Pubdate: Thu, 08 Feb 2001
Source: Times Argus (VT)
Copyright: 2001 Times Argus
Address: P.O. Box 707, Barre VT 05641
Fax: (802) 479-4032
Feedback: http://timesargus.nybor.com/Opinion/Letters/
Website: http://www.timesargus.com/

ON THE FRONT LINES

One thing is certain about Vermont's programs for dealing with drug abuse: 
They lack the resources they need to combat the problem.

The Legislature is wrestling with issues of drug abuse in part because of a 
recent increase in the use of heroin and the crime associated with heroin 
addiction. Members of the Legislature have been dismayed by the 
half-hearted response of the Dean administration, which insists it is in 
the process of putting together a comprehensive program on drug addiction.

Dismay has been furthered because the first reaction of Gov. Howard Dean to 
the heroin problem was a quick infusion of money for law enforcement. It is 
widely believed by people who deal with drug addiction, including the law 
enforcement community, that law enforcement alone cannot solve the problem. 
Dean believes so as well, but legislators are discouraged by what appears 
to be Dean's knee-jerk reaction on issues of crime. That reaction: more 
cops, more jails.

In the absence of a comprehensive program from Dean, members of the 
Legislature have begun to consider a program of their own. To get an idea 
of the challenges that exist around the state, they ought to begin by 
talking with the people on the front lines - community groups wrestling 
with the complex problems of abuse, poverty, crime, and illiteracy at the 
grass-roots level.

Legislators will hear, for example, that Vermont has no facilities anywhere 
in the state for detoxification of juvenile heroin addicts.

They will hear that detoxification programs for adults are woefully lacking.

They will hear that non-profit organizations providing treatment for 
addicts, including alcoholics, are short of manpower and funding.

Those who treat addicts frequently say that one of the main obstacles in 
providing treatment is that addicts do not want to be treated. It is 
possible, however, through the operations of a drug court or judicial 
programs attuned to the problems of addicts to make treatment less of an 
option and more of a requirement. No one can force a cure upon an addict, 
but when people are in state custody, they can be exposed to options they 
otherwise might have passed up.

Vermont has been developing community partnerships to provide services to 
people in need before they fall into the custody of Departments of 
Corrections or Social and Rehabilitation Services. These community programs 
struggle to obtain the grants they need and to coordinate the patchwork of 
services provided at the grass roots.

The state has done a good job of developing parent-child centers around the 
state to provide services for pre-school children. The state would do well 
to bolster the efforts of community groups who are grappling with problems 
of drug abuse, alcoholism, mental disability, illiteracy, joblessness, and 
homelessness.

The death of Christal Jean Jones, a Burlington teenager who was murdered 
last month in New York City, has captured the attention of policymakers. 
But community groups work every day with problems like those of Jones.

Vermont has decentralized much of its services for those in need, but as 
communities take up the variety of social problems that surface most 
tellingly with the death of someone like Christal Jean Jones, they 
continually run up against a scarcity of resources and manpower. Most 
organizations dealing with drug and alcohol abuse will tell legislators 
their resources reach only a small fraction of the people in need. Are the 
legislators listening?
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