GRANT TO BOOST YOUTH TREATMENT

Agencies To Receive $3.75 Million

HARTFORD -- As director of community health for the Greater Hartford Urban
League, Suzette Benn sees it every day: young men and women with substance
abuse problems struggling to pull their lives together.

At the Urban League, trained counselors not only help troubled adolescents
deal with their alcohol and drug addictions, they also assist them with
finishing their education, getting housing and lining up work.

It's a package deal, and there is never a shortage of clientele.

Thanks to a $3.75 million federal grant obtained by the state Department of
Children and Families, the Urban League and other community-based services
soon will be able to enhance and expand their neighborhood treatment programs.

Benn is delighted.

"There is definitely a need to work with these young people," Benn said Monday.

The five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
allocates $750,000 a year to DCF to help strengthen local networks of care
for troubled Hartford-area youths.

The money targets boys and girls ages 12 to 17. The goal is to use
established programs like those at the Urban League to identify and serve a
greater number of youths considered at risk before their problems get
severe, officials said.

"If we can use early interventions with kids just starting to get into
trouble in their neighborhoods, homes and schools to prevent more serious
problems in the future, we can make a real and positive difference," DCF
Commissioner Kristine D. Ragaglia said.

The Hispanic Health Council and the University of Connecticut Health Center
also are participating. Professionals in the field say the need for more
counseling is well established.

It is estimated that between 500 to 600 kids in the greater Hartford area
are in need of some sort of drug treatment, according to Peter Panzarella,
director of substance abuse services at DCF.