PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE IS ON THE RISE

It starts out simply enough. A car wreck or injury ... a prescription for
pain or nerve medication. Then it might be multiple visits to different
doctors, a few more prescriptions ... and before long it turns into
desperation.

The desperation of an addict.

And addicts don't live just in metropolitan cities anymore. In fact, as
many as 70 women in Taylor, Green and Adair counties are currently in
treatment for some form of substance abuse.

Missy Herron, director of the Adanta Women's Recovery Center, said
addiction to prescription drugs is not an uncommon story at all.

"Just because a doctor prescribes it doesn't mean it's not addicting,"
Herron said.

The women's center, which began in June as the result of a grant from the
federal Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, provides treatment for women
with addiction problems, including women with children and pregnant women.

Adanta, the nonprofit organization that oversees the center, will soon
build a new center on KY 55, near the Taylor and Adair county line. It
should be complete sometime in mid-summer.

Even though the new center isn't built yet, Herron said women need to know
that services are already available.

Open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, the office is located
at 2020 Hodgenville Road, across from Blevins Construction. The phone
number is 789-6601.

Substance abuse by women has been going on for years, Herron said, though
it's only within the last 10 to 15 years that it's been treated.

"Women are afraid of losing their children, their jobs, their families,"
she said. "As long as I've worked in this field I've never heard a man with
an addiction problem called a 'horrible father.'

"But you let a woman with an addiction problem admit to it and first thing
she's labeled 'unfit.'"

That's why the women's center programs are so desperately needed, according
to Herron.

The center's staff consists of Herron, two case managers, two therapists, a
psychiatrist, a nurse practitioner, a secretary and a research assistant.
Herron said the research assistant tracks the progress of the women in the
program.

"We need to know if there's something we need to address that we're not
already doing," Herron said. "We need to break down all the barriers so
that they don't have an excuse not to get treatment."

Some of the preliminary data indicates that a majority of women are
unemployed and many aren't qualified for the available jobs because of a
lack of education or skill or a criminal history.

"You'd think if they have no money there'd be no drugs," Herron said. "But
that's not the case. They can always get drugs or there's always somebody
willing to share."

The lack of child care, transportation and money are the three largest
barriers to women in rural communities getting substance abuse treatment,
she said. Because of those barriers, fewer women get the treatment they
need and those who do many not continue it.

The center currently offers a day program, an evening program, relapse
prevention treatment and individual treatment. The center also provides a
case management service, through which women can get help with other needs
such as food stamps, low-cost medications and housing.

And Herron is excited about the center adding family education to the
agenda in the spring.

"We believe in order to help the women that we serve, we must also reach
out to [their families]," she said. "We treat the whole family instead of
just the individual."

Once the new center is complete, Herron said, child care and housing will
be added to the treatment program. A woman can be a good mother yet still
have an addiction problem that needs to be treated.

"They'll be able to come to the campus, receive treatment, have their
children with them and have a place to live."

Getting rid of all those barriers gives women a better chance at success,
Herron said. And success is what the program aims for.

One woman Herron described was severely injured in a car wreck. She became
addicted to the pain medication that had been prescribed for her. She
eventually added alcohol and marijuana and before long got addicted to
crack cocaine. She was ultimately arrested after she resorted to selling
drugs to support her drug habit, Herron said, and her children were taken away.

Upon her release from prison, the woman was clean and sober. Participation
in a substance abuse treatment program, as it often is, was a requirement
of her release.

"She was compliant with the program," Herron said, "and now she has a
steady job, her children are back with her and she sees us twice a month
for some supportive therapy."

Herron said that community agencies such as the probation and parole
office, the courts and the Department for Community Based Services work
together with her office to get women the treatment they need.

In addition, she said, an advisory council made up of people from all three
counties oversees the center and helps to educate the community.

"We've got to get the word out," Herron said. "Education is a key component
in helping our women to heal and lead productive lives with their children
and families."

Confidentiality is also a large part of treatment at the women's recovery
center.

"It has to be," Herron said.

The women who come to the center need to know that their personal stories
won't be gossiped about in the community. Of course, like other mental
health and government agencies, the staff is required to report any
behavior that is life threatening.

Most of the women Herron sees are addicted to prescription medicines, crack
cocaine and alcohol, though she's concerned that problems with oxycontin
are looming in the near future.

"It's not as bad as it will be," she said. "It's on its way ... and that
scares me to death."

More than three-quarters of the women who seek treatment, however, also
have another underlying problem. Often, Herron said, the women became
addicts in search of relief for other problems such as depression or other
personal conflicts.

"Seldom do we see anyone who has just an addiction problem," she said.

But Herron said her staff works for treatment of the "whole" person not
just the addiction.

"We want to treat their mental health as well as their physical health."
But the stigma attached to drug addiction is still the largest hurdle
Herron said she faces.

"We've got a long way to go," she said. "But I think we're headed in the
right direction."