It seems that not a day goes by without being hit with depressing news regarding our economy. Radio, television, and print constantly remind us that times are tough and that despite an economic stimulus package being ushered through by congress, our economic troubles are far from over. In light of our struggling economy, the public seems to be "trimming the fat" from their family budgets in order to ride out this economic storm. Unfortunately, one of the expenses that seems to be suffering from family budget cutbacks is money that was earmarked for drug intervention services and addiction treatment.

The problem with cutting out drug intervention and addiction treatment from the family budget is that the addiction problem does not simply vanish. It is a progressive disease and, generally speaking, over time the addiction gets worse. People die from addiction. In view of the consequences of addiction, the question families need to ask themselves is whether they really want to deny intervention services and drug treatment for a friend or family member suffering from drug addiction.

The good news is that if you are among the millions of families out there trimming the family budget and you have a friend or family member who is suffering from drug addiction, there are ways to provide help without draining the budget.

On the drug treatment front, there are state and county programs available that offer either free or low cost drug treatment services. You may find yourself spending hours on the phone tracking down such facilities, but it will be time well spent once you find an available facility. Try contacting your county Department of Health and Human Services for county funded drug treatment facilities. Another great resource is your local Salvation Army. If you do not receive information you need from these resources, do not get off the phone until you get a referral to some other agency that might provide the help you are looking for.

If you need to facilitate a drug intervention to get your loved one into treatment please call me at 866 534 4443 and I'll be happy to explain the drug intervention process, costs involved, and some of the challenges involved in a drug intervention. If you feel that hiring a drug interventionist is beyond your financial resources call me anyway and I'll be happy to point you in the right direction. You may be able to facilitate a drug intervention on your own. There are excellent resources out there to help you. You might try reading up on the subject first. Debra and Jeff Jay have authored an excellent book on the subject entitled Love First. Another excellent book appropriately entitled Intervention was authored by Vernon Johnson who was one of the early pioneers of drug interventions.

Although the reading materials on the subject of drug interventions are an excellent resource, the process of facilitating a drug intervention on your own, without any prior experience, can be daunting. Think of a person trying to change a head gasket on an engine block without any mechanical experience. There may be engine repair manuals to help you along the way, but you are bound to have many questions that may not be addressed in the manual. In that regard, several years ago I created a service that I call "Do it yourself Interventions." This is a service I provide to families who need intervention services but do not have the resources to hire an intervention specialist to come out and facilitate the process from the beginning to end. I provide all of the materials needed for the intervention along with several hours of phone consultation to help families walk through the process at a fraction of the cost.

The bottom line is that addiction should not be ignored despite the economic costs associated with drug intervention and drug treatment. The problem of addiction will continue, and, more than likely, will get worse.