SUPPLY AND DEMAND REVISITED

City To Take Lead In Securing Grant Money For Drug Treatment Programs In
Wake Of Prop. 36 Passage.

Without the support of Pasadena Police Chief Bernard K. Melekian and other
law enforcement officials around California, Proposition 36, the "Substance
Abuse Act of 2000," passed statewide.

The question now, at least among those working in Pasadena's drug treatment
industry, is: Are we ready for this?

Several private health care organizations and officials with the Pasadena
Health Department met Monday to discuss the implications of Proposition 36,
which mandates treatment over jail for first- and second-time drug
offenders, and how a $60,000 grant, called Demand Treatment!, can help.

While the objective of the meeting was to help groups such as Urban
Revitalization Development Corp., Union Station, Casey Family Projects,
Throop Church, Impact drug rehabilitation center and the city apply for the
grant funding, the meeting was more of a planning session for dealing with
the effects of Proposition 36.

The proposition will be implemented July 4.

One of the main issues with this proposition for Melekian, who is president
of the Los Angeles County Police Chiefs' Assn., is that it lacks
accountability in treatment. While the proposition calls for $660 million
from taxpayers to pay for this treatment, Melekian says it prohibits the
use of tax funds to support drug treatment programs in jails and prisons.

Melekian's comments about the proposition appeared recently in the Weekly.
He was not immediately available to comment for this article. He did not
attend the Monday meeting.

The Demand Treatment! two-year grant is aimed at identifying the demand for
substance abuse resources in a community. Theoretically, supplies to meet
those demands will follow.

Heidi Petersen, the city's acting public health administrator, said the
focus of the group's efforts will be reaching out to addicts who have never
been treated. Although many people return to treatment centers after a
prior diagnosis, "We don't have a lot of people who show up to say, 'I
think I have a problem,"' Petersen said.

Demand Treatment!, ideally, will help combat that problem by making
institutional changes in how those people are identified, said John Palomo,
a program coordinator and specialist in recovery programs.

"We need to train personnel to recognize substance abuse problems and
intervene at different levels -- the emergency room, schools, courts and
welfare programs," Palomo said.

The next public meeting of the Demand Treatment! partners is 1:30 p.m.
Wednesday at the Pasadena Heath Center, 1845 N. Fair Oaks Ave.

With the grant application deadline nearing, and a letter of intent to
apply due Jan. 15, Demand Treatment! partners decided that the city should
be the lead organization, and that the project boundaries should mirror
those of the Pasadena Unified School District: Sierra Madre, Altadena and
Pasadena.

Wilma Allen, director of public health for Pasadena, sees Pasadena as a
strong contender for the grant.

"We are one of only three city-funded health departments in the state, and
there is a high level of citizen-level and private foundations
participation to improve the quality of life in this community," Allen said.

Although there are plenty of Pasadena-based organizations dedicated to
treating and rehabilitating drug-addicted clients, the problem seems to be
more about cost, not scarcity of resources.

"Some people are nervous," Palomo said. "I don't see that all substance
abuse programs are operating to capacity. We hire more councilors and book
more groups. I'm not overwhelmed because we're going to have to charge
them. This is not free treatment."