Pubdate: Tue, 04 Jan 2005
Source: Kentucky Post (KY)
Copyright: 2005 Kentucky Post
Contact:  http://www.kypost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/661
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

DRUG CENTERS A GOOD START

Gov. Ernie Fletcher traveled the state Monday to announce a $9.5
million plan to establish 10 recovery centers to treat drug addicts.

It's a worthwhile campaign, but we hope the $9.5 million is just a
start.

An epidemic of drugs is sweeping this state, and not just in the big
cities like Louisville and Lexington. Meth labs are popping up all
over Western Kentucky, Oxy-

Contin abuse is paralyzing Eastern Kentucky and here in Northern
Kentucky we've suffered the toll of heroin and other drugs.

A major problem has been a lack of treatment facilities.

The Kentucky Health and Family Services Cabinet estimated last year
that 348,000 people had drug or alcohol problems, yet only 22,000
received substance-abuse treatment.

The proposed treatments centers will be modeled after the HOPE Center
in Lexington and the Healing Place in Louisville, both of which
provide safe places for addicts to stay while they recover.

The new centers, which will make the homeless a priority, make good on
Fletcher's promise to establish a more balanced and systemic approach
to the drug war that includes not just strict enforcement but also
prevention education and treatment. The centers, and the creation of
an Office of Drug Control Policy in August, were some of the
recommendations from a 480-page report written after a 51-member
summit toured the state gathering public comments about Kentucky's
illegal drug problems last February.

"What has been done in this state to address this issue in the past
has not produced the necessary results," Fletcher said in August in
releasing that report. "It is not enough for us to be tough on the
substance abuse problem. We must become effective."

A focus on treatment is not only a compassionate approach but also a
long-term one -- Fletcher rightfully points out that the recovery
centers could save taxpayers millions of dollars in emergency room
visits and jail costs.

The centers, part of a campaign Fletcher has termed "Recovery
Kentucky," will be spread throughout the state. Grants for operating
the centers will be awarded to communities and organizations on a
competitive basis, so their exact locations have not yet been decided.

We urge Northern Kentucky to get together an application for one or
more of them. Everybody from parents to teachers, police, doctors and
coroners can attest to the drug problems this community faces and the
need for more treatment beds.

Joe Young's story is indicative.

The homeless military veteran froze to death Christmas Eve underneath
a bridge in Covington. His problem was alcohol, not drugs, but his
plight was similar to that of many drug addicts: They might decide
they want to take control of their lives, but often there is no place
for them to go to do it

Homeless advocates say Young had recently decided he was tired of
living on the streets and wanted to fight his alcoholism, but he was
told there was a waiting list.

We congratulate the governor for seeking to reduce such waiting lists.
At the same time, we urge him to expand the effort as soon as he can.
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MAP posted-by: Derek