Assemblyman Dinowitz, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, kicked off National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery month in September with a visit to Asian American Recovery Services (AARS) of Hamilton-Madison House located in downtown Manhattan. AARS held a community forum on “Barriers and Challenges of Substance Abuse Treatment in the Asian American Community.” AARS is one of two agencies providing specialized services for Asian Americans. As an outpatient program, AARS provides an array of services including detox, family and group counseling, and DWI treatment and evaluation.

In opening the forum, Chairman Dinowitz emphasized that treatment geared toward specific populations is necessary. “The topic of this forum is an important one, since there is only a small percentage of the Asian population who abuses alcohol and drugs that seek and get treatment. I commend May Lai and her staff for what they do; having chemical dependency professionals who speak the language and know the cultural cues of their population greatly increases the likelihood of treatment success.”

The forum focused on the barriers and differences in providing treatment for Asian Americans. For example, attitudes among Asian Americans toward alcohol and substance abuse are permissive when moderate and in times of ceremonial occasions, but outwardly drunken behavior is a source of shame and not tolerated. According to speakers at the forum, this sence of shame coupled with language barriers and an intense stigma of treatment make entering recovery programs very difficult for many Asian Americans. Thus the professional staff’s proficiency in many languages and awareness of differing cultures within the Asian American population make Asian American Recovery Services a valuable resource in the field of alcoholism and drug addiction.

Upon commencement of the new year, the committee is gearing up for what will undoubtedly be a highly contentious 2004 legislative session. There will be difficult budget times ahead, so it’s essential to remind New Yorkers that the committee will be working hard in the new year to combat substance abuse in our communities. Alcoholism and substance abuse are in themselves among the most serious problems facing society today; but beyond their inherent seriousness, they are linked to almost every other social problem, including domestic violence, homelessness, AIDS, crime, disease, child abuse and neglect, teen pregnancy, and chronic welfare dependence. It is our government which faces every day the tasks of moving people from welfare to work, reshaping our corrections system, dealing with child abuse and neglect, assuring public safety, administering mental health programs, and overseeing the process of educating our state’s children. To be successful, all governmental leaders must accept the reality that if we don’t adequately treat alcoholism and drug addiction, then all other efforts will be less effective. The committee will continue to work hard in the new year to see to it that our efforts are successful.

Assemblyman Dinowitz, OASAS Commissioner Gorman and Sandra Ruiz Butter, Executive Director of VIP Services, during a tour of several facilities of VIP Services in the Bronx.

Assemblyman Dinowitz was pleased to host the new OASAS Commissioner, William Gorman, for a tour of several treatment centers in the Bronx. Each visit brought the Commissioner to a different type of treatment facility, highlighting both the dedication to treatment in the Bronx for alcohol and drugs as well as crucial issues facing the treatment field.

Assemblyman Dinowitz, OASAS Commissioner Gorman and Cassandra Prentice, Director of Phoenix House Community Reintegration Residential Center in the Bronx, during a tour of Phoenix House.

According to The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), co-occurring disorders of mental illness and substance abuse affect from 7 to 10 million adults in the U.S. each year. Studies have also revealed that nearly 43 % of youth receiving mental health services in the United States have been diagnosed with a co-occurring disorder. People with co-occurring disorders are at high risk for many other problems, including homelessness, criminal involvement, suicide, vulnerability to trauma and violence, relapse and hospitalization.

Regrettably, some New Yorkers suffering from co-occurring disorders of substance abuse and mental illness fall through the cracks in the treatment system and don’t get the care they require. While there is disagreement as to why this occurs, one thing appears certain — patients who suffer from both mental illness and addiction or who have multiple addictions deserve the same kind of comprehensive care that would be considered routine for cancer patients with pneumonia, or diabetic patients with glaucoma.

Accordingly, the New York State Assembly Standing Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse and Standing Committee on Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities held a public hearing in October to solicit testimony from stakeholders, for the purpose of assessing the needs of persons suffering from co-occurring disorders, ascertaining if the services available to such persons meet those needs, and determining if New York State needs to take action to improve services.

The day’s witnesses were a broad cross-section of stakeholders, including NAMI-NYS, the New York City Deptartment of Health and Mental Hygiene, the NYS Association of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Providers, VIP Community Services, the Lower Eastside Service Center, the Mental Health Association of NYC and Westchester, the Coalition of Voluntary Mental Health Agencies, the Institute for Community Living, and Housing Works.

The witnesses made it abundantly clear that treatment for persons suffering from co-occurring disorders greatly improves their ability to function in the community, reduces their incidence of chemical abuse, and decreases their need for mental health services. According to many of the experts who testified, the most effective treatment for persons suffering from co-occurring disorders is referred to as “integrated treatment.” As the name implies, this treatment modality combines substance abuse and mental health care into a cohesive whole that can best serve the numerous needs of the client, instead of the traditional divided and often uncoordinated treatment systems. It was also made clear that if the availability of integrated treatment is to become more widespread, training of substance abuse and mental health providers must be geared toward serving clients with co-occurring disorders. Another issue that was raised during the hearing was the need for concerted screening for co-occurring disorders in both the mental health and substance abuse treatment systems, as well as in the criminal justice, education, child welfare and primary healthcare systems. This would help prevent persons with co-occurring disorders from falling through the cracks and suffering needlessly.

Assemblyman Dinowitz chairs a hearing on Co-Occurring Disorders with Assemblyman Peter Rivera, Chairman of the Committee on Mental Health

The committee is currently reviewing the testimony from the dozens of experts who presented at the hearing, and it is clear that legislation to help improve the services provided to persons with co-occurring disorders will result.