Alcoholism Part II; Images/Imagenes

In the first part of the series for Natalee's mom all Hispanics were described as the third major cause of death in our community. Each and every member of the funny this is especially true for Hispanics. Therefore it is very important to fully understand the need for the active participation of the family during the therapy and treatment especially trying to control and cope with another addictive substances. Which are people who look at them. It doesn't run into problems for most of them. Why.

This individual participating during the treatment center specifically designed for drug work during the day. Patients have the opportunity to express their feelings and complaints about the treatment. It is important to note that they call themselves a family in which they play the role of a brother or sister in this way patients utilize each other our support systems are starting a new life.

I feel for me to be here is very important for my survival to live because I never took my life serious and this is the first time you have been in this treatment program that I have something to live for and something to go bang some day help me to learn and that I can apply for the rest of my youth. This is a school on the streets 20 years here. You know like a family you know brothers you sisters are standing trial you know most of what you know you still want to see. That would to my editorial to. Me that over there all it does for them. Senator Santorum on the economy I don't know if you. Can want to find the bad

guy somewhere when I get to where. The treatment has to be tailored to the specific needs of each individual and therefore I need counseling service is important to the term in the Mossad recovery program to follow the recovery program can begin until the person recognizes the problem and accepts the need for help. We have so many ways of denying that professionals deny it. Working in the field the same as the individuals that they treat deny the illness and our goal in this division is to begin to get to the alcoholism at the earliest possible stage of intervention and to begin to to make some very appropriate decisions that that have to do with is it affecting your job then fine. If it is we're going to give you an opportunity to keep your job but you got to do something about your drinking. Is it affecting your driving. If you want to keep your driving license your privileges in the

state then you have to do something about your drinking problem or you walk to work. Is it affecting some of the relationships you have with a kid 65 percent of the child abuse directly attributable to a drinking parent. 80 percent of the battered wives directly attributable to the drinking spouse. Then you're going to do something to correct that drinking problem. We're going to do everything we can to to separate you from your family and that sounds a little heavy early on. But if our society were to take some very firm and and some very consistent responses to an individual's drinking problem in the community then I think we will receive a tremendous amount of problems long before they reach the chronic and very serious stage and it's not like you know what also has a life. They want to have what I want to go. Thank you no

problem has reached an advanced stage. The first step in the rehabilitation process is detoxification in New Jersey. There are two types of detoxification centers run medical attention for the treatment of many health disorders caused by alcoholism. The other offer psychological support during the withdrawal process. I think i seen as rather than one but I think again being unfriendly but I'm OK. But I've been the question when I was a grandmother. Yeah and also the medic I'm seeing at the moment of the campus and take as many as you well know. You can look at past her granddaughter mean an associate there I know I read the sinister Center OK. The player said that he had a US thing. Nurses are going we're going to give you a grandmother. They really don't see him giving us in the brain to actually hear OK and those are the easy you're

seeing that I'm really into your back I see a lot but I'm a day. I causally go and only look at his new general meeting you know centers that I really doesn't get any simpler they can say you know God is on their you can't they're equal to dally billing work up with I said we love the sea There's a lot is not. I would I mean at the moment of the employer then I place on the planet. That's all in the game which you know bring along INGLIS I don't program I gave no get up I could get enough for your city because I am a cooler. But OSA program I don't know that they saw that a month ago and I would I consider it. It's. Like a condo so they say on the way panel. Explain a little bit about the outreach programs you have in the jail system component.

Basically it does most of the recruitment work for the program and the bulk of our referrals are basically from the criminal justice system. A lot of our work is done within the courts and within the state penal institutions and county situations. And who is our recruiter goes into the jails and does all the interviews and evaluations in the jail to determine whether or not a person is appropriate for our services if they are then at that point we come back and we would write up a letter and send it to the courts requesting that they allow this individual to come into our program and what we have to offer this individual Another alternative for the judge to use instead of incarceration which is just going to play a very important subpoena situation very overcome. Here again they go into an apartment that treatment system could last two years depending on the individual's growth pattern. If we have a 12 month. Time limit to work with and. Put together a vocational unit comprising a ceramics department

a woodworking carpentry department and an auto body and mechanic department we also wash cars. One of the reasons for that was because of the severe cutbacks that were coming down. We need to find a way to be able to supplement some of the loss and. We came up with this idea and it seems to be working pretty well at this point. Block Grants are coming down all the money. Well we're finding is that it's very difficult to find a pure alcoholic these days. And what we're getting is a lot of poly substance abuse with a combination of drugs and alcohol together. I see that you're now funding specifically to address and it's an opportunity to address the needs of our publics. Is there any reason why. There's not I can't tell you I don't know I really don't know. One of the problems we've had with when you talk about drug programs treating

alcoholism is that for some reason or another drug programs traditionally and I can't say this for all of them have failed to recognize that if you're an alcoholic you can't drink. It's almost encouraged by some of the staff it's seen as well you can't take illegal drugs beliefs you can drink and might my philosophy on the next here when addict in the next recovering alcoholic. You just. Don't get involved with any kind of drugs or any kind of medication. If you're an alcoholic if you're a recovering drug addict the chances are that you shouldn't be drinking either chemical abuse is chemical abuse substance abuse all across the line. I'm positive. That the drug programs have the kind of staff and certainly cure has the kind of staff that would be able to treat alcoholism. We were working with them to to try to help them change their

program so that they could treat alcoholism and receive third party payment in the mainstream. A lot of that fell through when they began to realize that most of the people they saw didn't have third party insurance. We didn't have funding at the time to help them set up a separate alcoholism program per seat is. The only program in the state of New Jersey that specifically funded. To serve the Hispanic alcoholic. Our program nevertheless is an outpatient program. And there are other treatment modalities which are necessary and. The treatment for an alcoholic for example if I have a person who comes in who is intoxicated I can refer him to a detox center and usually short term seven days. After that most alcoholics need further treatment or rehabilitate Taisha in 21 days 28 days the fact that in the state of New Jersey there is not

any. Program geared towards Hispanics that can provide that service. The chances for for recovery are less for the Hispanic alcoholic. What are your choices when for example you get somebody that does not speak English. What is your choice for rehab imitation. Why don't have many choices. Tell her the truth. Yeah they said that I might go for it just not dealing with it so now I sing about the ending in me. Look at the sun. It's very evident. That. That process of accessing services. And being retained in services is the weakest link in. Large

catchment areas. I mean there are many in New Jersey and New York where it's only about maybe 50 60 percent of the population living in a particular catchment area may be Latino. Well how come you're good. There isn't that reflection in the service programs. The only money that has been allocated for Hispanic programs per se it's the one located in the list have a procedure a total of $18000. And we all know that the Hispanic population in the center of the jersey it's approximately 8 percent of the hue of the population. We also know that there is a higher incidence of alcoholism in the Latino population. What those $18000 represents for such a large population with such a high incidence I think that it represents a tokenism if you wish to keep their voices down. I think that they will argue that we just don't have enough money to to go about. I think some of the facilities that you're referring to I'm very familiar with them where you have an individual a Hispanic who. Does not talk and English someone who came here from

another country who might be if he's a Puerto Rican For example he might be a citizen of the of the United States already when he arrives and then. And United States those individuals who need inpatient treatment specially what's called the intermediate care which usually runs around 28 to 30 days. In those existing facilities some of those inpatient facilities will point blank say I'm sorry we cannot serve that individual we don't have the proper staff you know who is our service provider. The provider who they call say 1 come here 1 we need to do this intake interview with the secretary when any program brings in a secretary to interpret. For a doctor or some social worker an intake worker. Realize that they are breaking the laws of confidentiality because here is this patient now revealing his life secretary treatment person for she can interpret.

They don't happen to have an interpreter who was a porter or a clerk typist or somebody they can get from another department. We sometimes bring our children with us and I have observed especially when I was doing the data collection for the study that our children do come with us when you know they serve as interpreters for years it's an important role that they play when we don't manage the language and they think nothing of having a 13 year old son in a room with his father who is 40 45 years old and answering some of the personal extremely sensitive questions that I think destroys this man's sense of himself. I mean if you understood. Right.

We talk of bilingual bicultural staff we do not talk we do not mean a secretary we don't mean one counsellor. We are talking about having a psychologist a social worker a doctor. We're talking about a recreation therapist we're talking about at all different modalities of treatment that exist in a service can people offer to the Latino and Spanish. I'm very defensive at times when we look at the very limited direct funding that we provide to one single Hispanic agency. Indicating that the rest of our funding goes into the mainstream and we're trying to make the mainstream more more credible. And yet those are some of the same individuals that I have difficulty in convincing. That indeed there is something very unique and different about Hispanic people and the only way to really begin to change that attitude is through the hiring practice. And if you look at our private rehabilitation programs in the state it's a

disaster. I don't know of in any of our private rehab programs and we don't have the authority to change this. Were any of them have the direct access to Spanish speaking cancers. And I think that's something that we're going to confront through the licensing standards as we continue to find it. It's almost an impossibility to use influence and good will to make changes and sometimes you have to use some authority in the state in order to make that happen. In the northeast region of the United States from the rehab center located to the 11th floor of this building specially designed for. You. You.

Made yourself. You're. Not going to. Be Worse. I still. Remember. Many of you. Are still. Around. Now if you saw. The. Video. Via the media. There I was on my. Side. Really Are. You. Going to say I. Want This is your. Way at the. Moment I don't know to say it I don't know if it's becoming I don't know if it'll be a lot of time in human time and that of the whole of humanity. Because of the way I'm going to get. The bananas are going to go down on the market I mean from what I know you know

in dealing with. Latino. It is important that someone understand. Their culture. It's important that somebody understands their language. You know there are certain words for example not being a Latino There are certain words that I understand in Spanish and I understand the meaning of them. But as I understand them it's quite different. Than someone from the culture that means a totally different thing has a different symbolic meaning your friend treatment you have to know some cultural things that will impact on treatment. All right for example a client my Hispanic client will come in for an intake interview and we look down. All right not to face the person doing the interview in the American culture. Somebody was in on the Spanish culture right away my say. This individual is withdrawn. This individual maintains poor eye contact a flight aspect. They call these clinical interpretations.

That have nothing to do in reality what's going on in the Hispanic culture to look down to sign of respect in front of authority and little cultural things like this which are not known by individuals might lead to incorrect diagnosis and correct clinical treatment. And you put it just behind an individual right away it's like I'm a doctor I'm above you and the person might not relate as comfortable as those barriers are there. Traditionally For example we've been taught in school professionals. If a. Gift is given. To a therapist not to accept that gift. Right because that gift might be right trying to buy off a therapist. That gift might be that the client is trying to express something that he's unable to express readily so he does it through a gift you know professionals are thought to not accept the gift. You do that with a Hispanic client and that trust. That barrier. You're establishing right there. Some of the straightest feel that they have to know everything.

And they have to be experts in everything. That's not true. Some of the things for example that Julio was was talking to you about in terms of the culture. For example the looking down. Of a client which demonstrates respect. I was one of those clinicians where if a client came to me and looked down on my little piece of paper I would say poor eye contact and secure individual. Something was going on. So I had to be open to learn. And it's important that other administrators open themselves up so they can learn not only from their own staff. But from the clients who want to teach. And the clients are the people who will teach you the most if you will listen to about. The individuals working with Angle patients have to work to motivate the family to come into treatment to support they're going to into Al-Anon to support the client going into AA. It's part of a difficult job whereas with Latinos we are there. We are

available. Yet. The systems are set up in a way where that part of the culture becomes a nuisance becomes a burden becomes excess luggage becomes something that you know is more problematic than it is seen as a resource. And that's another thing. So that next next year. I teach the Hispanics and alcoholism course that there were some school alcoholism studies. I have the opportunity not only teach the course but to do a couple small seminars. I've decided that that next year seminar is going to be called you lose them in the waiting room that the Latino alcoholic the family is a very honorable. For the patient. But the family might not be available for treatment. Because they don't really believe that. Their member a family member is suffering from alcoholism. They will believe that they're suffering from. Liver problems that they're suffering from nervous problems that they're suffering from under my nutrition. All right. They will look at all the physical effects. The heavy drinking causes and they will blame

those physical effects as the problem. They will not look at alcoholism as course those effects and part of it is that family that cultural denial of alcoholism how often does our therapy start a family. Can I see them are four o'clock. The family doesn't arrive at 4 o'clock. But at 5 o'clock the family of rice for food for the patient. Therapist will wait around till dinner time when the family comes in to socialize with the patient and grab an opportunity to try to bring the patient in to treat. Alcoholism the center says that cannot be cured and therefore you requires a continuous self support system. Alcoholics Anonymous is one of the most successful programs. We're here in Trenton the United progress incorporated center for Spanish AA meetings take place every Wednesday. If you are an alcoholic and you stop drinking today and pick it up 25 years in a day. It will be worse. Than when you left off. There's there's no getting around it you are an alcoholic till the day you die. And it's really got to be

addressed in that way. Sometimes I refer to it as a medication. It's like a. Pressure that was something you do to maintain your sobriety sobriety alcoholism is a life threatening disease. Mark are you going to do a little. You only know me I don't know you know you feel a whole different feeling like going no want to undermine I mean going to feel free and we'll get over it as I you know I thought of the running back of the one looking minute of that's when you know an article of you know the world every time you simply mean they you know I'm going to try to you know like Arsenal very local. That's inside. Looking out at the media you book you're going to tell us your nickel but NBC didn't win and become the Emmy 90 and I see that a lot of. Alcoholism is certainly not an acceptable way of living in our society. But abstinence

from alcohol obviously represent a new life for many alcoholics. We conclude this special report with the hope that the innovative program some research project specially the sign for the Latino population be implemented. And remember everyone deserves a second chance. This program was made possible in part by a grant from the Victoria

Foundation a.