Combating the Issues of Methamphetamine “Our program can become a national model for other states to follow in the fight to prevent the great harm meth and other drugs are doing to individuals and their families . . .”
Dozens of Tennesseans are recovering from addiction to methamphetamine, oxycontin and other drugs thanks to a partnership between the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities (TDMHDD) and Centerstone. Centerstone’s Substance Abuse Program for Coffee, Franklin, Grundy, Lincoln, Moore and Warren counties has a unique emphasis on methamphetamine abuse. The need is great. Meth lab seizures in this sixcounty rural area have been among the highest in the state. Our intensive outpatient treatment program will serve at least 180 adults through September 2008. The Substance Abuse Program is being funded by a $500,000 a year federal grant, which pays for professional staff, clinic space in Tullahoma and transportation for the participants, who are treated free of charge. In its first five months, the program exceeded enrollment expectations for the entire year, indicating the scope of the problem that meth and other drugs represent in rural Tennessee. “Our program can become a national model for other states to follow in the fight to prevent the great harm meth and other drugs are doing to individuals and their families throughout rural America,” said Dr. Freida Outlaw, Principal Investigator for the Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities. Jailing a substance abuser for a year costs between $28,000 and $40,000. The cost of jailing the program’s 56 participants for a year would have reached as much as $2,240,000. Without treatment, substance abusers often begin using drugs again. When meth abusers in particular are locked up instead of treated, up to 60 percent of them begin using the drug when they are released. In contrast, the program’s goal is for the participants to remain meth-free. “The Substance Abuse Program is a huge success in that we’re treating so many people. At the same time, it’s sad that our communities have such a large problem,” said Centerstone Regional Director Ken Stewart. “This grant provides the means for us to meet the needs of our rural communities and help those struggling to be free from addiction.” n
RECLAIMING LIVES • ISSUE ONE
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