”

“A significant challenge that convicted individuals face is re-entry into the community,” said Arturo Diaz, Jr., Co-CEO and Co-Founder of PILLAR. “Some of these individuals have mental health and substance abuse issues and they have difficulty assimilating back into the community. They have difficulty securing employment; they have difficulty getting public assistance and housing. Thanks to this new Re-entry and Treatment Project we will be able to work with inmates before they are released and continue to work with them after they are released so they can succeed.”

Previously, Dr. Cuellar secured $1,196,880 in federal funding for the implementation of PILLAR’s Project Positive Affirmation at Work (PAW). PAW enhanced PILLAR’s overdose and prevention activities to help control the spread of infectious diseases and mitigate the consequences of such diseases for individuals with, or at risk of developing, a substance use disorder.

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