1. Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service sends out the word 3. Silent Treatment reporters in the spotlight
The release of the Silent Treatment newspaper series is quickly approaching, and by now most editors across the country have received information about its Aug. 2 distribution from KRT News Service’s special site. If there is any way we can help support your efforts to get the series published locally or to help generate local story ideas, please send us an email.
A new feature on the Silent Treatment homepage, Worth a Click, features quick links to innovative Web sites and news and announcements from the field. The features change weekly, so if you have a Web site or news you’d like to share, just send us an email.
3. Silent Treatment reporters in the spotlight Our next featured reporter for the Silent Treatment newspaper series is Sara Solovitch. Sara is an award-winning magazine writer whose stories have appeared in Esquire, Wired and Outside. She has been a staff reporter at several newspapers, including the Philadelphia Inquirer, and for six years wrote a weekly column, "Kids' Health," for the San Jose Mercury News. She teaches journalism to graduate students in the Science Communication program at the University of California Santa Cruz, where she lives with her husband, journalist Richard Scheinin, and their three sons, Benjamin, Max and Jessie.
Here’s a summary of what our story on disparity will cover:
Women: Though men still far outnumber them in arrests for drug-related crimes, women now represent the fastest growing prison population nationwide for drug offenses. In 1996, the number of female state and federal inmates in jail for drug crimes grew at nearly double the rate of males. According to the Women’s Prison Association, the growth “corresponds directly to the mandatory minimum sentencing laws in effect since the early 1970s. Since more women are convicted for non-violent, drug-related crimes than for any other, these sentencing policies have had a particularly profound effect on women.” And specialized treatment is hard to come by. “Many women say it’s easier to wind up in prison than to get treatment,” says Malika Saada Saar, executive director of The Rebecca Project for Human Rights, a national advocacy group. “Treatment programs are turning women away because they have children. Or they’re pregnant.”
In the courts:
As a longtime crack addict from Lexington, Ky., George Moorman was one
more black male being churned through America’s criminal justice system
until one day in 1997, when he came before a drug court judge for
stealing a camcorder. “He decided to put me in the drug court program—he
told me I was too intelligent to go to the penitentiary,” recalls
Moorman, who, at 54, just earned a doctorate in educational psychology
from the University of Kentucky. “I’d already made the decision to
change. But saying you’re going to make a change doesn’t mean you’re
going to do it. You have to have the support.” A difficult task, as
increasingly harsher sentencing mandates have stacked the numbers
against African American men, resulting in prisons becoming the largest
treatment centers in the country. Sponsor, Recovery Coach, Addiction Counselor: The Importance of Role Clarity and Role Integrity, by Bill White, describes the roles of those providing treatment and recovery supports. Click here for a pdf.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Co-Occurring Center for Excellence (COCE) has just released the first of a series of brief publications for treatment professionals on co-occurring mental and substance abuse disorders. They include: Overarching Principles to Address the Needs of Persons with Co-Occurring Disorders Definitions and Terms Relating to Co-Occurring Disorders Screening, Assessment, and Treatment Planning for Persons with Co-Occurring Disorders Click here for more info.
The list of events being organized for National Recovery Month continues to build. If you haven’t already done so, add to their calendar.
The 48th Annual International Conference of Young People in Alcoholics Anonymous takes place June 29–July 2, 2006, in New Orleans.
Please forward this newsletter to friends and colleagues who may be interested in addiction treatment and recovery issues. Send details on coming events, successful projects, new findings or useful ideas to share to mailto:sroff@pajournalism.com. If you missed past issues, visit the archive section at http://www.silenttreatment.info/enewsletters.htm. To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to the same address, including the word “unsubscribe” in the subject line.
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