ABUSE OF DRUGS, DRINK, FOOD AN AREA-WIDE PROBLEM, OFFICIAL SAYS

Rising heroin use among young adults, adolescent drug and alcohol
abuse, and childhood obesity are three problems in MetroWest
highlighted by a nonprofit group's latest round of grants to schools
and social service providers. Increasing heroin abuse "is an issue
that everyone's struggling with...across the entire Framingham
community," said Ellen Bruder-Moore, director of behavioral health
services at South Middlesex Opportunity Council. SMOC was one of 22
local groups and government agencies that received grants from the
MetroWest Community Health Care Foundation, which recently
distributed $1.3 million as part of its ongoing mission to bolster
health services in the region.

Some of the largest grants address concerns about substance abuse,
as well as poor eating habits and physical inactivity among youth.
Genesis Counseling Services in downtown Framingham, for example,
received $210,000 to expand outpatient treatment to those ages 12 to
17 with drug or alcohol problems. The Holliston school system was
given $100,000 to target risky behavior linked to mental health
problems, including substance abuse. The foundation also awarded
nearly $300,000 to three groups attempting to prevent childhood
obesity in Framingham. That includes $75,000 for Framingham High
School to keep a wellness center with exercise equipment open at
night; $50,000 for the MetroWest YMCA to boost after-school programs
that promote nutrition and fitness; and $150,000 over three years
for the Trustees of Boston University to work with Framingham school
nurses to help parents make healthy food choices.

"If you really want to deal with the obesity issue, you have to talk
with the people who buy the food," said foundation president Martin
Cohen. SMOC was awarded $55,000 to expand a residential program that
treats people ages 18 to 24 who are recovering from addictions to
heroin and other narcotics. The program, for people who have been
sober at least a month, already provides counseling and case
management services to help former drug abusers find jobs and housing.

The grant will allow SMOC to provide an additional service called
dialectical behavioral therapy, which helps people respond to stress
in positive ways, instead of turning to drugs.

"Our biggest goal is to decrease the potential for relapse, to help
these kids redirect themselves into more positive behavior,"
Bruder-Moore said. Genesis Counseling Services was awarded a
$210,000 three-year grant to start an outpatient program for
substance abusers ages 12 to 17, who are connected to Genesis via
the juvenile court system, public schools or the Department
of Social Services.

Although located in Framingham, the new program is available to kids
throughout MetroWest. It provides group and individual counseling
twice a week for 13 weeks, five random drug tests, and two family
sessions. It is a good alternative for adolescents who need
substantial care, but not a residential service, said the clinical
director, Lisa Robideau. "Up until this point, your only options in
this area for treatment was to come to an agency like ours once a
week, or go to a residential program. You didn't have a lot of
in-between (options)," she said. Clinicians at Genesis Counseling
Services have treated some kids who abuse prescription drugs, but
the main problems among adolescents are alcohol and marijuana, said
Executive Director Bill Horne.

In some cases, adolescents with undiagnosed attention deficit
disorder use marijuana to medicate themselves since the drug can
slow their brains down to a normal speed, Horne said.

"The use of marijuana slows them down so they feel kind of normal,"
Horne said. "I had a client say one time, 'My teacher says I do
better work when I smoke.'"