Drug and alcohol services easy to access in county

BY REGGE EPISALE
Correspondent

Unlike many rural counties, Susquehanna County has not one, but two agencies, TREHAB and PA Treatment and Healing (PATH), dedicated to bringing drug and alcohol education, prevention, and treatment to our residents.

If an individual doesn’t know who has a program that is the best for them, they can receive direction from a Drug and Alcohol Assessment and Case Management Unit located in Montrose or Scranton which operates under the Lackawanna-Susquehanna Office of Drug and Alcohol Programs.

Although Susquehanna County doesn’t have inpatient detox and residential rehabilitation facilities, these services are available through the Lackawanna-Susquehanna Office of Drug and Alcohol Programs which works with providers throughout the state.

An individual or family can contact the Drug and Alcohol Assessment and Case Management Unit directly for an initial screening, assessment, and placement. The Case Manager will help not only to get treatment started but will stay involved through treatment and discharge, including ongoing support after treatment is completed.

As in most diseases, prevention is as important as treatment, if not more. For this reason, TREHAB offers education programs for grades K-12 which focus on self-esteem, decision making, stress management, communications skills, social skills, and other facets important to children learning to resist the lure of smoking, drinking, and other drug use.

Programs are not just available to public schools, but also to any community member, business, or organization that would like to take advantage of the information.

TREHAB also participates in the Student Assistance Program (SAP), teacher in-service sessions to educate teachers on how to help students with at-risk behaviors, and health fairs, job fairs, and community activities.

TREHAB counseling services include individual and group adult counseling as well as youth counseling.

Traci Decker, TREHAB Clinical Supervisor, says, “No one is addicted in a bubble.” Addiction affects families, friends, and communities.

For this reason, TREHAB tries to involve families as much as possible. The stigma against addiction rises from the symptoms of addiction which are mostly behavioral. “It’s hard to separate the disease from the person. Hate the disease; love the person,” Decker said.

Dennis Phelps, Executive Director of TREHAB, says it is important to know that the battle against addiction depends on a strong relationship with the schools, judicial system, probation, Children and Youth, Mental Health, and other community resources dedicated to combating the epidemic of addiction.

PA Treatment and Healing (PATH) joined our community in early 2000. PATH not only offers adult and youth counseling, but also runs an alternative school for at-risk youth.

Scott Constantini, Regional Director, says that many of their students are put out of schools for drug actions “We get to see it early. We get to see the kids who are put out of the districts who are struggling.”

The PATH alternative school educates students primarily 12 – 18 years of age, although some have been older. He states that when you find out what their circumstances are, “a lot of the kids we’re getting are very salvageable kids, and resilient.”

Constantini says that 80 percent or more of their students are there because of the results of drugs and alcohol. That doesn’t mean 80 percent are using, but rather that drugs and alcohol are affecting them in their lives and behaviors. He offered an example of Dad’s in jail; Mom is using; the child is clean but reacting to his situation.

He stresses that, “Drugs don’t discriminate.” PATH provides services to everyone from poverty level to upper class. “Addiction can be your neighbor, your father, your brother. We need to stop labeling and work together.”

Constantini also says that Susquehanna County is evolving. It’s changing. Its current problems are changing. There are many positive in this county and people who want to change in a positive direction.

He states that by having two services providers for drug and alcohol counseling and treatment Susquehanna County give its residents choices and that’s important. One system or process may work better for a person than another. But most important, there isn’t a waiting list. He says other counties face the problem of having to wait days, weeks, even months for needed treatment. Two providers mean treatment is available.

Like Phelps, Constantini says a positive relationship with other agencies – schools, judicial offices, Children and Youth, etc. – is critical.

Like TREHAB, PATH recognizes that there is an epidemic, and it isn’t just in Susquehanna County. The opiate epidemic is nationwide, and Susquehanna County is part of it. They are working with the residents, hospitals, and government offices to beat it.

“Everyone has to work together and collaboratively to deal with this problem,” Constantini says. “These are people. These are lives.”

Treatment through TREHAB or PATH may be covered by Medicaid, some private insurers, or funding through Lackawanna-Susquehanna Office of Drug and Alcohol Programs. A sliding-fee option is also available.

Decker says, “Even if people don’t have insurance, they can get counseling.” The important thing is to get help.

Contact information for Susquehanna County:

*Drug & Alcohol Assessment and Case Management, Jennifer Homeza 570-278-5985;
*TREHAB Drug & Alcohol Treatment Program, 800-982-4045; 570-278-5221;
*PATH Drug & Alcohol Treatment Program, Tiffany Benedict, 570-278-1523; Alternative Education School, Ferdinand Bistocchi, 570-278-1523.