About Us

Who We Are

Hogar CREA is a non-profit organization dedicated for over 48 years to the prevention and treatment of alcohol and substance abuse.  Juan José García Ríos founded Hogar CREA on May 20, 1968 in the Saint Just, a municipality of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico.

The abbreviation C.R-E.A. is a Spanish acronym, which translates to “COMMUNITY FOR THE RE-EDUCATION OF ADDICTS”. Our philosophy is based on the existential principle of individual & collective responsibility, self-effort and mutual help.

At present we have, 104 facilities operating throughout the island of Puerto Rico, United States, the Caribbean, Central America and South America.  Six of which are located in Pennsylvania; Bethlehem, Philadelphia, Reading, Freemansburg, Lancaster and Allentown.

The residents at Hogar CREA who participate in our program not only learn to assume responsibility for his or her life and conduct, but also, they are immersed in a real home environment with the physical, emotional, spiritual and moral values that are necessary for the formation of a sound character. 

PHILOSOPHY OF HOGAR CREA

The Movement-is Born

The philosophy of Hogs CREA is based on the belief that every individual is born with sense of dignity and self-respect. This self-respect is like a plant which needs to be cultivated and cared for until its roots become firm and strong enough to sustain it in tempest which lashes at it. An affliction has impeded the growth of our self-respect. But by helping each other we will drive our roots more firmly into the ground so that our foundation will be strengthened daily. We have to learn to fight all obstacles that intervene between ourselves and our goal of maturity, dignity, and self-respect.

Our symbol CREA is to create and arise from the life of the addict. He has destroyed himself, his family, and the community because of his abuse of drugs. In CREA he is reborn creating attitudes, habits, customs, manners, and positive qualities in himself.

Those of us who have destroyed our lives by addiction are committing ourselves to be born again from out of our failure so that we will be able to occupy our new place in society. The community will accept us because when we regain our dignity we will be the community.

SIGAMOLA.

VISION

To develop a private nonprofit residential treatment program, drug-free, long-term and community-based, that responds to the needs of people with drugs dependency, which will bring relief and reduce the hurt of the relatives. One that will be an alternative without borders, that brings faith and hope to wherever it is needed.

MISSION

Hogar CREA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing prevention and treatment to drug addicts of both genders; adults and adolescents, mothers with children, homeless, addicts with HIV/AIDS. Our mission and apostolate is to service the needy and the homeless.

The treatment model is bio-psycho-social-spiritual, framed in a therapeutic community directed towards the development of a sound character.

For this reason, all who are part of this organization guided by God, such as: reeducated, Employees, Steering Committee Members, Relatives Committees, Collaborating Members, Family and others, we must understand and internalize that we should set an example, and that all our efforts should aim to fully comply with the most important mission of our Movement: to SERVE.