MONTPELIER ADDRESSES SUBSTANCE ABUSE

MONTPELIER - Capital city officials, residents and health care providers
joined forces to address concerns about heroin and other substance abuse at
a community forum at city hall Tuesday.

"Teaming up for a Healthy Community" drew about 150 people who voiced
concerns, learned about community strengths, shared ideas and acted on
solutions.

City manager William Fraser also praised the community for responding, and
noted that despite the concern about heroin use, there were many more
victims of alcohol abuse.

"This community never ceases to amaze me, filling up rooms," he said.

"This issue of substance abuse became a hot topic this summer with the
articles in newspapers," he said, referring to the heroin series in The
Times Argus. "But kids aren't the only ones that drink and take drugs. Many
people are driving around drunk and drinking, so we need to keep it in
perspective."

Kim Martin, coordinator of the Central Vermont New Directions coalition on
substance abuse who helped organize the event, said the forum was the first
in a series.

"This is a beginning of some dialog around substance abuse," she said. "At
the next one, we'll look to have the youth run it and get them involved.
Even though it's not solely a youth problem, we would like to get them
involved."

Ken Johnson, a student at Woodbury College, provided a graphic account of
what it is like to be a former addict.

"I'm a student at Woodbury College because I've been given to ability to
got through recovery and continue it on a daily basis," he said. "I'm the
personification of what you folks are doing here, the recovering addict who
makes something of themselves and becomes productive in society."

Johnson said he did not want to go into the details of his addiction, but
said he was able to get through it with the help of family and friends who
recognized his problem as a medical issue.

"It's always a difficult situation for a family," he said. "But we can't
lose focus that (we're talking about) an individual that needs help.
They're still a daughter, a son or a friend. They're capable of love, they
need love, they need a little assistance.

During a panel discussion, Nancy Chickering, a emergency room nurse at
Central Vermont Medical Center, said the dangers for teens were real.

"One of the big concerns, speaking about heroin, is the incredible
availability, how cheap it is, and the fact that kids can snort it as
opposed to injecting," she said. "You can get a hit for five bucks."

Craig Smith, director of Central Vermont Substance Abuse Services, agreed.

"Clearly, use of substances by children is on the increase," he said. "I
don't think Vermont is any different in that respect. The age of onset is
going down."

Jo Romano, a substance abuse counselor with the Department of Health, said
it was important for parents not to turn a blind eye to suspicious behavior
by their children.

Police chief Doug Hoyt said many more adults than teens are arrested for
substance abuse and suggested that more education, intervention and
treatment were needed to address the problem.

Dozens of people signed up to identify problems and volunteered to act on
the solutions.

Establishment of recovery programs was suggested as well as forming a group
to interact with teenagers downtown. Other possibilities were a center for
resources for substance abuse advice, a parent mentoring program and
pooling finances of various substance abuse programs to increase effectiveness.

Montpelier Parks director Geoff Beyer said he was impressed at the response
by the community to the request to devise and act on solutions.

"When you ask people to step up, they usually disappear, but they were
here," he said.

Martin was also impressed at the response.

"We can't do this alone, it's too big," she said. "That was the biggest
part of what we wanted to see come out of this, the community coming
together to help. Then people feel like they have some hope and they're
contributing."

"It's a sign of a healthy community," added Fraser.