GRANTS AIM TO CURB SERIOUS SOCIAL PROBLEMS

Rising heroin use among young adults, adolescent drug and alcohol
abuse, and childhood obesity are three problems in MetroWest
highlighted by a nonprofit group's latest round of grants to schools
and social service providers.

Increasing heroin abuse "is an issue that everyone's struggling
with...across the entire Framingham community," said Ellen
Bruder-Moore, director of behavioral health services at South
Middlesex Opportunity Council.

SMOC was one of 22 local groups and government agencies that
received grants from the MetroWest Community Health Care Foundation,
which recently distributed $1.3 million as part of its
ongoing mission to bolster health services in the region. Some of
the largest grants address concerns about substance abuse, as well
as poor eating habits and physical inactivity among youth.

Genesis Counseling Services in downtown Framingham, for example,
received $210,000 to expand outpatient treatment to those ages 12 to
17 with drug or alcohol problems.

The Holliston school system was given $100,000 to target risky
behavior linked to mental health problems, including substance abuse.

The foundation also awarded nearly $300,000 to three groups
attempting to prevent childhood obesity in Framingham. That includes
$75,000 for Framingham High School to keep a wellness center with
exercise equipment open at night; $50,000 for the MetroWest YMCA to
boost after-school programs that promote nutrition and fitness; and
$150,000 over three years for the Trustees of Boston University to
work with Framingham school nurses to help parents make healthy food
choices. "If you really want to deal with the obesity issue, you
have to talk with the people who buy the food," said the foundation
president, Martin Cohen. SMOC was awarded $55,000 to expand a
residential program that treats people ages 18 to 24 who are
recovering from addictions to heroin and other narcotics. The
program, for people who have been sober at least a month, already
provides counseling and case management services to help former drug
abusers find jobs and housing. The grant will allow SMOC to
provide an additional service called dialectical behavioral therapy,
which helps people respond to stress in positive ways, instead of
turning to drugs. "Our biggest goal is to decrease the potential for
relapse, to help these kids redirect themselves into more
positive behavior," Bruder-Moore said. Genesis Counseling Services
was awarded a $210,000 three-year grant to start an outpatient
program for substance abusers ages 12 to 17 who are connected
to Genesis via the juvenile court system, public schools or the
Department of Social Services. Although located in Framingham, the
new program is available to kids throughout MetroWest. It provides
group and individual counseling twice a week for 13 weeks, five
random drug tests, and two family sessions.

It is a good alternative for adolescents who need substantial care,
but not a residential service, said the clinical director, Lisa
Robideau. "Up until this point, your only options in this area for
treatment was to come to an agency like ours once a week, or go to a
residential program.

You didn't have a lot of in-between (options)," she said. Clinicians
at Genesis Counseling Services have treated some kids who abuse
prescription drugs, but the main problems among adolescents are
alcohol and marijuana, said Executive Director Bill Horne. In some
cases, adolescents with undiagnosed attention deficit disorder use
marijuana to medicate themselves since the drug can slow their
brains down to a normal speed, Horne said. "The use of marijuana
slows them down so they feel kind of normal," Horne said. "I had a
client say one time, 'My teacher says I do better work when I smoke.'"