Pubdate: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 Source: Orlando Sentinel (FL) Copyright: 2002 Orlando Sentinel Contact: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/325 Author: Henry Pierson Curtis, Sentinel Staff Writer LOCAL CENTER CAUGHT BUSH'S EYE LONG AGO The Central Florida program that Noelle Bush sought for drug treatment is well-known to Gov. Jeb Bush and his family. Bush and his wife, Columba, began visiting the Center for Drug-Free Living in Orlando before he took office, according to counselors. They have had an ongoing interest in drug-prevention programs statewide. "They've worked very closely with us," center spokeswoman Joan Ballard said. "Columba has been a big advocate for prevention." Founded in 1971, the center has grown into a $30 million-a-year collection of residential- and outpatient-treatment facilities that treated 14,655 people last year in Orange, Osceola and Brevard counties. Last February, Noelle, 24, joined a group home in west Orange County for adult women suffering from substance abuse. She transferred from a treatment program in Leon County, records show. Center personnel would not comment on the governor's daughter, saying all clients are protected by a privacy policy. At the group home, the women live two to a room on a quadrangle around a courtyard. The program was created partly to provide treatment to pregnant and postpartum mothers. The center's other facilities include state-funded Juvenile Justice programs near SeaWorld in south Orange County and Intercession City in Osceola County. Together they house 265 teen-agers younger than 18, Ballard said. Other center services in Orlando include a methadone program that daily treats 140 men and women, a 36-bed program for adult addicts, a 40-bed program for adolescents, and a 37-bed detoxification program to wean addicts off drugs. One of the most recent programs involves a series of "village houses" in neighborhoods around Orlando where young people can stop in for counseling and activities. "It's a place for kids to come -- a lot of latchkey kids after school," Ballard said. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens