Improvements in Drug Addiction Services

In Philadelphia and other parts of the country, private and public agencies are cooperating to improve the services and programs used to treat drug addiction. New improvements to these systems are providing better, more effective care to patients as well as cutting costs substantially from an economic standpoint.

This article in the New York Times tells the story of the man addicted to various drugs including heroin, cocaine, and others. His addictions stemmed from a rough childhood and relations to gang activity. Drug treatment programs were the only solution for this man, and until recently they had been ineffective. Ultimately this particular man, Keith Garrett, came to the conclusion that no one cared whether he lived or died, and checked in to drug rehabilitation. Anyone who has experienced the terrible effects of these powerful narcotics on family members and loved ones, as I have, knows the enormous struggle it is to break these addictions.

These new programs are developing the parts of drug rehab programs that occur after the patient would normally discharged under the traditional 30-60 day programs. The typical 30-60 day program is usually court mandated while the costs are covered by insurance. The rehab programs only have to deal with them for 30-60 days until their benefits run out, then they are released with "little more than a mandate to join a 12-step group like Alcoholics Anonymous". These traditional programs offer little support during the crucial restructuring period where the addicts fights the urges to relapse and fall back into bad social ties. The new program offers counseling, housing, and recreational activities for individuals released from treatment. The costs of this project are trimmed by the addition of volunteers to counsel and guide recovering addicts through their transition to come "out of that darkness". These costs are also cut by the decrease in potential relapses requiring additional treatment programs.

It is good to see the public taking an interest in the individuals that were raised with shaky childhoods. Often times the potential drug addicts have underlying mental disorders, in Garrett's case, bipolar disorder. These benefits give hope to cleaning up areas plagued by drugs and gang related violence, while helping individuals create a better life. As peer specialist William Baker says best, "There’s nothing more beautiful, than seeing someone come out of that darkness.”