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.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake