CITY SOJOURN - NO GIVING UP ON DRUG TREATMENT

Battling a weight problem has given Minerva Bryant some poignant
insight into what substance abusers need to beat their habit.

Patience.

"I'm a lifetime member of Weight Watchers," said Bryant, who is vice
president of clinical operations for River Region Human Services.
"Every time I pick up weight, they welcome me with open arms. ... They
know that it's a constant battle."

Bryant said that's the same way it is for people who are struggling
with drug and alcohol abuse. The difference though, she said, is that
society isn't as generous when it comes to giving second and third
chances to them as it is with people who are dealing with obesity,
diabetes and other problems that are either brought on or exacerbated
by lifestyle choices.

That needs to change, Bryant said.

"I used to feel the same way [about substance abusers and
rehabilitation]," she said. "I thought that if they don't get it right
this time, then shame on them."

"But then I began to understand that substance abuse is a disease, a
disease in much the same way that diabetes is. If you have a family
history of alcoholism and substance abuse, and if someone died of
cirrhosis of the liver, then you shouldn't drink. But if you have
adult onset diabetes -- something which is also brought on by diet and
lifestyle -- no one tells you that you only get one shot, and that's
it."

"Getting treatment [for drugs and alcohol dependency] shouldn't be a
one-shot type of deal. ... We don't treat any other disease that way."

That's the message that Bryant and others hope to get across to the
public this month. This is National Recovery Month, and River Region
is planning a number of activities beginning with a car wash on
Saturday.

In 2003, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that about
21.6 million people older than 12 were classified with substance
dependence or abuse problems. That number represents about 9.1 percent
of the national population.

To combat the problem River Region -- the only agency in this area
that provides residential treatment for substance abusers in a
non-profit setting -- has been working to try to show the community
that treatment works. That is, for those who are able to get it.

Right now 49 people are in its 50-bed residential treatment program,
Bryant said. About 40 are on a waiting list. And each year, the abuse
problems become more complex and varied, she said.

"In the past, people would come in, and they'd be doing heroin or
cocaine or one type of drug," Bryant said. "Now they come in, and
they're doing lots of drugs."

"If they live long enough to get in treatment, and they go the wrong
way again, we welcome them back."

As well as the chance to get them back on track to a life free of
dependency. For good.