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Treatment programs cut, while heroin abuse tops nation

Posted June 28, 2010 11:00 pm

A Roosevelt University study released this week pronounced the heroin abuse problem that plagues Chicago and its suburbs as the worst in the nation.

And the bad news didn't end there.

The study also concluded that Illinois underfunds treatment programs, including those that replace heroin with substitute drugs like naloxone. Which means even as the crisis worsens and the need for treatment increases, agencies cannot respond due to decreased funds.

Eric Foster knows first hand the impact of funding cuts.

"Agencies are having difficulty keeping their doors open. They're extending lines of credit to the max and programs start to close," said Foster, chief operating officer of the Illinois Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Association, an advocacy group for agencies that treat people with addictions.

According to the IADDA, Gov. Pat Quinn's 2010 budget cut addiction health care services by $24.1 million, adding more than 8,900 people statewide to the waiting list for treatment.

The Roosevelt University report is crucial because it demonstrates "that there is an issue that needs to be addressed that cannot be resolved by cutting funding," Foster said.

Decreased funding means fewer beds and fewer counselors. As a result, people needing treatment will likely seek it at emergency rooms, where the cost is higher than at a treatment provider, Foster said.

While providers can accommodate clients whose insurance covers treatment costs, they have trouble accommodating clients who have no such safety net.

"We've had to reduce the number of beds available for people who have no funding and who rely on state funding," said Donna Santoro, chief operating officer of Start Here Addiction Recovery Education.

Affiliated with the Leyden Family Service and Mental Health Center headquartered in Franklin Park, SHARE is a 72-bed inpatient, adult treatment facility that has operated in Hoffman Estates home for about 13 years.

SHARE, which receives funding from the state and Schaumburg, Hanover and Proviso townships as well as private agencies like the United Way, reserves more than half its beds for state-supported clients.

Those state-funded beds are always at capacity, Santoro said, and there is always someone waiting in line to occupy one.

Like other agencies, SHARE has felt the sting of budget cuts. Even when funding remains flat, expenses increase, said Santoro, which leaves treatment providers scrambling.

"It's not new to us - every year we struggle," Santoro said. "The need increases and the funding gets cut." The organization tries to seek other financial sources, she said.

"We don't want to turn people away who are requesting services," she said, "but you need dollars to do that and dollars only go so far."

Where to find help

For information on treatment centers see:

• The Illinois Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Association list of resources at <a href="http://iadda.org/code/links.html" target="new">iadda.org/code/links.html</a>

• The Illinois Department of Human Services at <a href="http://state.il.us" target="new">state.il.us</a>

• SHARE, Start Here Addiction Recovery Education at <a href="http://leydenfamilyservice.org/shar" target="new">leydenfamilyservice.org/shar</a>e

• The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services at <a href="http://samhsa. gov" target="new">samhsa. gov</a>.

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