I KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE - DRUG TREATMENT DOES WORK

As a person in recovery from addiction, I can speak to the
devastation addiction brings. By the time I was in junior high, I was
using drugs daily. This continued until I was in my mid-30s. By then
I had given up custody of one of my two children. I had given up a
promising career and given up hope of being in a healthy
relationship. I had nearly given up on life several times.

By 1994 I was addicted to heroin. I remember feeling that my
addiction was not out of control because I had a roof over my head
and I had retained custody of my other child. I was not willing to
see that I was in an abusive relationship and nearly destitute. I
made good money working construction but ate from the food bank for
almost half the year. I reached out for help in late 1994. When I
called to get into treatment, I was given an assessment and told that
the waiting list was about six weeks long. I began treatment just
before Christmas that year. I was fortunate.

Today in Alaska, there are fewer treatment programs, fewer available
beds or treatment slots. It is not uncommon for addicts to reach out
for help only to be told that the waiting list can be three to six
months. Detoxification programs are nearly nonexistent. They are
only a part of a continuum of care that needs to provide appropriate
levels of care for treatment to be successful. After 15 years of flat
funding or decreases, our programs are barely able to meet the
increased need for services. Nearly 54,000 Alaskans, or 11.2 percent
of the population of the state, was addicted to alcohol or other
drugs according to a recent study (McDowell Group, 2005).

The fallout from these addictions can be seen in our courts, jails,
hospitals and foster care system. Families are torn by violence,
death and disease associated with addiction to alcohol and other
drugs. There are effective solutions to these problems and our state
needs to take an honest look at where we are and where we are going
if we don't support the programs that can provide those solutions.

Due to the stigma attached to the recovery and treatment community,
society at large does not hear the success stories. I am here to
testify that treatment saved my life. It provided me with the ability
to stop using long enough to take an honest look at my life and
learn the skills needed to live and enjoy my life without drugs,
including alcohol. Treatment programs have helped thousands in our
state go on to live as productive members of their communities. In
order for this to be available, our state and local communities need
to support treatment programs and recognize them as assets rather
than liabilities.

Money to fund treatment programs is a wise investment. Even though
some people relapse, it should not be used as a measure of success or
failure of a program. People can return to communities as productive
persons. Families can be reunited. Court systems and prisons can be
relieved of some of the burden as people cease criminal behavior. For
me, after treatment I was able to return to work, learn a new trade,
rebuild my family and become active in the recovery community. I went
from being nearly unemployable to holding down two positions as well
as being a full-time college student. Because of the help I received
in treatment, I found support in my community to continue my
recovery. I no longer need to self-medicate to navigate my life. Now,
I am physically and emotionally available and an asset to my family
and community. A treatment program saved my life, just as treatment
has for many Alaskans. We need to ensure that programs are available
when people re! ach out for help.

Anna Sappah serves on the Governor's Advisory Board on Alcohol and
Drug Abuse. She is executive director of the Substance Abuse
Directors Association of Alaska Inc. and a tobacco policy specialist
for Akeela Inc.