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Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform => Straight, Inc. and Derivatives => Topic started by: Anonymous on May 19, 2007, 10:13:23 PM
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Drug treatment center seeks clients
Sunday, May 13, 2007 12:19 AM CDT
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BY BOB KASARDA
bkasarda@nwitimes.com
219.548.4345
With a commitment of $400,000 in local funding, officials with the Pathway Family Center will soon begin assessing the first round of potential clients for a new teen drug treatment center slated to open in the county later this summer.
The assessment process will begin May 30 at the Duneland Health and Wellness Institute in Chesterton, according to Barbara Towner, Pathway vice president of marketing and admissions.
Pathway Family Center was sought out in response to the county's drug problem, which has resulted in numerous heroin-related deaths.
Interested parents will be invited to take part in a free orientation session, where a mini-assessment will take place, she said. Assessments are offered to young people between the ages of 10 and 21, though the treatment program is aimed for 13- to 18-year-olds, she said.
Families referred for further assessment, will undergo an intensive process involving two drug screens, a diagnosis and recommendation, Towner said. The $200 assessment is covered by many insurance plans.
The assessment will determine if the child needs the intensive services provided by Pathway or should be referred elsewhere, Towner said. Seven out of ten potential clients are referred elsewhere, she said.
Parents interested in the program are encouraged to call (800) 261-4605 or (317) 585-6953.
Pathway has not yet chosen a building in Porter County in which to open up shop and does not expect to have a local facility ready before Aug. 31, she said. As a result, the first group of clients will begin treatment at the Pathway facility in Indianapolis.
The treatment involves the young people living away from their parents in homes of other Pathway clients, Towner said. The idea is to get the young person away from the environment associated with the drug use, while giving parents a break from the problem and the opportunity to learn how to better respond by hosting a non-family member in the program.
"Our whole program is about rebuilding the family," Towner said.
Dr. Mann Spitler, who is helping to bring Pathway to the area as president of the local Community Action Drug Coalition, said the mentoring homes are a popular part of the treatment program.
"The parents you talk to will tell you it's the best part of the program," he said.
Spitler, whose 20-year-old daughter, Manda, died of a heroin overdose five years ago, said he is among the first chosen to serve on the board for the local Pathway center.
The CADC raised $100,000 for the local Pathway center and county officials agreed recently to contribute $200,000 from local income tax revenues.
Spitler said a foundation, which does not want to be identified, has agreed to pitch in another $100,000 when the county money is made available.