TREATMENT PROGRAM GETS BOOST

Councilman, Others Herald Its Successes

A crime-fighting program primed to help curb substance abuse among youths
got a boost from a New Orleans City Council member on Thursday night.

The program, Reclaiming Our Youth, offers free treatment to 11- to
21-year-olds in the New Orleans area who are suffering from drug, alcohol,
and mental-health problems.

Thursday's meeting at Municipal Auditorium, sponsored by City Councilman
Marlin Gusman, combined information about the program, also known as ROY,,
with testimonials to its success.

A coalition of local nonprofit agencies banded together in 2001 to launch
ROY as a point of entry for people to access a network of treatment
providers. Since then, ROY has helped 1,397 people from Orleans, Jefferson,
Plaquemines, St. Tammany, St. Bernard and St. Charles parishes.

"ROY is one of the most expeditious ways to get assessed and also placed in
treatment," program manager Musheer Abdul-Jabbaar said. "Rather than call
all over the city trying to identify a substance-abuse treatment provider,
you make one telephone call to ROY and that unlocks the doors of a
partnership and network on substance abuse and mental health providers."

Gusman, who said he came representing the New Orleans City Council, said
Thursday's forum was intended to give ROY "a little jump-start with their
visibility."

State Sen. Paulette Irons, D-New Orleans, whose district includes many ROY
clients, said she hopes ROY will help the city address its drug problem,
which she said is the "crux" of the crime problem.

"Certainly, I think that government cannot fix the problem," Irons said.
"If we can turn some of these teenagers around, we can help arrest the
problem. Maybe we can reduce the number of these violent crimes that are
being committed by these teenagers."

One mother came to the meeting to commend ROY for its help in dealing with
her daughter, a suicidal teenager using marijuana who was referred to the
program by a court.

"She's taking her GED tomorrow," the mother said, "and hopefully she'll be
able to come back and let other youths know if they stick with it, it'll help."