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Union County 's New Hope Center Community Advisory Board recently held its second quarter meeting at 41 Hospital Street in Blairsville, Ga. Many things were on the agenda including a report by Tom Watkins of New Hope Counseling.

The informal report stated that the goal of having the MATIX model in place by March 2006 is on course. Eleven clients have been referred and have been afforded treatment. The core staff is in place. Troy Beaver has been contracted to serve in a full-time position. Additionally, Jonathan Grizzle has been contracted to serve on a part-time basis. Other potential employees are in the process of negotiations for the positions of therapist and clerical support.

The report also stated that a target of 82 clients is the goal by the end of the first year. There has been a slow start but the pace of referrals is increasing. Watkins' report admitted that phone service and staffing issues have caused some complaints. However, corrective actions have been put in place.

Due to the amount of coverage in the media, the community has many preconceived notions about the treatment center. People should note that the MATRIX model is not a quick fix. It is an intensive outpatient program designed to operate from a baseline of nine hours of treatment per week ranging from 17 to 52 weeks. The report also explains, "Treatment will only receive a portion of the funds incorporated into the grant. The greater portion of funds is for services delivered by the local government and community service-based agencies. Building a program of this nature requires time and dedication ...hopefully; a continued collective effort by all parties involved will result in a quality program meeting the needs of clients and families who have associated with methamphetamines."

Kim Waters-Rose was present at the meeting. She told about attending a recent training and orientation session in Washington , D.C. Waters-Rose said that meth is getting a lot of attention in the nation's capitol. She told about various start-up challenges and gave examples of success stories from other programs around the nation.

Korrine Canas, from the University of Miami , spoke next. She told about collecting data and keeping track of results. There is a process in place that tracks how well the models are being followed. Canas explained the forms and satisfaction surveys. These data analysis reports are sent in to the Washington, D.C. offices.

Board member Judge Barrett requested a system that would report results based on referral sources. Canas, and everyone on the Board agreed that such a system should be implemented and is certainly possible in the near future.

Watkins added, "Our main goal right now is to get the people that need help in here for treatment. There are lots of ways to help meth addicts."

Troy Beavers was on hand to answer questions about day-to-day operations. He said that meth addicts are not looking for treatment...they're looking for more meth. This fact is sad but true. Beavers went on to explain that most of the clients are mandated from the court system, although a few are volunteer walk-ins. The main thing is that they show up. Walk-in clients need to see results so that they will want to stay in treatment. Some people do come in and say, "Help, I have a problem!" These are the ones that are ready for a change in their life and respond best to treatment.

The number one challenge is to get addicts to the clinic. The next challenge is to keep them in treatment for as long as it takes to make a difference. One interesting fact is that the visual centers of a meth addict's brain work fairly well. This means that visual stimuli like movies can be used as an effective teaching tool. (That's why there is a big screen TV in Blairsville's New Hope Center .)

Lamar Paris attended the meeting. He noted that in at least 50% of cases that the District Attorney sees, drugs are related.  Paris added that most other State and Federal agencies are seeing a rise in drug related problems and this causes a negative impact on individual communities.

Kim Water-Rose, and the New Hope staff, are available for speaking engagements. They are willing to attend your next meeting and give an informative Power point (slide show) presentation. She says, "Just let me know when and where."