DRUG OFFENDERS TAKE STEP TOWARD SOCIETY

After eight years of no contact with her two children, Charlene Perez looks
forward to making amends and being a productive member of society again.

Perez was one of the 15 inmates at the Department of Corrections who
graduated from the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment program yesterday.

Perez has spent the last year battling a drug addiction that took over her
life for eight years, but she finally had to face reality when she was
sentenced to serve time in prison after being arrested for possession of a
controlled substance.

Fortunately, Perez was able to make contact with her family when she
entered the program and has accomplished this first step back into society
with the support of her family behind her.

Perez said the RSAT program has helped her realize how much her drug
addiction had affected her life.

"I first came in here to satisfy the courts," said Perez, but explained
that after entering the program, she saw that she needed to overcome the
addiction and work at getting her life back on track.

"I saw that the treatment was working and then I really wanted to help
myself get my life back," she said.

As for the near future, Perez plans to become reacquainted with her family
and finish her education.

"I'm just going to take it one day at a time," Perez said.

DOC's RSAT program is a six-month intensive treatment plan that deals with
inmates who are serving time for substance abuse violations.

Linda Ortiz, who is DOC's supervisor of the case work and counseling
division, which oversees the RSAT program, said about 95 percent of those
who are in the program are from in-house referrals, with a small population
who are ordered by the court to undergo the program.

Ortiz said the program focuses on developing the inmates' cognitive,
behavioral, social and vocational skills in order to solve their substance
abuse problems and help them integrate back into the community.

The program also has many activities that require community members who
have taken the time to come and volunteer and facilitate presentations and
activities for the inmates.

The 100 percent federally funded RSAT program began in 1999 and has two
cycles every year. The program promotes healthier lifestyles for inmates
before they are released.

"It's a vital and critical therapeutic process of rehabilitation," she
said, adding that rehabilitation programs are important for the community,
considering the high rate of substance abuse on island.