Mission 'Turning the Tide' session focused on treatment

By Maggie Plummer

ST. IGNATIUS — The sixth in a series of "Turning the Tide" meetings was held on Friday evening, April 20, at the St. Ignatius Tribal Senior Center.

Approximately 22 people enjoyed a spaghetti dinner and then tossed around ideas on how to better prevent and treat substance abuse on the Flathead Reservation.

The session was one of seven community outreach meetings offered by the Tribes' Department of Human Resource and Development Alcohol and Substance Abuse Program, along with other agencies. The idea is to educate everyone about the dangers and devastation of substance abuse, and to receive much-needed feedback from community members on what to do about it.

Turning the Tide is a two-year grant project to step up prevention efforts as well as increase treatment and aftercare options.

Program Manager Shaunda Albert, in her opening remarks at the St. Ignatius meeting, pointed out that "Lake County is number one in the nation for DUIs (for its population)." She also noted that the Mission community has been hit especially hard recently, with a tragic series of underage-drinking-related deaths.

As Shaunda has traveled throughout the Reservation's communities visiting with people about substance abuse, "the issue that keeps coming up...is the need for a treatment facility here on the reservation," she said. "Right now, there's no option to keep kids on the reservation for treatment."

Many of those who attended the meeting commented that there needs to be much better availability of prompt, urgently-needed treatment. "It's critical to get them in when you can," one person said.

The meeting included presentations from the Lake County Chemical Dependency Program, the Wild Horse Youth Ranch Proposal, and the Coalition for Kids.

DHRD Head Arlene Templer commented that DHRD would be reporting back to the Tribal Council with information from the meetings and the public surveys people have been filling out. She encouraged everyone about the "huge potential" for an on-reservation treatment facility. "There is a lot of grant money out there," she added. "We visited a ranch near St. Ignatius, the Amish place where the Dinner Bell Bakery and Restaurant used to be."

Renee Running Rabbit of the Lake County Chemical Dependency Program spoke to the gathering, outlining some of the problems that agency encounters: long, long waiting lists for treatment; chemically dependent people not showing up for appointments; resistance from parents and guardians; and difficulty getting people into treatment when they are not in the criminal justice system.

Bob Pearson of Plains and his partner Dell Jones of Thompson Falls, both of whom have attended every Turning the Tides meeting, outlined their Wild Horse Youth Ranch proposal. It would not be difficult to set it up, they said. They would get the staff established and after two or three years they would move on, they pointed out.

They have been trying for two years to get their youth ranch proposal off the ground here, they said, and they have not had much response. "The drug dealers are working 24/7," they added. "We need to be as actively involved as they are."

One woman talked about a drug house in her neighborhood, and said she's been warned to keep her mouth shut.

One of the Turning the Tide project's stated key objectives is identifying, apprehending, and prosecuting those who illegally transport, distribute and use alcohol and controlled substances in tribal communities.

Shaunda again distributed public surveys for people to fill out, and encouraged everyone to use the survey to express their true feelings about what she calls "this growing epidemic" of substance abuse.

For more information, or to get a survey, contact Shaunda at 675-2700 ext. 1087. Her e-mail address is shaundaa@cskt.org