Pubdate: Sat, 18 Dec 2004 Source: Messenger-Inquirer (KY) Copyright: 2004 Messenger-Inquirer Contact: http://www.messenger-inquirer.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1285 Author: James Mayse, Messenger-Inquirer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment) AREA SUBSTANCE ABUSE AGENCIES BACK STATE PLAN Treatment Centers Would Focus On Homeless Officials from Owensboro area substance abuse groups expressed support this week for a plan to build several substance abuse treatment centers across the state for the homeless and for people in danger of becoming homeless from substance abuse. The Louisville Courier-Journal reported last week the state is planning to create up to 12 substance abuse treatment facilities across Kentucky. A spokesman for the Kentucky Housing Corp. said Friday that Gov. Ernie Fletcher would release more details about the plan sometime after the first of the year. Housing Corp. officials first announced the plan at a Nov. 23 meeting hosted by the Green River Area Development District, said Debbie Zuerner-Johnson, executive director of Community Solutions for Substance Abuse. "It was announced they are going to offer funds available for communities ... to build from the ground up those peer-to-peer recovery centers," Zuerner-Johnson said. "Those facilities will contain in them ... a nonmedical detox and a peer-to-peer recovery program," she said. Owensboro substance abuse organizations, Zuerner-Johnson said, have been interested in creating a detoxification and treatment center for some time. "We do not have a nonmedical detox" or a long-term treatment facility, she said. Owensboro substance abuse officials, she said, are interested in a treatment facility that would cater to male clients. Owensboro Medical Health System has a medical detoxification program for people suffering physical effects of withdrawal. Gary Lee, director of behavioral health services at the hospital, said OMHS would support having a nonmedical detoxification and treatment center in Owensboro. "We would encourage anything as to helping the homeless and providing services needed for this community," Lee said. The city, Lee said, needs a nonmedical detoxification facility. "Right now, there are not those services available," he said. Kathy Peters, chief administrative officer for the Kentucky Housing Corp., said the organization is one of many state groups involved in the plan. "We've been involved in facilities such as these in the past," Peters said Friday. Peters said there is "certainly" a need for substance abuse treatment centers for the homeless. "I think the governor will talk a lot about the need, and the seriousness of the drug problem in Kentucky" when Fletcher discusses the plan next year, Peters said. The funding for the facilities will come from a variety of sources but is still being discussed, Peters said. The Courier-Journal article said $2.5 million in federal tax credits would be used in both 2005 and 2006 to build the facilities. Peters said she was not familiar with that dollar amount. "I don't even know where that number came from," she said. The state plan is somewhat similar to a plan under study in Owensboro to build a short-term detoxification facility. The proposal calls for a facility, which is being tentatively called The Lifeboat, to provide a temporary safe house for nonviolent men who need detoxification services. The Lifeboat plan is different than the state's plan, in that the state facilities would provide long-term substance abuse treatment. Patrick Morton, chairman of the committee considering The Lifeboat proposal, said Friday the group is still working on the plan. Morton said The Lifeboat proposal has strong support but that he would support the state's plan. "I hope the governor and his team can get this going," Morton said. If one of the facilities Fletcher is proposing were built in Owensboro, Morton said there would "probably not" be need for a facility such as The Lifeboat. "It would be like duplicating services." - --- MAP posted-by: Derek