Pubdate: Wed, 29 Dec 2004 Source: Messenger-Inquirer (KY) Copyright: 2004 Messenger-Inquirer Contact: http://www.messenger-inquirer.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1285 Author: J.D. Meyer Note: J.D. Meyer is an Owensboro attorney and a board member for Community Solutions for Substance Abuse and Lighthouse Recovery Services. UNIFIED EFFORT NEEDED TO ADDRESS SUBSTANCE ABUSE PROBLEMS The Kentucky Housing Corporation recently announced an initiative throughout the state that may provide substantial substance abuse treatment for the Owensboro/Daviess County region. Representatives from the KHC presented this plan to a group of Owensboro treatment providers in late November. It calls for construction of 12 homeless shelters throughout the state and is one of the first major steps to implementing Gov. Ernie Fletcher's plans to address issues of substance abuse in the commonwealth. However, these are not your run-of-the-mill shelters designed to feed and house the homeless. The programs offered in the shelters seek to address one of the major causes of the individual's homelessness -- drug and alcohol abuse. This program utilizes the recovery dynamics theory to overcome an individual's addiction. This theory centers on a peer-to-peer recovery system, which utilizes a system of mentoring and monitoring substance abusers. Individuals participating in the program actually mentor other individuals who are just beginning the recovery process. The participants typically utilize Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous as a component of their recovery. This program is not a new concept. The KHC closely modeled its concept after the Healing Place of Louisville and the Hope Center in Lexington. Both programs maintain proven track records to assist people through their addiction. The Healing Place indicates that of those who completed their program, 65 percent remain drug and alcohol free for one year or more. The Healing Place maintains over 1,400 alumni. The substance abuse treatment providers, led by Community Solutions for Substance Abuse, identified the need for such a shelter. Owensboro would greatly benefit from such a program, as law enforcement frequently maintains no choice but to arrest the homeless addict. This ultimately leads to an increase in taxpayer costs to fund the jail. The mayor, county judge-executive and jailer all point to the rising costs associated with our community's substance abuse problem. State statistics show that 60 percent of inmates are addicted to drugs or alcohol, while 85 percent abuse drugs or alcohol. Jailer David Osborne cited similar statistics concerning the Daviess County Detention Center in statements announcing the GOALS program, the jail's substance abuse treatment program. Owensboro/Daviess County and the area substance abuse treatment providers must join together to develop a common effort to seek funding for one of these shelters. It is only through a unified effort that we will be able to obtain these goals. Through the efforts of Community Solutions, our community has made great strides to join together and collaborate resources to fill the gaps in substance abuse education, prevention and treatment. The recent development of the Lifeboat, and its efforts to create a non-medical detoxification unit for addicts, raised concerns among some in the substance abuse community. The Lifeboat proposal appears to be modeled closely after the nonmedical detoxification facility component of The Healing Place and the Hope Center. This would allow a sobering-up center for addicts but would not supply the other recovery dynamics components of the model. The Lifeboat was developed in the weeks prior to KHC's announcement of its plans. The concept closely resembles components of the proposal submitted by Community Solutions for the city and county Wellness Initiative, a distribution of money representing the community's ownership interest in the hospital. Community Solutions' proposal failed to receive funding as concerns arose that it presented a duplication in services. That same question, along with many others, surfaced as the Lifeboat and its plans became public. The concern is not whether such a program is needed in the community, but whether a new nonprofit corporation is needed. Is there an existing agency that already provides these services? Is there an existing agency that provides some of these services which could expand to conform to the KHC's model shelter? Lighthouse Recovery Services Inc. is a local nonprofit entity providing peer-to-peer mentoring and monitoring in a Christian environment to those recovering from substance abuse. Lighthouse utilizes the recovery dynamics concepts in its program. The local District Court judges frequently utilize Lighthouse Recovery to provide a form of "drug court" or alternative sentencing for criminal defendants of the court system. In fact, Lighthouse maintains several employees who are graduates of The Healing Place in Louisville. Would Lighthouse be willing to expand its services to fit the model the KHC seeks to implement? These questions must be asked and answered. No one individual or group possesses the answer to our substance abuse problems. If an entity works alone with its own individual goals and initiatives nothing will be accomplished. However, if the community comes together as a unit, we will make great strides and accomplish many more objectives than those we initially set out to achieve. The proposal for a homeless program focused on addressing substance abuse was presented once in our community and was shot down because the community acted individually. It appears Owensboro/Daviess County has another opportunity for such a homeless shelter. We must present a unified proposal or face a similar outcome. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth