Area Drug Treatment Plan Pushed

With rapid w o r k and a little luck Washtenaw County could have a major public program for treating hard drug addiction by February. Community Mental Health officials, who last week took over sponsorship of a. grant seeking $110,000 in federal funds for such a program, are fighting a deadline of Thursday for submission of the grant. The hardest part of putting together the grant ended yesterday when Dr. Philip Margolis, director of the mental health center, received the final commitment needed to raise $45,000 in local funds to attract an additional $65,000 from the government. The Board of Commissioners Health, Education and Welfare Committee yesterday afternoon endorsed the grant and recommended the appropriation of $14,300 needed to reach the $45,000 figure. Dr. Margolis told the commissioners he has already received verbal commitments from the city's Model Cities program for $17,500, from the Mental Health Board for $12,500, and from Ann Arbor for $1,000. The commissioners then recommending appropriating the additional $14,000. The grant originally started out under the sponrsorship of the city and in conjunction with a drug program being run by the Summit St. Medical Center uuder Dr. Jerry Walden and Dr. Edward Pierce. The Mental Health Center took over sponsorship from the city last ThursIday. Dr. Margolis said the Walden-Pierce program would still be an important part of the project. And while generally ap-I proving the grant, Dr. Margolis addedl he was concerned because the program I may cali for too much reliance on thel drug methadone and not enough on men-l tal health supportive services. If the federal funds are received, tl vvill mean the difference in the mental I health center ha ving a program for about I 210 patients instead of between five and I 25, Dr. Margolis said. The program will I include patients being treated by the I Walden-Pierce project, plus many 1 ceiving no treatment now. In recommending the $14,000 1 propriation yesterday, the commissioners I seemed miffed at city officials for only I pledging $1,000. Dr. Margolis said the I city officials had claimed the Model I Cities money included their funds. Cmsr. Bent F. Nielsen of Ann Arbor, however, warned that the public should not be misled to believe it was the city giving the $17,500. "In a short while we'll have politicians campaigning for office (City Council), and they'll probably try to claim the city gave the $17,500 for the drug program. But that is Model Cities' money, not the city's," he said. If the grant is received, it will eventually become part of a comprehensive drug treatment program being developed by mental health officials. David Skjonsby, who is coordinating the comprehensive plan, said another grant application will be submitted to the government in March for the total program. He said the March grant will include proposals from agencies throughout the county for a coordinated drug treatment and recovery effort.