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George Curry’s life moving to the big screen in Berwick

COMING FUNERALS

<p>Realistically, reducing the drug problem in Greater Wilkes-Barre and much of Luzerne County involves more than tossing users of heroin and other illicit substances in prison.</p><p>It also requires providing more recovery programs for area residents to enter &#8211; when and where they&#8217;re ready to begin coping with their addictions.</p><p>Jim Casey, longtime operator of a residential addiction-treatment facility for men in downtown Wilkes-Barre, knows better than most people about the region&#8217;s shortcomings in treatment options. He recently proposed the startup of an inpatient center for women with mental health and addiction disorders. It would be housed in Luzerne County&#8217;s former juvenile detention center.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re trying to do what we can to serve the needs of the community, rehabbing deteriorating structures and rehabbing people,&#8221; Casey said in a <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/585175/womens-halfway-house-proposed-for-former-county-juvenile-detention-center" target="_blank">recent Times Leader news article</a>. &#8220;We need to give women an opportunity to get their lives together.&#8221;</p><p>First, however, Casey must clear many hurdles &#8211; beginning with gaining the Luzerne County Council&#8217;s official OK for him to buy the long-vacant building. He has offered to pay $20,000 for the structure adjacent to the prison on Water Street. (The matter was expected to be discussed at Tuesday night&#8217;s council meeting, after this editorial had been written.)</p><p>Getting council&#8217;s approval might be the easy step.</p><p>Typically, any mention of &#8220;halfway house&#8221; or &#8220;recovery center,&#8221; as is the case with &#8220;methadone clinic,&#8221; stirs a speedy backlash among certain people living or working near the proposed project.</p><p>A callousness evident far too often in Northeastern Pennsylvania was reflected in a recently published letter to the editor: &#8220;Most of the time rehabilitation is a waste of money, because many keep going back to the drug or die. It might sound cruel, but we cannot afford these people any more.&#8221;</p><p>To the contrary, Michael Donahue, Luzerne County&#8217;s human services division head, has said: &#8220;Treatment does in fact work. If (participants) follow the recommendations, they have a chance at turning their lives around.&#8221;</p><p>During September, recognized as <a href="https://www.recoverymonth.gov/" target="_blank">National Recovery Month</a>, it&#8217;s important for each of us to hear, or share, personal success stories about the road to recovery.</p><p>Likewise, we can learn about local treatment programs, such as Casey&#8217;s 50-bed facility for men on South Main Street, the James A. Casey House. Beyond individual and group counseling, it offers its clients lessons in anger management, fiscal responsibility, food preparation and tai chi, according to information at <a href="http://www.jacaseyhouse.com/" target="_blank">jacaseyhouse.com</a>.</p><p>For the sake of our neighbors, co-workers and, in some cases, family members who become ensnared by drug addiction, we cannot disregard the area&#8217;s limited availability of treatment options.</p><p>We need to get real about recovery; we cannot just say no to proposed centers and clinics.</p><style>
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Our Opinion: Local addiction-recovery programs key to coping with NEPA drug problem