Pubdate: Mon, 30 May 2016
Source: Boston Globe (MA)
Copyright: 2016 Globe Newspaper Company
Contact: http://services.bostonglobe.com/news/opeds/letter.aspx?id=6340
Website: http://bostonglobe.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/52
Author: Jenny Phillips
Note: Jenny Phillips is a filmmaker, cultural anthropologist, and 
psychotherapist who has been teaching in mental health programs in 
Massachusetts prisons and jails for 20 years.

FORGOTTEN CASUALTIES IN THE WAR ON DRUGS

Governor Charlie Baker and the legislative leadership should be 
applauded for moving aggressively to address the opioid crisis. This 
epidemic is not new, but has now reached our most privileged 
communities. For the less privileged minority communities, it has 
long paved a road of destruction, incarceration, and death.

Our war on drugs over the past 30 years has created a largely 
forgotten population of citizens in their own drug crisis: those 
returning from prisons and jails.

The shortage of treatment resources in the community perpetuates a 
revolving door of release, relapse, and recidivism. Although there 
may be good substance-abuse treatment programs inside prisons and 
jails, there is a serious lack of support once inmates return to the 
community. An institutionalized population steps into a maze of 
underfunded and fragmented services.

The numbers within the jail population alone are astounding. Nine 
million people are released from jail each year in the United States. 
Seventy-five percent have a history of substance abuse. After their 
release, 95 percent return to drugs and alcohol. Sixty-eight percent 
are reincarcerated within three years.

This is a vulnerable and often neglected group with complex needs and 
considerations. Many face poverty, homelessness, and mental health 
challenges. Even the briefest incarceration separates an individual 
from their daily lives and resources, often resulting in lost jobs, 
housing, transportation, and daily supports. Turning back to crime is 
frequently the most viable option to survive.

Over the past five years, I had the opportunity to work with 
filmmaker Bestor Cram, of Northern Light Productions, and witness the 
struggles of reentry among six returning citizens after terms of 
incarceration. Their stories are the subject of our new documentary 
film, "Beyond the Wall."

Our initial goal for the film was to focus on prison reentry, and to 
steer clear of substance abuse. But we saw immediately that substance 
abuse was at the center of the problem.

Throughout the filming, we saw the struggles and triumphs of these 
men as they attempted to establish themselves in their communities 
and families. For many, their struggles led them back to their 
addiction. With limited resources available to them to address issues 
of acute substance abuse and the competition over scarce services, 
many relapsed and returned to prison.

A possible solution to this endless cycle of drug and alcohol relapse 
and reincarceration appeared one day early in our filming, when we 
met Louie Diaz.

Eighteen years ago, Louie was on the inside looking out. As a result 
of his addiction, he was incarcerated. When he returned to the 
community, with a lot of support from others, he successfully 
navigated his own reentry/recovery process.

Today, Louie works in the community as a reentry specialist at Lowell 
House Inc., a community-based human services agency. His job takes 
him inside prisons and jails preparing men for release. More 
important, he is a support system for them when they return to the 
community. He is an invaluable link between the inside and outside.

We witnessed him working the streets of Lowell and Lawrence, 
approaching addicts and homeless people with the refrain "I can get 
you into a detox program." We followed him as he worked with folks 
like Rey, Jesus, Diddy, and countless others.

He is able to offer unconditional support and an experiential 
understanding of the culture of the streets. Because of his 
background, he is able to operate within the established reentry 
programs and institutions while also working at the chaotic level of 
the streets.

While the governor and legislative leadership bring attention to the 
opioid crisis, it is imperative to recognize the difficulties 
returning citizens have accessing the vital services they need to 
recover and successfully remain in the community.

As we search for solutions to the lack of treatment programs, we 
should consider the value of applying the wisdom and life experience 
of the formerly incarcerated who have successfully returned home, and 
direct more dollars to community-based treatment programs. Otherwise, 
we will continue to incarcerate more than any other industrialized 
nation and spend billions of dollars on walls and bars.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom