Executive
Committee
Subcommittee Chairs
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Taking
a Stand to Expand Drug Rehab
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Wednesday,
November 29, 2006
At any one time, about 5,700 teenagers in Washington County need counseling
for drug or alcohol abuse. Last year only about 570 got it.
That isn't because more kids don't want it. That's all that is available,
says Jeff Peters, the county's alcohol and drug program coordinator.
Peters was among the speakers Tuesday during a hearing in Hillsboro
before the Governor's Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs.
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"Nine
out of 10 kids who need help never get what they need," Peters
said.
Some kids develop drug and alcohol habits of their own, he said, but
many are second- or third-generation addicts, who grew up in homes
where drug and alcohol abuse is the norm.
One young woman told council members she used drugs with her mother
and committed her first drug-related crime when she was 5.
She is reconnecting with her children and has gone from "being
a meth mother to being a miracle mother," she said, adding that
she would still be an addicted gang member without help from county
programs. Washington County District Attorney Robert Hermann said
programs such as the county's drug court can help break the family
tradition of abuse.
"I've lost track of how many times I could see a 3-year-old kid
and be able to predict which one I'd see back in the system 15 years
later," he said.
The drug court gives people arrested for drug-related crimes the option
of going through an intensive program of counseling, testing, rehabilitation,
job search and restitution rather than jail or prison time.
Circuit Judge Thomas Kohl said the cost of the drug court's first
"graduate" was $6,000 to $10,000, compared with about $150,000
for the 60 months of jail time she would have served.
But programs take money. One by one, speakers told the panel that
Washington County efforts are woefully underfunded and understaffed.
It means the majority of people who have an addiction problem simply
can't get the help they need.
Speakers said they need money to pay for counselors, rooms and beds,
probation officers and mentors. They said recovery programs are reeling
from cuts to the Oregon Health Plan and asked council members to be
their advocate in Salem.
The panel has taken the first step.
Ann Uhler, council chairwoman, unveiled "The Domino Effect,"
the group's latest report to the governor on addiction in Oregon and
how it affects everything from society to the economy. (You can find
it online at http://tinyurl.com/yarzfy.)
Its findings are shocking. Drug-related traffic accidents are up.
More women are in prison. Their kids are being cared for by taxpayers
or relatives. Underage drinking, especially by girls, is on the rise,
as is teen pregnancy. People can't find jobs, and employers in some
areas have a hard time finding drug-free workers.
The plan calls for rebuilding drug and alcohol programs to provide
prevention, treatment and recovery and to extend those to people who
aren't in the court system.
Michael Morgester, who works with the Recovery Action Project, explained
to council members that "many people can't access programs until
they have been incarcerated."
Former addicts with records carry that stigma of being convicted for
years. Some have a hard time getting work or even finding a place
to live.
His voice breaking with emotion, Morgester said funding for his job
as a counselor will be eliminated soon and he's not sure if he'll
be able to find other work.
"As an addict, I committed multiple felonies," he said.
"They've carried a life sentence."
Unfortunately, no amount of money for counseling, rehabilitation or
training will change that.
Society can spend money to change lives, but society itself has to
change to make those changed lives worth living.
Jerry F. Boone: 503-294-5960; jerryboone@news.oregonian.com
or jfboone@aol.com; 1675 S.W.
Marlow Ave., Suite 325, Portland, OR 97225 |
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OPERA
is
a statewide, nonprofit association of private sector and tribal
entities who provide treatment, prevention and training services.
We are dedicated to ending addiction by ensuring the development
and maintenance of the highest quality statewide service systems. |
Mission
OPERA’s mission is to eliminate alcohol and drug problems
and their social, health and behavioral consequences through
use of evidence-based practices; partnerships with public and
private, social and healthcare providers; and advocacy for effective
budget and public policy. |
Vision
We envision a society in which alcohol and drug problems are
recognized as a public health issue that is both preventable
and treatable. We envision a society in which high quality services
for prevention and treatment of alcohol and drug problems are
widely available, and where prevention and treatment are recognized
as specialized fields of expertise. |
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