Pubdate: Sun, 09 May 1999 Source: Standard-Times (MA) Copyright: 1999 The Standard-Times Contact: http://www.s-t.com/ Author: Polly Saltonstall, Standard-Times staff writer ADDICTS CAN BE CURED NEW BEDFORD -- Doug MacLean hates hearing that heroin addicts cannot be cured. He knows first-hand that's not true. "The idea of treatment is to expose someone to it so they know there's a way out if they want to take it," he says. And once in treatment, recovering addicts need to find new projects to keep them busy. "You can't just sit around waiting to be cured," says Doug. "You have to learn to feel good about yourself." While he praises New Bedford's treatment community, he points to a need for more transitional beds. Currently a recovering addict who gets out of jail or a residential detoxification program may have to wait as long as a week for a bed in a halfway house. In the meantime, that person runs a high risk of relapse. He has been working for the past few months as a part-time alternative sentencing counselor in Third District Court, trying to place addicts convicted of crimes into treatment. While jail helped Doug overcome his habit, he does not see it as a solution for most people. "You put an addict in jail and then when he gets out, what do you have? The same person but without the drugs. They have no money so they go back to what's familiar. Fishermen go back to fishing and using drugs. The rate of recidivism is high because you don't let people know they have other options." His own life has become highly structured around school, work, meetings and projects. An avid hockey fan, he goes to as many games as he can. His most recent project has been trying to find a new home for the New Bedford Council on Alcoholism's halfway house for recovering women addicts. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek Rea