The most interesting place in my neighborhood? My neighbor’s basement.
Framed and signed Gold Records, iconic album art (including covers which didn’t get used), guitars used by various well-known artists and a bunch of other irreplaceable line the walls. A musician with many musical friends, of course he worked in the music industry. In recent years he toured with major artists, handling sound and lights.
That’s what he used to do.
His daughter moved in with him several years back, his ex-wife grown tired of her behavior. A very cute blonde, the daughter and her friends were ‘early adopters’ of 21st Century heroin. She went in and out of treatment, cleaned-up and then, repeatedly, slid back. The local cops all learned her address.
Along the way she had a son. One morning I looked out the kitchen window to see a mommy and son bonding moment: both wore a backpack and carried small suitcases. They scurried across the backyard, went over the chain link fence, then through a hole in the wooden fence separating our yards from the shopping center. The county police drove up a couple of minutes later with a new warrant.
Years ago I complained about resources available to those with drug issues. A friend made some calls, and, from 1991 to 2001 I served on the Eastern Regional Advisory Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse and then the Missouri Advisory Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. My first lesson was in budget reality. There was never enough money, meaning St. Louis competed with Hannibal and Sikeston for services while treatment programs schemed to siphon funds from prevention efforts. Well-meaning work to bring professionalism to the drug treatment field got undermined by pitiful salaries.
For example, back about 2000 a respected rural treatment program wanted a staff leader with a high level of professional certification, a masters’ degree and administrative experience. The pay? ‘Up to $22,500 per year.’
In the drug and alcohol field, those were the good ole days.
This week urgent messages about coming cuts to treatment and prevention funding keep filling my in-box…
“Earlier this month, President Trump pronounced that the opioid epidemic was
‘a national emergency’ and promised to, ‘spend a lot of time, a lot of effort, and a lot
of money on the opioid crisis’…they continue to push policies and federal budget proposals
that would gut treatment and slash our ability to fight the epidemic.”
While “opioid mortality has been rising at a rate of 9 percent per year since 1979,” well, the Trump budget means to cut a major area of opioid treatment by 37%. [ http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/healthcare/348315-trump-and-tom-price-are-making-it-harder-to-combat-opioids ] Block grant and Medicaid funding for drug treatment and prevention is also targeted for deep cuts.
President Donald J. Trump is not – despite appearances – stupid. He’s a showman, specifically an expert magician. He distracts America from his hurtful actions by changing topics. So, most people probably believe The Donald’s declaration of a new ‘national emergency’ on heroin and other opioids means more money, more effort will go into the fight. That’s not the reality. In truth, already woefully supported efforts will get slashed again. The problem will grow, more families will suffer and more Americans will die – needlessly.
Like the girl next door, some will continue to use heroin. Still, after decades of research and hard work, drug prevention and treatment programs have learned how to move mountains. The problem may not disappear but it can be contained and the number impacted reduced. A lack of money should not prevent compassion and action.
My neighbor is pretty close to my age. Instead of planning for retirement he recently became legal guardian of his daughter’s son and toddler daughter (during a sober stretch she had a second child). A permanent restraining order prevents the daughter from seeing her kids. The police helped with that paperwork.
The good news? My neighbor’s friends are pretty good with tools. They’ve build a large playhouse with a slide, swings and other fun stuff in his backyard for the grandkids.
Submitted by Glenn Koenen, WCD Member