HEROIN FIX

Heroin Fix Crime prevention got a big boost this month with a $1.5 million
federal grant to fund county heroin treatment programs.

The three-year grant for the county's methadone program will expand
services at ACES, Centro Latino-Americano, Looking Glass, White Bird and
Willamette Family Treatment Services.

"This project provides our community with an opportunity to gain momentum
in turning around the heroin problem in Lane County," says Karen Gaffney,
assistant director of the county's Health and Human Services Department.

Thirty-four heroin users overdosed in Lane County last year. Lane County
ranks second among Oregon counties for heroin overdoses and Oregon ranks
third in the nation for heroin deaths, according to the county.

The federal grant will help fund:

* 27 additional intensive outpatient treatment slots for adolescent heroin
users.

* 73 additional intensive outpatient treatment slots for adult heroin
users, including 26 for methadone treatment.

* Contacts with at least 1,000 hard-to-reach adolescents, 2,000
hard-to-reach adults, 1,000 hard-to-reach rural adolescents and adults, and
1,000 hard-to-reach Latino/Hispanic/Chicano adults with information about
treatment availability.

* Information for all clients about enrolling in the Oregon Health Plan,
the importance of selecting a primary care physician, and about their risk
for HIV, hepatitis and other communicable diseases. -- AP