SCHEME TO TURN OVER TREATMENT OF N.C.'S MOST VULNERABLE WILL BACKFIRE

Many thanks for the editorial, "It's time for a serious reevaluation of
social costs of our war on drugs," (AC-T, Aug. 1), on the need for
treatment instead of jail terms for substance abusers.

Jails are not equipped to furnish needed help for abusers, and are an
expensive alternative to treatment centers which are being closed by the
state. Prison psychologists have been eliminated.

Some who fought the millions-of-dollars "war on drugs" for years concluded
that arresting sellers on the street, while those at the top are seldom
caught, is not the answer. Treatment for abusers is the only solution.

In its "reform" of mental health, developmentally disabled and substance
abuse programs, the Department of Health and Human Services in Raleigh did
little to address substance abuse. They stressed in glowing terms that
moving into group homes in their own communities and privatizing treatment
would be ever so much better for the mentally ill and developmentally
disabled. They didn't mention that Medicaid does not pay for people in
state facilities, but will pay in group homes. They hoped to have the U.S.
government pay a large percentage of the charges. Entrepreneurs built
hundreds of group homes.

Projections before the U.S. Treasury showed large deficits and the
administration began turning over many programs to the states.

Converting Iraq to democracy is expensive. Big news network on July 31:
"The war in Iraq was supposed to pay for itself and give U.S. corporations
the greatest energy bonanza of the 21st Century. It has become a fiscal
nightmare and already accounts for 15 percent of the deficit." That might
last for years with not much help for states in upcoming U.S. budgets.

If the mentally ill, mentally handicapped and substance abuse facilities
are closed or have beds reduced, the state could be awash with people who
have nowhere to go.

Many states have gone the way of the "reform" and victims are wandering
around in a daze. In South Carolina, which "reformed" its systems, doctors
complain that emergency rooms are crowded with mental patients in crisis.
Trauma patients cannot get in. There's no place for the mentally disturbed
or substance abuse people. Some were chained to beds in the halls to keep
them from running amok. Closing mental hospitals left no beds for these
people. North Carolina is headed for the same "reform."

At the DHHS hearings I listened carefully, trying to learn what was to
happen to the substance abuse victims after treatment centers are closed.

Large corporations, with a sharp eye on the bottom line, have built
hundreds of group homes in the past two years for the mentally ill and
mentally handicapped. They are not eager to house addicts. The homeless
shelters and the jails cannot hold all of them.

In May 2001, the N.C. Justice and Community Development Center published a
report: "Working hard is not enough." In May 2003, it published: "Working
hard is still not enough." Widespread job losses in North Carolina have
affected thousands whose careers have evaporated and who now live below the
living income standard.

One million families with children live in N.C. Six hundred and eighteen
thousand (59.4 percent) of those families have income under the living
standard income. Sixty percent of parents have one or more jobs.

Sixty-five percent worked every week of the year with no or few benefits.
They work hard, but get nowhere. Nearly two-thirds of families with
children fail to earn a living income. Many earn half of previous wages.

Many of our population are hungry and cannot afford many necessities. The
numbers increase each year.

Food insecurity has a serious impact on the health, psychological behavior
and learning ability of children. Those who earn two-thirds of the
government's poverty level are not eligible for Medicaid. They end up in
emergency rooms.

The minimum hourly wage is $5.15. It has not changed or been linked to
inflation since 1997; Congress has refused to raise it. CEOs of the
corporations make an average hourly wage of $4,105. Some of these people
who never have enough money turn to drugs or alcohol in desperation, thus
compounding problems. There will be little help for them from the state.

The scheme of DHHS to turn over much of the treatment of our state's most
vulnerable citizens will backfire.

Only those with limited Medicare, limited insurance and limited Medicaid
will get any kind of treatment, including ".a pat, a pill and a platitude"
from some for-profit clinics which will rise up.

There will be good clinics also, but not enough. DHHS admitted that some
will be left out. They are now subject to lawsuits.

Dorothy Hussey is secretary of the Southern Appalachian Mineral Society and
also serves on the board of the Colburn Mineral Museum. She lives in Asheville.