News (Media Awareness Project) - US FL: Center Gets More Funding |
| Title: | US FL: Center Gets More Funding |
| Published On: | 2006-08-28 |
| Source: | News-Press (FL) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-08-18 02:26:21 |
CENTER GETS MORE FUNDING
With More State Money, Director Hopes To Expand
Kristina Jones was desperate for help after the state took her 5-year-
old son.
Hooked on cocaine, Jones left her son with someone at a homeless
shelter while she went to get high.
"That was my bottom," said Jones, 26, of Fort Myers.
She called Southwest Florida Addiction Services Inc., to get clean,
but SWFAS had no more beds. Each time she called back to get in, the
answer was the same: no beds. Every so often over several months, she
tried to get in. Finally, she called the social worker who removed her
son and begged for help.
Kevin Lewis, SWFAS' executive director, hopes to help more people like
Jones by expanding the Fort Myers-based adult residential detox center
from 17 to 25 beds.
The unit has the room to hold up to 28 beds, but there was no money to
hire more staff until the state allocated $2.1 million for operational
costs to Southwest Florida. SWFAS plans to use its portion of the
money to hire more staff so the additional beds can be added.
The detoxification unit serves about 1,200 people a year. Lewis said
the average wait time is three to eight days, and clients are addicted
to everything from alcohol to pain killers.
SWFAS has the only residential adult detoxification unit for Glades,
Hendry, Lee and Charlotte counties.
The annual budget expenditures top $7 million, which comes from the
state, the county, fees, donations and fundraising.
"For every person we serve, we have to turn away three to four," Lewis
said. "Detox is inadequate to inaccessible for the people in
Charlotte, Lee, Hendry, Collier and Glades counties."
Because Charlotte County hasn't had a detox center, clients have had
to come to Lee County for help and wait for a bed.
"It's not a great situation when you have to transport people that far
away," said Jay Glynn, chief executive officer of Charlotte Community
Mental Health Services in Punta Gorda. "We have no place to put them.
They end up in emergency rooms, in jail or in psychiatric facilities.
If you look at studies, based on our population, more than 10,000
people a year need help."
Glynn said he would use his portion of the funding to run a 15-bed
center, which would be located on the Charlotte Community Mental
Health Services campus. He said he has asked Charlotte County
commissioners to pay $1.2 million to build it.
He was set to meet with commissioners last week, but that meeting was
postponed and a new date has not been scheduled.
Glynn said it will take at least a year to build the detox
unit.
In Lee County, Lewis said the eight extra beds will be added at the
Dixie Parkway site in Fort Myers. Another detoxification unit, with 40
beds, is planned for Evans Avenue. Clients with alcohol and other
substance abuse issues will be treated there.
Lewis said the facility is slated to open in the fall of 2008 and
costs about $8.9 million. SWFAS already has $3 million and land, but
plans to launch a campaign this fall to raise the the rest of the money.
Last year, Southwest Florida received $4.5 million for adult
substance- abuse programs from the state to help offset operational
costs.
Additional beds means that it is less likely that those who need help
will be turned away or told to come back later.
When Julian Joiner's family called the first time about getting help
in March, they were told to call back because the detox unit was full.
"I was physically dependent on heroin," said Joiner, 20, of Cape
Coral. "My mom was very supportive about it."
His mother continued to call until SWFAS found a bed.
But Lewis worries that too many addicts have cut ties with family and
friends and do not have the same support Joiner had. When they're told
the unit is full, they go back to drugs.
He said expanding the unit will free up more beds and allow more
patients to receive treatment.
It will help people like Donald Gibson, 47, who was homeless and
living in the woods in Naples before he went through detoxification
seven months ago for his drinking problem.
"I was planning to sit on the front porch until I got in," said
Gibson, who now lives and works at the halfway house on Grand Avenue
in Fort Myers.
"It's really hard going through detox. You get really sick. You have
the shakes really bad. You feel like you are going to die," he said.
"If I hadn't got in, I probably would have gone back out and started
drinking," he said. "There's a real good possibility that I would be
dead."
SIDEBAR:
LENGTH OF STAY
Length of stay at Southwest Florida Addiction Services detoxification
unit: o Average stay is four days. o Someone recovering from alcohol
addiction may stay two days. o Someone with antidepressant addictions
might stay for up to 10 days.
HOW TO GET HELP o Southwest Florida Addiction Services Inc. (239) 332-
6937 o Charlotte Community Mental Health Services (941) 639-8300
FUNDING Funding for adult substance abuse on a per capita basis by
districts statewide
o District 1 (Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton Counties)
$214.85
o District 2 (Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson,
Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Taylor, Wakulla, and Washington
Counties) $231.51
o District 3 (Alachua, Bradford, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton,
Lafayette, Levy, Putnam, Suwannee, and Union Counties) $198.81
o District 4 (Duval, Nassau, Baker, Clay, and St. Johns Counties)
$185.47
o District 7 (Orange, Seminole, Osceola, and Brevard Counties )
$207.43
o District 8 (Lee, Charlotte, Collier, Glades and Hendry Counties)
$188.77
o District 9 (Palm Beach County) $182.16
o District 10 (Broward County ) $198.74
o District 11 (Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties) $185.90
o District 12 (Flagler and Volusia Counties) $245.83
o District 13 (Lake, Sumter, Marion, Hernando and Citrus Counties)
$189.22
o District 14 (Hardee, Highlands, and Polk Counties)
$224.51
o District 15 (Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, and St. Lucie
Counties) $216.41
o Suncoast Region (Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco,Manatee, Sarasota,
Desoto Counties) $217.19
Note: There are no districts 5 and 6.
- - Source: Department of Children and Families
With More State Money, Director Hopes To Expand
Kristina Jones was desperate for help after the state took her 5-year-
old son.
Hooked on cocaine, Jones left her son with someone at a homeless
shelter while she went to get high.
"That was my bottom," said Jones, 26, of Fort Myers.
She called Southwest Florida Addiction Services Inc., to get clean,
but SWFAS had no more beds. Each time she called back to get in, the
answer was the same: no beds. Every so often over several months, she
tried to get in. Finally, she called the social worker who removed her
son and begged for help.
Kevin Lewis, SWFAS' executive director, hopes to help more people like
Jones by expanding the Fort Myers-based adult residential detox center
from 17 to 25 beds.
The unit has the room to hold up to 28 beds, but there was no money to
hire more staff until the state allocated $2.1 million for operational
costs to Southwest Florida. SWFAS plans to use its portion of the
money to hire more staff so the additional beds can be added.
The detoxification unit serves about 1,200 people a year. Lewis said
the average wait time is three to eight days, and clients are addicted
to everything from alcohol to pain killers.
SWFAS has the only residential adult detoxification unit for Glades,
Hendry, Lee and Charlotte counties.
The annual budget expenditures top $7 million, which comes from the
state, the county, fees, donations and fundraising.
"For every person we serve, we have to turn away three to four," Lewis
said. "Detox is inadequate to inaccessible for the people in
Charlotte, Lee, Hendry, Collier and Glades counties."
Because Charlotte County hasn't had a detox center, clients have had
to come to Lee County for help and wait for a bed.
"It's not a great situation when you have to transport people that far
away," said Jay Glynn, chief executive officer of Charlotte Community
Mental Health Services in Punta Gorda. "We have no place to put them.
They end up in emergency rooms, in jail or in psychiatric facilities.
If you look at studies, based on our population, more than 10,000
people a year need help."
Glynn said he would use his portion of the funding to run a 15-bed
center, which would be located on the Charlotte Community Mental
Health Services campus. He said he has asked Charlotte County
commissioners to pay $1.2 million to build it.
He was set to meet with commissioners last week, but that meeting was
postponed and a new date has not been scheduled.
Glynn said it will take at least a year to build the detox
unit.
In Lee County, Lewis said the eight extra beds will be added at the
Dixie Parkway site in Fort Myers. Another detoxification unit, with 40
beds, is planned for Evans Avenue. Clients with alcohol and other
substance abuse issues will be treated there.
Lewis said the facility is slated to open in the fall of 2008 and
costs about $8.9 million. SWFAS already has $3 million and land, but
plans to launch a campaign this fall to raise the the rest of the money.
Last year, Southwest Florida received $4.5 million for adult
substance- abuse programs from the state to help offset operational
costs.
Additional beds means that it is less likely that those who need help
will be turned away or told to come back later.
When Julian Joiner's family called the first time about getting help
in March, they were told to call back because the detox unit was full.
"I was physically dependent on heroin," said Joiner, 20, of Cape
Coral. "My mom was very supportive about it."
His mother continued to call until SWFAS found a bed.
But Lewis worries that too many addicts have cut ties with family and
friends and do not have the same support Joiner had. When they're told
the unit is full, they go back to drugs.
He said expanding the unit will free up more beds and allow more
patients to receive treatment.
It will help people like Donald Gibson, 47, who was homeless and
living in the woods in Naples before he went through detoxification
seven months ago for his drinking problem.
"I was planning to sit on the front porch until I got in," said
Gibson, who now lives and works at the halfway house on Grand Avenue
in Fort Myers.
"It's really hard going through detox. You get really sick. You have
the shakes really bad. You feel like you are going to die," he said.
"If I hadn't got in, I probably would have gone back out and started
drinking," he said. "There's a real good possibility that I would be
dead."
SIDEBAR:
LENGTH OF STAY
Length of stay at Southwest Florida Addiction Services detoxification
unit: o Average stay is four days. o Someone recovering from alcohol
addiction may stay two days. o Someone with antidepressant addictions
might stay for up to 10 days.
HOW TO GET HELP o Southwest Florida Addiction Services Inc. (239) 332-
6937 o Charlotte Community Mental Health Services (941) 639-8300
FUNDING Funding for adult substance abuse on a per capita basis by
districts statewide
o District 1 (Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton Counties)
$214.85
o District 2 (Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson,
Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Taylor, Wakulla, and Washington
Counties) $231.51
o District 3 (Alachua, Bradford, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton,
Lafayette, Levy, Putnam, Suwannee, and Union Counties) $198.81
o District 4 (Duval, Nassau, Baker, Clay, and St. Johns Counties)
$185.47
o District 7 (Orange, Seminole, Osceola, and Brevard Counties )
$207.43
o District 8 (Lee, Charlotte, Collier, Glades and Hendry Counties)
$188.77
o District 9 (Palm Beach County) $182.16
o District 10 (Broward County ) $198.74
o District 11 (Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties) $185.90
o District 12 (Flagler and Volusia Counties) $245.83
o District 13 (Lake, Sumter, Marion, Hernando and Citrus Counties)
$189.22
o District 14 (Hardee, Highlands, and Polk Counties)
$224.51
o District 15 (Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, and St. Lucie
Counties) $216.41
o Suncoast Region (Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco,Manatee, Sarasota,
Desoto Counties) $217.19
Note: There are no districts 5 and 6.
- - Source: Department of Children and Families
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