GRANT BOOSTS FIGHT AGAINST HEROIN USE

A $1.5 million grant to fund heroin-specific treatment for Lane County's
youth and adults was accepted Wednesday by the county commissioners.

The three-year grant is from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment.

It will fund the county's methadone program and expand services at five
local nonprofit treatment programs, including ACES, Centro
Latino-Americano, Looking Glass, White Bird and Willamette Family Treatment
Services.

The grant money will be combined with at least $200,000 in nonfederal funds
to expand treatment capacity for heroin addicts, said Karen Gaffney,
assistant director of the county Health and Human Services Department.

"This project provides our community with an opportunity to gain momentum
in turning around the heroin problem in Lane County," Gaffney said.

Gaffney said the grant will allow the county to accomplish five objectives:

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

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

Improve client "outcomes" (employment, housing, drug abstinence, health, no
criminal involvement).

Contact 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 Hispanic adults with information about treatment availability.

Provide all clients with information about enrolling in the Oregon Health
Plan, the importance of selecting a primary care physician, and about their
risk for HIV and other communicable diseases.

Oregon is ranked third in the nation for unintentional opiate-related
overdose deaths.