Antonio Conway, LPC, NCAC, LICDC, SAP, describes his work as a facilitator with the Habilitation Empowerment Accountability Therapy (HEAT) program as the best treatment experience of his life. Conway joined the program in 2018 after being introduced to it through his work with what is now the Judge Larry A. Jones Drug Court in Cleveland, Ohio.
The HEAT program, established in 2013, focuses on providing culturally sensitive Afrocentric treatment for African American males aged 18–35. Conway primarily works with young men who have substance use issues who are required to appear in court. The objective of the program is to improve the success rates of participants in treatment court, matching those of their nonminority counterparts.
The court-directed program requires participants to meet twice a week for 9 months. It consists of four components that help the young men understand themselves as individuals, their role with family, their relationship with the community, and the significance of spirituality.
Conway emphasizes the importance of spirituality in the program.
“The HEAT program’s core curriculum components are interwoven around spirituality—spirituality from a standpoint of teaching young men about a sense of purpose and meaning in life and connecting with themselves and connecting with the world around them.”
The program takes into consideration the culture and historical strengths of African Americans, treating the participants holistically rather than solely focusing on their substance use issues.
“It is an evidence-based treatment model specifically designed for African American males,” says Conway, who is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), National Certified Addiction Counselor (NCAC), Licensed Independent Chemical Dependency Counselor (LICDC), Substance Abuse Professional (SAP), Grief Recovery Method Specialist, and legislative chair of the Ohio Association of Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Counselors (OAADAC), an affiliate of NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals. He is also a 2022 NBCC Foundation Minority Fellow from the Addiction Counseling cohort. CCE partners with the NBCC Foundation to offer financial support for its Scholar and Fellowship programs. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Counselor Education Supervision at Walden University.
Conway's dedication to the program goes beyond his role as a facilitator. He recalls an instance where a participant arrived for a session and mentioned that he hadn't had breakfast because there was no food at his grandmother’s house where he lived.
“Here you have someone sitting in training without having eaten; food is a basic need. He’s on time, he’s attentive, he’s engaged.” Conway took the young man to buy groceries. “The look on that young man’s face when he was able to walk into his grandmother’s house with bags filled with groceries was priceless. To be able to serve them in that way means a lot to them and to me.”
With years of experience in group counseling, Conway acknowledges that the issues faced by the HEAT participants cannot be separated from their environment. The program provides a space for these young men to express themselves, and he describes his role as one of being empathetic and understanding.
Guy Wheeler, the co-founder of HEAT, is proud to have Conway on the team.
“Mr. Conway is an intelligent, powerful, and prudent HEAT facilitator who enjoys empowering his participants,” says Wheeler. “He conveys consistent compassion and empathy while allowing participants to utilize self-efficacy.”
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