In 1999, after over a decade of intense planning and fundraising, Friends of the Poor was proud to see the doors of the Hospital San Ignacio de Loyola open for the first time. This in-patient mental health treatment center near Rosarito, Mexico in Baja California is an extension of Casa de Los Pobres. It was established in response to the immense need for psychiatric and substance addiction services among the poor, for whom there were literally no services available.
The typical in-patient stay at Hospital San Ignacio is six weeks, and to promote longterm successful outcomes, patients and their families continue to receive support through out-patient care after the patient has been discharged.