Local treatment facilities can't serve all who need their help

Officials say more funding is needed to provide additional beds and to pay for outreach to find addicts who won't come in

By Jeremy Schwartz

Cheryl Whitehead has seen hundreds of drug addicts pass through the door of Charlie's Place, an in-patient rehabilitation center for the indigent. Whitehead, the facility's executive director, says her patients don't look for help because they fear arrest getting arrested or stiff drug sentences.

"When they're using, they're not afraid of anything," she said. "They just keep doing what they've been doing . . . going in and out of prison doesn't do anything but teach them how to do the crime better."

Local drug treatment officials say rehabilitation centers in Corpus Christi are woefully underfunded, especially when compared to the billions of dollars that state, federal and local law enforcement agencies spend on prosecuting drug crime.

"We don't have enough beds funded," Whitehead said. "We have a great problem in our city."

Not meeting the need

Charlie's Place, one of two free in-patient treatment centers in the city, has 15 detoxification beds and another 38 funded for longer stays. It has seen its state funding cut from $2.2 million to $1.6 million over the last three years, Whitehead said.

Dee Ogle, executive director of the Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse-Coastal Bend, an out-patient treatment center, said her organization receives only enough funding to meet a fraction of the area's need. "We're fortunate if we meet 10 to 20 percent of the need," she said, adding that her $1.5 million annual budget could be tripled and still not be able to help everyone who needs it.

2.1 million go untreated

Ogle said the biggest hole in locally provided treatment is outreach to addicts who won't walk through a rehabilitation center's doors.

"We need an outreach program to find them," she said. "That takes money and staff and that's where we fall short."

Such cries for help are not just the whining of service providers looking to fatten their budgets. The federal government has recognized that about 5 million Americans need drug treatment but only about 2.1 million get it.

According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, President Bush has requested $1.5 billion over the next 5 five years to close the treatment gap.

The requested 2002 national drug control budget would allocate 31 percent of the total $19.1 billion budget to treatment and demand reduction, in line with recent budgets and down from 41 percent in 1981.

Treatment cheaper

In the past 20 years, the percent of the national drug control budget spent on busting drug traffickers in this country has grown from 30 percent to 54 percent of the total.

National Drug Control Budget.

In 2001, the federal government allocated about $18.1 billion to fighting drugs. The requested budget for 2002 is $19.1 billion.

In Texas, money spent on law enforcement dwarfs the dollars spent on treatment. This fiscal year, the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse is spending $86.5 million on treatment for the indigent.

According to a study by the Texas Chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, the state spends approximately $436 million a year to arrest, prosecute and incarcerate marijuana offenders.

According to an often-cited 1994 study by the Rand Corporation, spending on treatment is far more effective in reducing the societal costs of drug use - such as crime, violence and loss of productivity - than stepped-up law enforcement. The study concludes that treatment is up to 15 times as effective.

Enforcement needed

Ogle said she thinks law enforcement, while not the solution, is a necessary tool in the battle to fight drug use and addiction. "Even though it's very beneficial for a person to receive rehabilitation, it's a very important message that people need to be he held responsible."

But Whitehead said the disparities in funding are preventing local residents from getting the help they need.

"It's not enough to do the job appropriately," Whitehead said. "It's got to be cheaper to treat people than to send them to prison."

Contact Jeremy Schwartz at 886-3618 or schwartzj@caller.com

November 21, 2001