DETROIT -- Since 1970, residents seeking help with substance abuse have been able to rely on treatment and rehabilitation at the Herman Kiefer Health Clinic, including a methadone program. Employees at the City of Detroit Department of Human Services Drug Treatment Program say they've received notice that the division will close down in February. The closure will affect between 400 and 500 patients at the clinic -- releasing them into a community with few similar resources. According to Clinic Supervisor Kenneth D. Perry, staffers learned in November that they must stop servicing patients by Jan. 23. [continues 545 words]
Two companies that asked the state for permission to build addiction-treatment centers dispensing methadone in New Albany have been denied because local officials did not support the plans. Rhode Island-based Discovery House proposed locating next to Wal-Mart at 2820 Grant Line Road, while Colonial Management Group of Florida sought a home downtown at 700 Pearl St. Both companies received rejection letters in mid-January, said Dennis Rosebrough, spokesman for the state's Family and Social Services Administration. Neither company could persuade a local official to send the state a letter of recommendation, which is one of the requirements for eligibility the state cemented in December. [continues 218 words]
