Pubdate: Fri,  8 Mar 2002
Source: Central Kentucky News Journal (KY)
Copyright: 2002, Central Kentucky News Journal
Contact:  http://www.cknj.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1479
Author: Rebecca Dial

PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE IS ON THE RISE

It starts out simply enough. A car wreck or injury ... a prescription for 
pain or nerve medication. Then it might be multiple visits to different 
doctors, a few more prescriptions ... and before long it turns into 
desperation.

The desperation of an addict.

And addicts don't live just in metropolitan cities anymore. In fact, as 
many as 70 women in Taylor, Green and Adair counties are currently in 
treatment for some form of substance abuse.

Missy Herron, director of the Adanta Women's Recovery Center, said 
addiction to prescription drugs is not an uncommon story at all.

"Just because a doctor prescribes it doesn't mean it's not addicting," 
Herron said.

The women's center, which began in June as the result of a grant from the 
federal Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, provides treatment for women 
with addiction problems, including women with children and pregnant women.

Adanta, the nonprofit organization that oversees the center, will soon 
build a new center on KY 55, near the Taylor and Adair county line. It 
should be complete sometime in mid-summer.

Even though the new center isn't built yet, Herron said women need to know 
that services are already available.

Open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, the office is located 
at 2020 Hodgenville Road, across from Blevins Construction. The phone 
number is 789-6601.

Substance abuse by women has been going on for years, Herron said, though 
it's only within the last 10 to 15 years that it's been treated.

"Women are afraid of losing their children, their jobs, their families," 
she said. "As long as I've worked in this field I've never heard a man with 
an addiction problem called a 'horrible father.'

"But you let a woman with an addiction problem admit to it and first thing 
she's labeled 'unfit.'"

That's why the women's center programs are so desperately needed, according 
to Herron.

The center's staff consists of Herron, two case managers, two therapists, a 
psychiatrist, a nurse practitioner, a secretary and a research assistant. 
Herron said the research assistant tracks the progress of the women in the 
program.

"We need to know if there's something we need to address that we're not 
already doing," Herron said. "We need to break down all the barriers so 
that they don't have an excuse not to get treatment."

Some of the preliminary data indicates that a majority of women are 
unemployed and many aren't qualified for the available jobs because of a 
lack of education or skill or a criminal history.

"You'd think if they have no money there'd be no drugs," Herron said. "But 
that's not the case. They can always get drugs or there's always somebody 
willing to share."

The lack of child care, transportation and money are the three largest 
barriers to women in rural communities getting substance abuse treatment, 
she said. Because of those barriers, fewer women get the treatment they 
need and those who do many not continue it.

The center currently offers a day program, an evening program, relapse 
prevention treatment and individual treatment. The center also provides a 
case management service, through which women can get help with other needs 
such as food stamps, low-cost medications and housing.

And Herron is excited about the center adding family education to the 
agenda in the spring.

"We believe in order to help the women that we serve, we must also reach 
out to [their families]," she said. "We treat the whole family instead of 
just the individual."

Once the new center is complete, Herron said, child care and housing will 
be added to the treatment program. A woman can be a good mother yet still 
have an addiction problem that needs to be treated.

"They'll be able to come to the campus, receive treatment, have their 
children with them and have a place to live."

Getting rid of all those barriers gives women a better chance at success, 
Herron said. And success is what the program aims for.

One woman Herron described was severely injured in a car wreck. She became 
addicted to the pain medication that had been prescribed for her. She 
eventually added alcohol and marijuana and before long got addicted to 
crack cocaine. She was ultimately arrested after she resorted to selling 
drugs to support her drug habit, Herron said, and her children were taken away.

Upon her release from prison, the woman was clean and sober. Participation 
in a substance abuse treatment program, as it often is, was a requirement 
of her release.

"She was compliant with the program," Herron said, "and now she has a 
steady job, her children are back with her and she sees us twice a month 
for some supportive therapy."

Herron said that community agencies such as the probation and parole 
office, the courts and the Department for Community Based Services work 
together with her office to get women the treatment they need.

In addition, she said, an advisory council made up of people from all three 
counties oversees the center and helps to educate the community.

"We've got to get the word out," Herron said. "Education is a key component 
in helping our women to heal and lead productive lives with their children 
and families."

Confidentiality is also a large part of treatment at the women's recovery 
center.

"It has to be," Herron said.

The women who come to the center need to know that their personal stories 
won't be gossiped about in the community. Of course, like other mental 
health and government agencies, the staff is required to report any 
behavior that is life threatening.

Most of the women Herron sees are addicted to prescription medicines, crack 
cocaine and alcohol, though she's concerned that problems with oxycontin 
are looming in the near future.

"It's not as bad as it will be," she said. "It's on its way ... and that 
scares me to death."

More than three-quarters of the women who seek treatment, however, also 
have another underlying problem. Often, Herron said, the women became 
addicts in search of relief for other problems such as depression or other 
personal conflicts.

"Seldom do we see anyone who has just an addiction problem," she said.

But Herron said her staff works for treatment of the "whole" person not 
just the addiction.

"We want to treat their mental health as well as their physical health." 
But the stigma attached to drug addiction is still the largest hurdle 
Herron said she faces.

"We've got a long way to go," she said. "But I think we're headed in the 
right direction."
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart