Official says Oklahoma’s addiction treatment services fail to meet needs

Terri White, commissioner for the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, said Friday that although the state was gradually increasing its level of services to those suffering from drug and alcohol addiction, many adults and adolescents are still not receiving timely or adequate treatment.
“On any given day, we have between 600 and 900 (addicts) looking for a residential treatment bed; 150 of them are adolescents,” she said. “On any given day, we have pregnant women on the waiting list.”
White was the featured speaker at the Second Annual Southern Oklahoma Alcohol and Drug Summit at the Ardmore Convention Center. The event was sponsored by the Carter County Health Department and the Ardmore Area Prevention Resource Center. The Southern Oklahoma Memorial Foundation and the Ardmore Tourism Department provided support for the event. Public health educator Judy Cavnar said 288 people attended the one-day summit.
The scope of the state’s abuse and addiction problem is daunting.
“Approximately, 10 percent of our youth are dependent upon or abuse illicit drugs or alcohol,” she said. “Only 6 percent of Oklahoma youth who need substance abuse treatment are receiving services.”
White said addiction is as treatable as a physical illness.
“There is a huge stigma around this issue. There is a lot of shame in this disease,” she said. “We don’t ever say that about diabetes or asthma.”
The commissioner thanked Sen. Johnnie Crutchfield, who attended the event, for his support in the legislature.
Workshop presenters included District Attorney Craig Ladd, Dr. Stephen E. Grissom and Robert Wilkins of the Office of Juvenile Affairs, Morning Star residents, mothers of adolescents involved in drug and alcohol abuse and law enforcement experts.
Karina Forrest, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness Oklahoma, said that her organization advocates for all those stricken by mental illness and addiction.
“Addiction touches virtually every area of your life and other lives,” she said. “It is time we support prevention for mental illness and addiction.”
Forrest and other speakers cited the Adverse Childhood Experience Study that links traumatic childhood events and family dysfunctions, such as physical abuse and household substance abuse, with adult mental and physical illness and criminal behavior. The ACE Study indicates the more adverse childhood experiences a person suffers, the more likely they will adopt unhealthy behaviors as adults.
Steve Biehn, 221-6546
steve.biehn@ardmoreite.com