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Assistance For A Substance Abuse Issue Is Available, Affordable and Easily Accessible
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Everyone is affected by alcohol or other drug abuse, either directly or indirectly, at some point during their life. In the most severe cases, substance abuse can tear families apart. Many clients reach out to us after the breakdown of a relationship, a financial crisis, or a life-changing event that opens their eyes to the ways in which their substance use has affected them.
In 2016, IMPACT delivered alcohol and drug screening, consultation, assessment and referral services to over 7,000 people, making us the largest nonprofit provider of these services in Wisconsin.
Alcohol and drug abuse professionals are available by phone to talk through the situation with individuals concerned about themselves or a loved one. We help identify if a substance abuse problem exists; assess the severity; assemble a plan of action; and connect clients with resources. Our approach includes a mental health component because these issues are often co-occurring.
When appropriate, clients are referred to a Milwaukee County Access Point for Treatment where AODA professionals conduct a comprehensive substance abuse screening to determine eligibility for education, counseling, treatment and recovery support services. IMPACT serves as a designated Access Point and makes all determinations based solely on the needs of the individual.
Why The Opiate Epidemic is Worse Than All Others
"IMPACT has been in the trenches for nearly 60 years so we have seen epidemics come and go. LSD, Cocaine, Crack, Inhalants, Meth, you name it," John Hyatt, IMPACT President & CEO, explained. "What's different about the opiate epidemic is the lethality of the stuff on the streets. One dose can kill you because there's no way of knowing exactly what you're taking."
In Milwaukee County, there were 148 heroin-related deaths last year, more than triple the number of deaths that occurred in 2011. There were an additional 97 fentanyl-related deaths compared with just 16 in 2011. In 2016, drugs killed nearly as many people in Milwaukee as homicides, suicides and car crashes combined.
Last year, 60 percent of callers seeking AODA assistance identified as using opiates or heroin. Many of them became addicted following a legitimate use of pain killers. Patients are often unaware of, or willing to, overlook the high risk of forming a dependence on something that is prescribed by a physician. Well-intentioned recent improvements in prescription guidelines have complicated matters. As prescriptions run out and refills are refused, those individuals trying to avoid withdrawal are forced to pay street value for pain killers, which is much higher than the street value of heroin, fentanyl, or other illicit synthetic opioids flooding our community. The leap to a cheaper, more accessible form of opiate is having deadly consequences.
IMPACT is hosting Higher Ground... The Opiate Epidemic on September 13th to raise support for our role in helping people take the first step toward regaining stability. For more information, please visit our events page. To make an online donation, please click here.
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Integration of Mental Health Screening into Substance Abuse Assessment Aims to Reduce DUI
IMPACT served as one of six pilot sites in the country to implement a new, comprehensive diagnostic tool that identifies major mental health disorders, in addition to substance abuse disorders, in clients convicted of Driving Under the Influence (DUI).
DUI offenders traditionally receive alcohol education or interventions that focus solely on substance use. Repeat offenders are typically referred to treatment that focuses specifically on substance use. Yet, in a benchmark study, 45% of repeat DUI offenders were found to have a lifetime major mental health disorder. The failure to identify mental illness misses an opportunity to treat a possible root cause of offending.
Screening and assessment for co-occurring substance abuse / mental health disorders has, generally, not been performed because appropriate instruments haven't been available. For approximately six years, IMPACT's screening process has included a Mental Health and Trauma Symptom Checklist. During the pilot's four-month time frame, IMPACT asked DUI clients to engage in a computer-guided self assessment of mental health issues prior to their court-mandated assessment.
Results of the mental health screening "confirmed what we already suspected," said Patricia Gutierrez, Director of IMPACT's alcohol and drug abuse services. "Some clients were initially surprised by the result; they didn't realize their depression or anxiety, for example, was that severe. It was an eye opener for them and they were receptive to hearing options that would help address whatever issues the screening tool revealed."
The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility is using information collected during the pilot, including our recommendations, to made modifications to the screening tool in advance of a national launch which will lead to better outcomes including an overall reduction in DUI.
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IMPACT receives Agency Research Collaboration Award from UW-Milwaukee
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John Hyatt, IMPACT President & CEO, at the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare Awards Banquet |
For more than 15 years, John Hyatt, and the alcohol and drug abuse services team at IMPACT have collaborated with the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare on various alcohol misuse intervention research projects.
Most recently, this partnership included a study funded by the UW-Milwaukee Graduate School that used the Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) model. IMPACT substance abuse counselors traveled to Aurora Sinai Medical Center to assist hospitalized patients in obtaining specialty alcohol treatment upon discharge. This study has resulted in a manuscript accepted for publication in the journal Social Work in Health Care.
In recognition of these successful collaborations, and to acknowledge IMPACT for serving as a field site for social work students over the years, the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare presented IMPACT with the Agency Research Collaboration Award.
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