DRUG TREATMENT INCOME-BASED

GULFPORT - Income-based help is available for drug addicts who can't
afford help but are willing to receive it.

This answers only part of the concerns of a Sun Herald reader, who
called the anonymous Sound Off line for information about a drug
called "glass." The woman said her daughter is addicted to it and
needs help, but the family doesn't have medical insurance.

"Glass" is another name for methamphetamine, a highly addictive
stimulant made illegally. Meth also is called "chalk," "speed,"
"crystal," "ice" and "tina."

There's good news and bad news for the caller and others in that
predicament.

South Mississippi has several state-funded mental health clinics that
can help drug addicts. The cost is covered by Medicaid or on a sliding
scale based on the family's gross income. In worst-case financial
situations, the minimal cost is $5 per visit for treatment.

The centers offer crisis counselling in person or by telephone. They
also offer outpatient treatment programs. Some have residential
programs, such as Live Oaks in Gulfport and the Stevens Center in Pascagoula.

The bad news, though, is that you can't help an addict who isn't ready
for help, said Capt. Pat Pope.

"Wanting help is the first step," according to Pope, who recommends
substance abuse treatment to several meth-users a week. He arrests
them through his work with the Coastal Narcotics Enforcement Team.

"Meth is so powerfully addictive, you need professional help to get
off it," he said. "Until you're willing to get help, it's a
relentless, never-ending cycle of losing all that matters to you."

"If you wait too long to get help, you lose your family, then your
only friends are meth-heads who can't help you get straight."

To get help

State-supported mental health centers offer income-based help for drug
addicts and alcoholics. How to reach the clinics:

Gulf Coast Mental Health Center: 1600 Broad Ave., Gulfport, call (228)
863-1132. Serves residents of Hancock, Harrison, Pearl River and Stone
counties. Satellite offices in Bay St. Louis, Biloxi, Picayune and
Wiggins.

Singing River Services: 3407 Shamrock Court, Gautier, call (228)
497-0690. Satellite offices in Pascagoula and Lucedale.