Pubdate: Tue, 24 Jun 2003
Source: Herald-Dispatch, The (WV)
Copyright: 2003 The Herald-Dispatch
Contact: http://www.herald-dispatch.com/hdinfo/letters.html
Website: http://www.hdonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1454
Author: Lee Arnold
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

GRANT TO HELP TREAT ADDICTIONS

Huntington, Prestera Center To Get $1.5 Million For Rural Area Programs

HUNTINGTON -- More than $1 million has been designated to the Huntington 
area to help those living in rural communities better cope with recovering 
from drug addictions.

Huntington has joined forces with Prestera Center for Mental Health 
Services Inc. in a grant program administered by the Substance Abuse and 
Mental Health Services Administration.

The grant is aimed at offering enhanced addiction recovery services in 
communities in Boone, Cabell, Clay, Kanawha, Lincoln, Mason, Putnam and 
Wayne counties, according to Robert Hansen, executive director of Prestera.

The program will place a drug aftercare specialist in all eight counties, 
said Genise Lalos, director of addiction services for Prestera.

Huntington and Prestera worked together at obtaining the grant, which will 
deliver approximately $1.5 million into the region during a three-year 
period, said Huntington Mayor David Felinton.

"Huntington is the hub of a large geographic area, and a destination for 
drug treatment, and this adds stress to our city's resources," he said.

The program is expected to help approximately 1,500 residents in their home 
counties and will relieve the burden of those coming into Huntington for 
treatment, he said.

The grant will also be used to provide education and transportation to 
those in need, he said.

Drug aftercare is one of the most needed aspects of drug treatment, 
Felinton said. Those who come to Huntington and go through one of 
Prestera's drug programs are then returned to their original environment, 
which often reintroduces drugs into the addicts' lives, he said.

The grant will provide the funds necessary to place a drug aftercare 
specialist in the recovering addict's home county to provide another tier 
of support, Lalos said.

"It might sound like a lot of money for 1,500 people," she said. "But when 
you look at the alternatives like incarceration and the welfare system, its 
saves money in the long run."

The program is expected to be operating within the next 60 days, she said. 
Prestera will select those who will participate in the program, she said.

Prestera will have to track the participants and provide the data to the 
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the grant 
providers, said Hansen.

"Accountability is a big part of this grant," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom