Prioritizing drug, alcohol treatment
Greene County commissioners were approached last month by Steps Inside, a nonprofit organization, seeking money to help establish additional group homes under the Oxford House banner for recovering alcoholics and drug addicts in Greene County.
The organization, which operates a drop-in center for recovering addicts in Morrisville, opened its first group home for men on Cumberland Street in Waynesburg in November. The house now has five residents. Judging by interviews with the men who have been living at the house and participating in its programs, the group home appears to be operating as intended and helping residents as they begin clean and sober lives.
The home was established, according to members of Steps Inside, to provide men recovering from addiction with a place to live away from the communities they were tied to during their addictions and where they face a higher risk of relapse. The treatment program is based on the “Oxford House” model, which emphasizes the establishment of independent, democratically-run, drug-free group homes. Residents of the house help each other in dealing with the issues faced during recovery, and each one is required to attend house meetings, share in chores and participate in decision making regarding house operations and policies.
They must agree to live by house rules and continue to attend a 12-step recovery program. They also are required to pay rent and contribute to the maintenance of the house, abstain from the use of alcohol and drugs and avoid disruptive behavior. If a resident breaks a house rule, others can vote to have him removed from the house. No overseer lives there.
Members of Steps Inside have said Oxford House group homes are shown to be more effective in helping people recover from addiction than a traditional halfway house. The relapse rate for residents is between 13 and 16 percent compared to a rate of 85 to 95 percent for a typical halfway house, one member said.
The program also saves taxpayers money because the house becomes self-sufficient after several months when residents gain employment and begin paying rent.
Steps Inside asked the commissioners to contribute $50,000 to cover the startup costs associated with opening two new Oxford House group homes in the county: one home for women; and an additional home for men.The county earlier contributed $10,000 and assisted the group in securing a $5,000 grant from another source to help with the start-up costs of the home on Cumberland Street. The commissioners said they would considering the group’s request for funding for the two additional homes.
We believe long-term recovery programs like those offered by Steps Inside play an important role in leading recovering addicts to lives of abstention. We commend the group for starting the Cumberland Street home and are impressed by its members’ enthusiasm for the project.
But we can also understand concerns the group should first establish a track record with the Cumberland Street house, which has only been open about seven months, and demonstrate a need for the program by developing a waiting list of potential residents.
Unfortunately, funding the county receives for drug and alcohol treatment services is limited and the programs it chooses to fund, which must cover not just long-term recovery but an array of treatment programs, must be prioritized.