Prevention efforts key in fighting addiction
Prevention specialist Derrick Newby spoke in Hot Springs Monday about the importance of prevention efforts in addressing addiction and abuse of alcohol and other substances.
Suicide Prevention Allies invited Newby to speak during its first showcase meeting as a nonprofit organization at the Garland County Library. The organization, previously known as the Garland County Suicide Prevention Coalition, successfully applied for nonprofit status earlier this year.
Newby has been with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s MidSouth for the past year. MidSouth is the community service unit of the UALR School of Social Work.
“It is definitely going to be more effective for us in Arkansas to start looking at prevention,” Newby said. “We have been looking at treatment for awhile. There are a lot of options out there for
treatment if people have the right resources, but they are not widely available for everyone.”
Newby said the state must improve in making services more available for all who need it. He said many patients found the best way to obtain treatment was by falsifying details of their conditions to be admitted into emergency rooms.
MidSouth was founded 25 years ago through a partnership between the Arkansas Division of Children and Family Services and the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and UALR. The unit receives block grant funding from the Department of Human Services’ Division of Behavioral Health Services.
“Initially, they had all of the money there at the state,” Newby said. “They were trying to provide programs all over, but it was very limited in what they were able to do. With us having the grant funding, we have a lot more freedom when it comes to reaching out all over the state. We also have a good working relationship with DBHS, as well.”
The partnership grew to include six more Arkansas colleges and universities. Members agree to help educate and train current and future child welfare workers in the state.
MidSouth also works to enhance and support family centered systems reform in public child welfare and academic university settings. The unit is part of the Arkansas State Epidemiology Workgroup, which analyzes prevention on a larger scale. It serves as a forum for policy makers, researchers and community members to work together to analyze the causes and use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.
Newby said prevention efforts are far less expensive than treatment options. He said alcohol abuse and misuse are among the state’s most significant problems.
“There may be many people here who do not think of it as being a drug anymore,” Newby said. “We celebrate with Champagne or having a wedding. We sit back at a Razorback game and have a beer. We don’t look at it as necessarily being a problem, but it still is, especially for teenagers. Our prevention efforts have to increase with the youth.”
Teenagers who drink are more likely to become alcohol dependent as adults. Results of the Arkansas Prevention Needs Assessment indicate the percentage of the state’s high school students who use alcohol steadily decreased in the past six years.
Regional prevention providers, such as CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs, help compile survey results for the annual report. Newby said MidSouth trains youth prevention leaders, but the unit needs more partners to be more effective in more communities.
Newby said APNA results indicate prevention efforts are having an impact. The percentage of births by women who drink decreased from 9.3 percent in 2000 to 4.1 percent. According to APNA, less than 40 percent of adults in Arkansas consume alcohol regularly, compared to more than 50 percent nationally.
“How many car accidents related to alcohol is OK for you and your family?” Newby asked. “I think we would all say none. We want to get to the point where we can reduce this to the point where no one is having to deal with the drama and the pain of losing a loved one to drugs and alcohol.”
Newby said opioid addiction and prescription drug abuse is an increasingly dangerous issue for the state and the country.
“It is real,” Newby said. “It is an illness. It is not something people are doing as a luxury and many of them are getting involved in it unknowingly.”
SPA sought nonprofit status to expand its reach due to the needs of the entire region. Susie Reece remained with the organization as executive director after serving as chairwoman for the past three years.
The newly formed board met for the first time on Monday. Members include Kay Ekey, Lenora Erickson, Rob Gershon, Cindy Hamilton Nikol Hamilton, Billie Holsomback, Steele Kelly, Bruce Trimble and Curtis Wethington.