COST BENEFITS OF REHAB ARE STILL NOT APPRECIATED

Robert Sharpe's letter about the incarceration of nonviolent drug
offenders made me think about Yogi Berra's statement: "It's deja vu
all over again." ("Declare peace in drug war to save money," Opinion, Dec. 26).

From 1974 until 1983, I taught GED classes at a local drug rehab
facility for young men who had been convicted of nonviolent
drug-related crimes. These "residents" received very intense drug
therapy from educated and trained professionals. A large number of
these men passed the GED exam and a few graduated from college. I've
kept in touch with several of them and many lead productive lives.
The numbers that Mr. Sharpe quoted regarding the reduced costs to
society correspond very closely with numbers that we were hearing at that time.

The facility closed in 1983. The general feeling was that the
facility was shut down because the Department of Offender
Rehabilitation doesn't understand anything that works in terms of
reducing recidivism.

BOB LEWIS, DECATUR