Another nine Starke County Jail inmates have graduated from the voluntary drug treatment program offered in partnership with Porter/Starke Services. The grant funded program launched last September for men and women with a history of substance abuse problems who are awaiting sentencing. Continue reading
Starke County Jail Adds Additional Inmate Drug Treatment Program
Starke County Jail inmates who are awaiting trial on drug offenses now have access to a treatment program. It launched last week and is led by Porter-Starke Services substance abuse counselor Leo Smith. Sheriff Bill Dulin says it’s separate from the Department of Corrections Therapeutic Community. Continue reading
Starke County Jail to Offer Drug Treatment for Local Inmates
Starke County Jail inmates who are awaiting sentencing will soon have access to voluntary substance abuse treatment while they are locked up. The county recently got a grant from the Indiana Department of Correction to add a local program. Continue reading
Meth Problems Continue in Northern Indiana
An Elkhart County man was killed in a mobile meth lab fire last week and that incident reminds us of the continuing problem of meth production for sale or personal use throughout Northern Indiana.
Porter-Starke Addictions Councilor, Leo Smith, says that this area has had meth issues for a long time and the process to produce meth has been refined so it’s a lot easier to make. Smith says that meth is one of the most highly addictive drugs that a person can abuse.
Lunch and Learn Program Focuses on Addiction
Addictions councilor, Leo Smith of Porter-Starke Services, presented a Lunch and Learn program yesterday on distinguishing drug and alcohol abuse from drug and alcohol addiction.
“We talked about the difference between social usage of drugs or alcohol, abuse of drugs and alcohol and dependence and addiction,” said Smith of the presentation. “We really tried to separate what the differences are and the importance of knowing the differences.”
Leo Smith: Addiction is in Genetic and Brain Makeup
Porter-Starke Addictions Councilor, Leo Smith, conducted a seminar yesterday on relapse in the recovery process.
Leo Smith tells us the first thing necessary to prevent relapse.
Porter-Starke Addictions Counselor to Present Program on Relapse
Porter-Starke Addictions Councilor, Leo Smith, will conduct a seminar today at 11:30 a.m. CT at the Knox Community Center. His topic will be relapse.
Smith was asked if it’s true that most people who begin a recovery process relapse before becoming successful.
Prescription Drugs Becoming Drug of Choice for Abusers
Prescription drugs have now passed street drugs as the method of choice for most drug abusers in the United States. There are more deaths caused by prescription drugs than cocaine and heroin each year. 20% of teens say they have taken a prescription drug without a doctor’s prescription. Those facts don’t surprise Porter-Starke Addictions Counselor, Leo Smith.
“It’s one of the problems that people don’t see or that they don’t want to see,” said Smith. “When you get a drug from a doctor and it’s prescribed it’s like, ‘I got it from a doctor and everything’s good’ – until it starts to turn on you. This is a huge problem in Starke County. This is a huge problem everywhere. I don’t care if it’s Starke County, LaPorte County, or Porter County. It’s everywhere.”
Over 20 people died of overdoses last year in Starke County.
“That’s my understanding and in the last year, that’s 20 that they could verify,” continued Smith. “If you’re not on the front line, it does knock your socks off, but I’ve got to be honest with you, it doesn’t surprise me. I hear it first hand. I have the longest grapevine in the whole world as far as what’s going on with the prescription drug use and I hear about it all the time.”
“I got back from vacation after two weeks and the first client I saw said, ‘Did you hear about so-and-so?’ They had overdosed the Friday before I came back.”
“I haven’t fixed you after eight weeks of treatment. After eight weeks of treatment, hopefully you’ll walk out of there with some really good tools. I was laughing with some clients they other day and I said, ‘You know, I’m going to give you some Craftsmans and some Snap-ons, some Milwaukee and DeWalts, but you have to apply them and you have to use them.’ When you walk out of here, you’ll know what you are and what you need to do. Recovery is progressive. It’s a day at a time and it’s a life long process.”
Leo Smith will be talking more about drug abuse next week on WKVI. Leo Smith will be presenting a Lunch and Learn discussion on Tuesday, April 19th at the Knox Community Center from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. He will discuss relapse for persons recovering from substance abuse. Call 772-4040 for more information or to reserve a seat.
