Pubdate: Sun, 02 Oct 2005 Source: Daytona Beach News-Journal (FL) Copyright: 2005 News-Journal Corporation Contact: http://www.news-journalonline.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/700 Note: gives priority to local writers Author: Deborah Circelli, Staff Writer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) TREATMENT OFFICIALS DECRY LACK OF FUNDING 100 Drug and Alcohol Abusers in Volusia and Flagler Counties Waiting for Help DAYTONA BEACH -- With a cast on his hand and broken ribs, Jeff Anderson barely held his cup as he slowly sipped coffee in his hospital room. Scrapes on his forehead, arms and legs showed how sore he felt, but he knew it could be worse. He could be dead. While waiting to get into a treatment facility for his alcoholism, he blacked out at the end of August and was found at the bottom of the stairs at an Ormond-by-the-Sea condo managed by his mother. The 50-year-old had tried for weeks to get into a detoxification center, but was told he had to wait. "Everything was going down the tubes and I knew I needed help bad," said Anderson, who was drinking three to four six-packs of beer a day and lost his apartment and girlfriend. "When you drink as much as I do, you just can't quit and put it down. Your body goes through tremors." More than 100 people are on waiting lists throughout Volusia and Flagler counties seeking residential substance abuse treatment. Counselors report people dying in drunken-driving accidents, drug-deal shootings and overdoses while waiting for beds. Funding from the state is not meeting the demand, officials say. "Every day they practice is a day they may not see tomorrow," said Ernest Cantley, president of the Stewart-Marchman Center for Chemical Independence, which has about 845 people in residential and outpatient treatment programs. Anna Hodge, assessment coordinator for Serenity House, remembers Travis Wade Sandridge, 27, of Holly Hill coming into her office on a Friday morning, Feb. 4, begging to get in. But there was no bed open until Tuesday. He died early Monday morning, Feb. 7, in a car accident in Ormond Beach along with passenger Jennifer Star Snell, 29, of New Smyrna Beach. According to a spokesman for the Volusia County Medical Examiner's Office, his blood alcohol level was .25, about three times the legal limit. "He kept saying 'Can't you get me in now?' " said Hodge, who has seen six clients die since January who were on her agency's waiting list. She said most were homeless or had been disowned by their families. "He was a nice young man crying for help. It broke my heart." She added: "When they are ready and here, they have hit rock bottom. If you don't grab them then, you are going to lose them." Waiting for Help Some local agencies, such as Serenity House, have an average of 60 people waiting, while others in Volusia and Flagler counties have about a dozen for each of their programs. Waiting periods vary from several weeks to several months. For the first time, Stewart-Marchman Center has people waiting several weeks for outpatient services. Others, such as Community Outreach Services in DeLand, are closely reaching capacity. One Daytona Beach program, New Life Recovery Project, is closing 26 of its 54 beds in October -- two of its four half-way houses -- because of budget constraints. "It's going to make it very difficult, but I just can't do it anymore," said Gene LeGodais, director of New Life Recovery. Meanwhile, local treatment officials say, substance abuse continues to be the common thread in tragedies involving child abuse, domestic violence, homelessness, juvenile delinquency and crime. Some people with mental health issues also suffer from drug or alcohol addiction. Funding Gap Despite more people seeking treatment, local and state officials say funding for special projects to expand treatment programs was denied by the Legislature earlier this year. Locally, about $3 million was requested for additional residential beds and counselors. Similar requests will be made during next year's regular session. "We can't control how much money they (legislative leaders) give us. We can only ask and hope that all legislators recognize the fact that this is a huge issue," said state Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R-Ormond Beach. Even though District 12, which includes Volusia and Flagler counties, has the highest substance-abuse funding per capita than any other district, local officials say it's still not enough to meet demand. Costs for programs to clients vary, but Stewart-Marchman officials say there is a sliding scale, with about 60 percent paying nothing because they are considered working poor who do not qualify for Medicaid. Only 10 percent pay more than $40 a day, officials there said. About $29 million was requested from the Legislature by the Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association for 113 agencies to expand services, but was denied, said John Daigle, executive director of the association. More than 1,000 people statewide are on waiting lists for residential or outpatient treatment, state officials say. "That is pretty significant and that is just the tip of the iceberg," Daigle said Ken DeCerchio, assistant secretary for substance abuse and mental health for the state Department of Children & Families, which contracts with agencies for substance abuse treatment, said there is a commitment to "close the treatment gap." He said DCF's budget for substance abuse has increased from $126.5 million in 1998/1999 since Gov. Jeb Bush took office to $202 million this year. Jim McDonough, director of Florida's Office of Drug Control, said the gap between the number of beds available and the number of people needing treatment was about 80 percent prior to 1998/1999. It now is about 50 to 60 percent. "There is still a shortfall, but it's not near as great as it once was," McDonough said. "We'll get it down to zero when we're successful on the prevention side. If people keep falling into drug abuse, which they do at a high rate, it's difficult to stay ahead of that. It's like trying to hold back a tidal wave. We've brought the gap down, but there's still a gap." One Man Gets Help Anderson, who was also on depression medication, went to Stewart-Marchman for detox after a seven-day stay in the hospital. While there, he wavered about wanting to go on to residential treatment. A couple of weeks ago, a judge made the choice for him by placing him in the agency's residential program under the Marchman Act, which allows family members to petition the court for involuntary commitment. He could be there for 60 days. "It's very difficult," said his mother, Elaine Sipe, who feared he was going to be hurt more seriously without more treatment. Anderson, who said he has been drinking alcohol since he was 14, said in an interview Sept. 22 that he resents being ordered by court for treatment. He said he had a new job lined up and a place to stay, but now they're gone. He said he knows he needed help getting off alcohol, but felt seven days of detox and being in the hospital was enough. "I've been doing drugs and alcohol for 35 years. It's destroyed so many jobs and so many relationships," he said. "I know I can't continue that way the rest of my life." Anderson is not alone. Local statistics based on household and national alcohol abuse data estimate about 2,500 to 3,500 chronic users would meet criteria for residential treatment annually in Volusia and Flagler counties. There's no way to know how many of them want to be treated. Providers show only about 1,100 people receive residential treatment - -- which ranges from 30 days to 12 months -- each year in Volusia and Flagler counties. Some of them are from other counties. The two counties' number of treatment beds is just under 400, including those funded by the state and county departments of corrections for people who are toward the end of their sentences. A snapshot at Serenity House shows 64.5 percent of the clients are male and 77.5 percent are white. About 3,000 individuals receive outpatient treatment annually. Some people require multiple exposures to treatment before they have success, officials at local facilities say. Local data on outpatient treatment shows that while more than 60 percent will be drug-free one year after treatment, nearly half of them will relapse once during that year. Randy Croy, executive director of Serenity House, said people waiting for treatment are at risk of not only hurting themselves, but also of victimizing their spouses or children. The agency is seeking about $1 million to $3 million from the county this year for a 125-bed treatment facility for substance abusers who have mental health disorders, are homeless or veterans. "Trying to reduce the waiting lists is about saving lives," Croy said. Steven Segner, executive director of Community Outreach Services, which has a three-week waiting period, said getting into treatment sometimes depends on how energetic a person is at applying. Many may apply to more than one facility because of the wait. Kandy Boullt, 37, of Port Orange, was waiting three months on pretrial release to get into Volusia County Adult Drug Court for a possession of cocaine charge. She was one of nine waiting in early September. She started the program and outpatient treatment on Sept. 14. Drug Court is an alternative sentencing program that keeps nonviolent offenders out of jail if they complete court-ordered treatment. While waiting, Boullt, who has two children, was required to go to Narcotics Anonymous meetings and do random urine tests. "I want this and it's been really hard," Boullt said about the wait. "The hardest thing was wanting to be able to talk to people. I don't want (drugs) anymore and I want help to get through this." Agencies such as Stewart-Marchman and Serenity House try to provide a lifeline while people wait. Workers stay in contact with people and get them set up with Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meetings in the community. Hospitals/Jails Feel Shortage Local doctors and the courts end up holding people longer than necessary in hospitals and jails as they wait for treatment. Other times, they have to release them. A subcommittee of the Flagler/Volusia Behavioral Health Consortium is looking at how to better help people get treatment. John E. Evans, former chair of the consortium and recently retired spokesman for Halifax Medical Center, said the hospital is not designed for detox so if a person's medical or psychological condition is treated, he or she is often released. "We are turning people loose when it would be ideal for them to go to a step-down facility," Evans said. At Halifax Medical Center, 4,557 people came to the emergency room department more than once in the 12 months prior to Aug. 31 with substance abuse being the primary or secondary diagnosis, according to Deanna Schaeffer, chair of the consortium and president of Healthy Communities. Those 4,557 people accounted for 13,878 visits with the average person having three visits. The person with the most visits came to the emergency room 37 times. Frank Henry, case management coordinator for the Volusia County Department of Corrections, works with inmates to get them into programs. On Sept. 14, there were 29 inmates waiting for bed space in the community. The jail has an addiction treatment program, but it also has a waiting list, Henry said. Circuit Judge Joseph Will, who presides over Volusia County Adult Drug Court and is in the felony division, said the court system is overwhelmed with people needing treatment, estimating about 85 percent of people he sees in criminal court have some drug involvement. "If you don't have treatment, all you have left is some sort of sanction such as jail or put them on probation (on the condition they avoid alcohol or drugs) and know they can't do it," Will said. Will added that there is especially a lack of beds for women and people with a combination of mental health and substance abuse problems. "There is a whole population of people living in our community who we can't get them into a place that would make a difference to them," Will said. Susan Bennett's 29-year-old daughter, who she said is bipolar and borderline schizophrenic, was released on Sept. 12 after 14 months in jail for grand theft. She also has a drug addiction, according to her mother and the court. Judge Will tried to place her in a treatment facility, but there were no beds especially for someone who has a mental illness and a substance abuse problem. She also did not want to go into treatment, Bennett said. Bennett gave her a suitcase with some clothes, but said she couldn't come home because of her history of stealing from her and her husband. "Most places won't take her because her borderline personality disorder is hard to control," Bennett said. "Now you have someone out on the street. She has no place to live." Anderson lived on the streets for about five months dealing with his substance abuse and mental illness. This is his second time going through residential treatment. He said he knows this time when he gets out, he can resist taking a drink. "I lost a lot this time," Anderson said. "It's just too much to lose. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake