Pubdate: Sun, 02 Dec 2007
Source: Anchorage Daily News (AK)
Copyright: 2007 The Anchorage Daily News
Contact:  http://www.adn.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/18
Author: Anna Sappah
Note: Anna Sappah serves on the Governor's Advisory Board on  Alcohol and
Drug Abuse. She is executive director of  the Substance Abuse
Directors Association of Alaska  Inc. and a tobacco policy specialist
for Akeela Inc.

I KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE - DRUG TREATMENT DOES WORK

As a person in recovery from addiction, I can speak to  the
devastation addiction brings. By the time I was in  junior high, I was
using drugs daily. This continued  until I was in my mid-30s. By then
I had given up  custody of one of my two children. I had given up a
promising career and given up hope of being in a  healthy
relationship. I had nearly given up on life  several times.

By 1994 I was addicted to heroin. I remember feeling  that my
addiction was not out of control because I had  a roof over my head
and I had retained custody of my  other child. I was not willing to
see that I was in an  abusive relationship and nearly destitute. I
made good  money working construction but ate from the food bank  for
almost half the year. I reached out for help in  late 1994. When I
called to get into treatment, I was  given an assessment and told that
the waiting list was  about six weeks long. I began treatment just
before  Christmas that year. I was fortunate.

Today in Alaska, there are fewer treatment programs,  fewer available
beds or treatment slots. It is not  uncommon for addicts to reach out
for help only to be  told that the waiting list can be three to six
months.  Detoxification programs are nearly nonexistent. They  are
only a part of a continuum of care that needs to  provide appropriate
levels of care for treatment to be  successful. After 15 years of flat
funding or  decreases, our programs are barely able to meet the
increased need for services. Nearly 54,000 Alaskans, or  11.2 percent
of the population of the state, was  addicted to alcohol or other
drugs according to a  recent study (McDowell Group, 2005).

The fallout from these addictions can be seen in our  courts, jails,
hospitals and foster care system.  Families are torn by violence,
death and disease  associated with addiction to alcohol and other
drugs.  There are effective solutions to these problems and our  state
needs to take an honest look at where we are and  where we are going
if we don't support the programs  that can provide those solutions.

Due to the stigma attached to the recovery and  treatment community,
society at large does not hear the  success stories. I am here to
testify that treatment  saved my life. It provided me with the ability
to stop  using long enough to take an honest look at my life and
learn the skills needed to live and enjoy my life  without drugs,
including alcohol. Treatment programs  have helped thousands in our
state go on to live as  productive members of their communities. In
order for  this to be available, our state and local communities  need
to support treatment programs and recognize them  as assets rather
than liabilities.

Money to fund treatment programs is a wise investment.  Even though
some people relapse, it should not be used  as a measure of success or
failure of a program. People  can return to communities as productive
persons.  Families can be reunited. Court systems and prisons can  be
relieved of some of the burden as people cease  criminal behavior. For
me, after treatment I was able  to return to work, learn a new trade,
rebuild my family  and become active in the recovery community. I went
  from being nearly unemployable to holding down two  positions as well
as being a full-time college student.  Because of the help I received
in treatment, I found  support in my community to continue my
recovery. I no  longer need to self-medicate to navigate my life. Now,
  I am physically and emotionally available and an asset  to my family
and community. A treatment program saved  my life, just as treatment
has for many Alaskans. We  need to ensure that programs are available
when people  re! ach out for help.

Anna Sappah serves on the Governor's Advisory Board on  Alcohol and
Drug Abuse. She is executive director of  the Substance Abuse
Directors Association of Alaska  Inc. and a tobacco policy specialist
for Akeela Inc.
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MAP posted-by: Derek