About Us:

El Camino (“The Way” in Spanish) was born out of a desire to provide quality services that are family oriented, culturally appropriate and sensitive to the needs of the Latino community. We create an atmosphere where clients feel respected, understood and safe while providing them with the skills, support, knowledge, hope and spiritual healing necessary to achieve and maintain sobriety.

Our founders Carmen Murphy and Patricia Neagle were born in the country of Mexico. They have been Pierce County residents for the last 30 years. Both share a common cultural background with the local Latino community and they have an intimate knowledge of the Latino culture in this geographic region as well as the diverse factors that contribute to substance use in the Latino community. Carmen and Patricia are aware of the tremendous diversity among Latinos, their cultural customs that are associated with alcohol use, and the issues that families face during the acculturation and immigration process.

Since its inception in 2000, El Camino has been providing substance-use disorder treatment, drug and alcohol prevention, community education, and other services to the families in Pierce County through support from a variety of funding sources and generous donors.