The countywide Substance Abuse
Continuum of Care Coalition (SACC) has been working for some time to inventory resources,
assess needs and identify opportunities for collaboration in the areas of youth
prevention, treatment and recovery. Recently, 235 community members attended portions of a
two-day conference on addiction and methamphetamine. According to conference speaker Dr.
Satllcup, our efforts will provide a template for other rural communities throughout the United
States to follow in addressing their substance abuse issues with the limited resources at
hand. Members of SACC met afterwards to discuss what they saw as emerging priority issues.
The public, various focus groups, attendees at the conference and
SACC members had been given the opportunity to take the “ten dollar survey.”
This asked participants to decide how they would allocate a representative ten dollar
budget among various services. Most people identified residential treatment, outpatient
recovery programs, sober living facilities and school based education as the highest
needs.
After many months of discussion, SACC stakeholders observed that the
need for residential in-patient treatment was not as critical as first thought. For most
people, a stable sober living environment and intensive out-patient treatment is the most
effective approach. Although a small percentage of people need a residential program, Siskiyou
County lacks the number of people to sustain a local facility. Sending people out of the
area to return to the same unchanged circumstances they left has not been successful.
At the Satllcup conference, SACC members also gained a greater
appreciation about the role of law enforcement and the drug courts in getting people into
treatment and providing motivation for them to overcome cravings and work through stress
cues that could trigger a relapse. (The longer a person remains engaged in a recovery
program, the more likely the person will have good recovery.) There was discussion about
school expulsion policies in connection with “zero tolerance” standards and how
a more effective approach would be to use the incident as a gateway to treatment and
incentive for recovery. SACC identified a need
to contact local school boards and parents groups; to work closer with law enforcement;
and to provide educational outreach to community organizations.
SACC has also been discussing the potential role of rural health
clinics – particularly in the area of prescription drug addiction. The McCloud Clinic
is exploring the possibility of a pilot program there. SAAC is attempting to take a global
view of possible resources throughout the county to see if different groups and
organizations could take the lead on various aspects of a larger comprehensive program.
For instance, County Behavioral Health has the credentialed specialists in addiction
treatment. From the view of a comprehensive program, these resources are precious and
their use should be maximized. Non-clinical recovery support by trained lay “recovery
coaches” to help with tasks like finding a job or a place to live, getting through
stresses like court or finding childcare could be provided through churches or Family
Resource Centers. It is also important to recognize that each community is unique and that
any program would have to be a good fit.
Current SACC planning efforts are funded through a grant by Cal
Endowment. A follow-up federal grant is being sought to implement the plan through initial
pilot programs in two communities. |
