UC Forum Looks At Stressed-Out Communities

When addiction treatment programs suffer, communities lose. That’s the topic lawmakers, law enforcement officers, educators and counselors will address 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, March 27, at the University of Cincinnati’s Zimmer Auditorium. The forum, “Treatment in Crisis – Revisited,” is sponsored by UC’s Addictions Studies Program and Faces & Voices in Recovery, a national advocacy campaign for addiction recovery, housed locally at Prospect House.

Counselors and community leaders are invited to attend the free forum to address the promise of treatment recovery programs as well as the challenges of funding them to adequately support communities. The forum is a follow up to a well-attended 2002 UC discussion that focused on how cutbacks in treatment programs had reached the crisis stage.

Lawrence Anthony, director of the University of Cincinnati Addictions Studies Program, says this crisis is adding to the toll of communities already under stress.

“There are people in Cincinnati who feel like they’re living in a war zone,” said Anthony. “Think about the behaviors and psychological problems associated with living in a war zone: Post-traumatic stress and anxiety. We need to look at the community problems on a broader basis, and then we need to examine how we can relieve the stress in our communities. We’re hoping this forum will generate ideas for building community groups to address those issues from a number of perspectives.”

Anthony is one of 13 representatives that Ohio Governor Bob Taft appointed to a statewide Chemical Dependency Professionals Board to issue licenses and certificates for alcohol and substance abuse counseling and other related services. He says at least 50 percent of people diagnosed with an addiction suffer from separate mental health issues such as depression, anxiety disorders and personality disorders. “They also engage in many abusive patterns of behavior. Moreover, we often forget about the problems associated with other addictions, such as gambling and sexual addiction,” Anthony says.

Forum speakers will include Patricia Taylor, national director of Faces & Voices of Recovery; Ohio Senator Mark Mallory; Hamilton County Commissioner John Dowlin; Gene Johnson, board chair for the Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services Board; Brian Patrick, WCPO-TV; Courtis Fuller, WLWT-TV; D.A.R.E. Supervisor Sergeant William Bell; and Robert Field, executive director, Ohio Chemical Dependency Professionals Board. A panel presentation will include representatives from The Prevention Council of Central Ohio, the Cincinnati Police Academy, Hamilton County Drug Court, the UC Counseling Program; the Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services Board; Dohn Community High School; and Ohio Citizen Advocates for Chemical Dependency, Prevention and Treatment.