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METHAMPHETAMINE ABUSE RISING
IN WESTERN STATES
By Suma Singh, M.D.
DADS Senior Staff Physician
Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant that dramatically affects the central nervous system. Because it can be made from easy-to-get ingredients, it has the potential for widespread abuse. In California, 12% of all adults have tried stimulant drugs. Nationwide, 4.4% of all high-school seniors report using crystal methamphetamine at least once.
Methamphetamine ("speed," "crystal," "chalk," "ice," and "glass") may be injected, smoked, snorted, or taken by mouth. Users feel a rapid, intense rush, described as a highly pleasurable "flash." When this drug is smoked, the effect is almost immediate, but it lasts only a few minutes. However, smoked crystal methamphetamine leaves a reusable residue in the pipe, which can produce effects lasting up to twelve hours.
Long-term effects of methamphetamine abuse include anxiety, insomnia, confusion, and aggression. Psychotic features such as paranoia, delusions, mood disturbances, and hallucinations can develop. This paranoia may fuel suicidal or homicidal thoughts, resulting in violent behavior. Physical effects include increased heart and respiratory rates, enhanced wakefulness, and decreased appetite. Methamphetamine abuse is also linked to high-risk behaviors like needle sharing and multiple sexual partners, which may increase transmission of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV.
Treatment for methamphetamine addiction is primarily psycho-social intervention such as behavior modification, educational counseling, and community reinforcement. Twelve-step programs (e.g., Narcotics Anonymous) provide supportive self-help groups. Medications have not been effective in treating this type of addiction, and are usually reserved to treat the psychiatric side effects of chronic methamphetamine abuse.
Due to its highly addictive nature and long-term psychiatric effects, it is important to identify and treat methamphetamine abuse early. Unfortunately, trends indicate that methamphetamine addiction is becoming the dominant illicit drug problem of the Western states.
To learn more about methamphetamine abuse, please visit the National Institute on Drug Abuse's website: http://www.nida.nih.gov
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MENTORING: DEVELOPING YOUTH
INTO CAPABLE, PRODUCTIVE ADULTS
By Elsy Arevalo, Director
Friends for Youth Mentoring Institute
What I remember most about working in a rehabilitation hospital are the stories of individuals who started using alcohol and other drugs as children and teens: the pain suffered, the damage caused, the years lost. What if all that damage could be prevented?
The aim of mentoring programs is to help at-risk youth flourish. Research has shown that mentoring has a significant, positive impact on at-risk youth in areas such as alcohol and other drug abuse prevention, dropping out of school, teen-pregnancy prevention, gang participation, and violence prevention. As these results become more widely disseminated, the concept of mentoring has gained national appeal as a method of helping youth navigate complex social issues and become productive adults. According to Andrew Mecca, Ph.D., Vice Chair of the California Mentor Foundation, "Mentoring is the most effective, coherent prevention strategy to support the healthy development of young people."
One of the leaders of this movement is Friends for Youth, a nationally recognized leader in mentoring, with over twenty years of experience. In response to the growing number of mentoring programs starting across the
nation, the agency developed the Friends for Youth Mentoring Institute to provide technical assistance and promote quality standards to ensure the protection of our youth.
Coalitions have sprung up to support mentoring agencies and accomplish together what is almost impossible for any one entity to do alone. The Silicon Valley Mentoring Coalition, for instance, co-sponsored the first annual Mentoring Conference in Silicon Valley last March. This conference brought together foundations, businesses, mentors, youth, and over 170 mentoring professionals.
Although the mentoring movement is now in our consciousness, there is still much more that can be achieved. Mentoring programs need support in the form of resources, funding, and volunteers willing to share their time and expertise. To learn how you can help, please call Elsy Arevalo at 650-559-0200.
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DADS HIV INTERVENTION PROJECT
OFFERS FREE TESTING TO MANAGED CARE CLIENTS
By Judie Phelps, LVN
DADS HIV Services
Since 1994, the HIV Intervention Project (HIP) has provided free HIV testing to clients in County-funded alcohol and other drug treatment facilities. HIP's two licensed vocational nurses also offer clients tuberculosis (TB) testing and group education on HIV, TB, sexually transmitted diseases, and other medical issues of concern to addicts. This is a vital service for those clients who may have no other place to go for this information.
If the HIP nurses identify a medical problem which needs immediate attention, they refer the client for prompt and appropriate treatment. They also make referrals to other county agencies, as needed, for non-medically oriented problems. All of these services are free, and usually no appointment is needed for testing.
For more information, please call Anjanette DeVito or Judie Phelps at 408-274-8266, or visit them at your treatment site on their next visit.
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JUVENILE TREATMENT COURT
COMBINES MULTIDISCIPLINARY SERVICES TO ADDRESS YOUTH TREATMENT NEEDS
By Helen Meline, DADS Rehab. Counselor
Juvenile Treatment Court
The Santa Clara County Probation Department created Juvenile Treatment Court (JTC) almost four years ago. Initially, JTC operated without funding, but in 1998 they received a federal grant. Today, more than 100 enrolled adolescents are in the year-long program, which consists of mental health support, alcohol and other drug education, public health services, assessment for educational needs, family conferencing, counseling, survival skills (through the YWCA), and a mentoring-for-success component. The goal of the program is to support and redirect adolescents to an alcohol- and other drug-free lifestyle.
Juvenile Probation's Karen Fillmore coordinates the JTC team--a cohesive and collaborative group which includes DADS Children, Adolescents & Families staff Beth Elliott and Helen
Meline; Probation Officers Loren Sanchez, Robin Schlice, and Scott Murray; and Probation Community Workers Jerre Rountree, Raymond Pagaran, and Mary Diangson.
Juvenile Hall is a designated Post-Authorization Site for Gateway, which means that prospective clients may receive an on-site assessment here to enter the Managed Care System for the level of care most appropriate to their needs. Helen Meline-Tice assesses adolescents who turn eighteen while in custody or while participating in JTC. Probation officers may request an assessment for an adolescent who meets the criteria for problematic alcohol and/or other drug use by calling Helen
Meline or Beth Elliott at 408-278-6164.
If your organization provides counseling services to youth, JTC holds a quarterly luncheon at which you may learn more about their program. For more details about JTC or if you wish to attend the luncheon, please call either Karen Fillmore at 408-278-6156; or Helen
Meline at 408-278-5801.
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AGENCY PROFILES
PATHWAY SOCIETY, INC.: BIGGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SUBSTANCE ABUSE AGENCY IN SANTA CLARA COUNTY
By Michael Pritchard, M.A., Executive Director
Pathway Society, Inc.
Pathway Society, Inc. is a non-profit California corporation providing information, education, intervention, and treatment services to promote individual, family, and community wellness. For over thirty-six years, Pathway has served people with substance abuse and/or mental health problems with comprehensive programs, featuring transition and re-entry of clients as crime- and drug-free, productive members of society. Currently, the agency has language capabilities in English, Spanish, and French.
Pathway offers:
- Pathway House-a sixty-five-bed, intensive, inpatient residential-treatment
facility for chemically dependent adults.
- Transitional Housing Units-affordable housing for clients who have completed
primary care.
- Outpatient Program-affordable counseling for adults and adolescents
(individuals, groups, or families). Experienced counselors provide
assessments and treatment in a safe, supportive environment for problems
with relationships, families, depression, personal growth, alcohol and other
drug issues, and relapse prevention.
- Family Wellness Program-helps at-risk families and their children break the
cycle of chemical dependency by teaching parenting and communications
skills.
- Youth Programs-provide year-round education, prevention, intervention, and
treatment to chemically dependent youth at various middle and high schools
and at juvenile ranches throughout the county.
- Community Outreach/Prevention Program-provides substance abuse
prevention, education, and training to business and industry,
colleges/universities, community services, and K-12 schools in the county.
- Public awareness-consists of an informational newsletter and a weekly
television program on various health-related topics.
Pathway can deal effectively with dually diagnosed clients at either the residential- or outpatient-services site, and they also treat parolees through Bay Area Services Network and Substance Abuse Services Coordinating Agency contracts.
PATHWAY SOCIETY, INC.
1659 SCOTT BOULEVARD, SUITE 30
SANTA CLARA, CA 95050
TEL. 408-244-1834 FAX: 408-244-5123
E-MAIL: [email protected]
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NATIONAL COUNCIL ON ALCOHOLISM AND DRUG
DEPENDENCE: EDUCATING THE COMMUNITY FOR OVER THIRTY YEARS
By Bill Sherman, A.C.R. P. S
Associate Director/Diversion Prog. Coord.; and
Gabrielle Antolovich, Executive Director
National Council on Alcoholism and
Drug Dependence (NCADD), San Jose Affiliate
NCADD is a non-profit agency dedicated to educating the community on addiction prevention, treatment, and recovery issues through its free newspaper New Times; its website (see address below); the Helpline (408-292-9945); and the monthly networking luncheon for addiction professionals-the POWER LUNCH (10 a.m., on the second Friday of the month, at the HomeTown Buffet, 4735 Hamilton Avenue, San Jose).
NCADD's other programs also support this mission: the Managed Care Prevention Program (which includes family life skills, behavioral change, impulse management, and basic addiction classes/support); the "Friday Night Live" mentoring program; the Drug, Alcohol, and Tobacco Information Clearinghouse (DATIC); and the Life Skills Training Program in schools. Among its other resources, NCADD also has a free video-lending library; produces an annual resource directory of service providers; and provides speakers on current addiction-related issues.
NATIONAL COUNCIL ON ALCOHOLISM AND
DRUG DEPENDENCE (NCADD)
255 NORTH MARKET STREET, SUITE 175
SAN JOSE, CA 95110
TEL. 408-292-7292 FAX: 408-292-9454
E-MAIL: [email protected]
Website: www.resourcealliance.org
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THE GOOD-NEWS FILE
DADS UPDATES:
Please bookmark this additional address to reach the DADS website: http://www.alcohol-drugservices.org/
The Learning Institute now accepts online registrations for all its events (click on above website).
Last May, all DADS offices at Park Alameda Health Facility changed their phone numbers. Please make a note of these new listings: Administration, 792-5680; Quality Improvement, 792-5670; and Central Treatment & Recovery, 792-5656.
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CAREER CLOSET HELPS DADS CLIENTS
DRESS FOR SUCCESS
By Marge Rogers, M.A., Vocational Coordinator DADS Quality Improvement Division
Last May, DADS joined with the Career Closet-a non-profit organization which partners with about forty different community agencies-to raise the self-esteem and marketability of economically disadvantaged women in Santa Clara County. The Career Closet provides free interview clothing and job-retention support to women who are still in the DADS Managed Care System and who meet these requirements:
- They have completed a vocational program (e.g., counseling, training, or
employment services) while in DADS;
- They are actively seeking employment; and
- They meet low-income requirements.
With the help of volunteer "dressers," the Career Closet supplies qualified clients with one outfit suitable for a job interview and three or four other mix-and-match "business" outfits, as size permits. Because all appointments must be scheduled around the availability of these volunteer dressers, we encourage women staff members of Managed Care Prevention, Outpatient, Residential, and Transitional Housing programs to volunteer for training as dressers by calling Marge Rogers, DADS Agency Coordinator for this project, at 408-792-5670.
To refer a client, Vocational Liaisons/Counselors at DADS Prevention, Outpatient, and Residential sites should call Marge Rogers; she will report all client information (types of vocation services received, economic status, clothing sizes, etc.) to the Career Closet. Please note that each client may be referred for Career Closet services only once in any given year.
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