Stories
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Stories of the "Silent Treatment" series, sorted by topic. Download entire story package or download individual stories below. A Spanish translation of the story package is also available.
REPORTERS BIOS
REPORTERS-BIOS: Bios of the reporters who wrote the stories that appear in the "Silent Treatment: Addiction in America" series.
SILENT
From bottom to top: A family's
generational struggle to live with addictions
ADDICTION-SILENT: PAJ -- I am, at the least, a fourth-generation alcoholic. So is my wife Deirdre. Our 22-year-old- daughter, Carrick, is a recovering heroin addict.
To greater and lesser degrees, we functioned despite our illnesses, as many of you, or your loved ones, do today. More than 22 million of us older than 12 abuse or are dependent on alcohol or illegal drugs, according to government figures, and that's not counting prescription drug misuse, a rising crisis. Sixty-three percent of Americans say that addiction -- their own or another's -- has had an impact on their lives.
The market for mind-altering drugs is a lucrative one, indeed. But the money for treatment is harder to come by.
2000 by Thom Forbes PAJ. PHOTOS.
ADDICTION-SILENT-BREAKING: PAJ -- There is a long history in the recovery movement of what William L. White, author of "Slaying the Dragon: The History of Addiction Treatment and Recovery in America," calls "wounded healers" -- men and women who overcome their afflictions and then feel compelled to help others. 850 by Thom Forbes. PHOTOS. MOVED
ADDICTION-SILENT-RESOURCES: PAJ -- If you want to get sober, these books, movies and TV series can offer hope, a metaphysical pick-me-up and information. 900.
ADDICTION-SILENT-MYTHS:PAJ -- The top 10 addiction myths -- and myth busters. 900.
MEDICAL
Addiction treatment catching up with
groundbreaking brain and genetic research
ADDICTION-MEDICAL: PAJ -- Changing attitudes about drug addiction, treatment and recovery are starting to take hold. New and effective medications now suppress drug cravings. Hospitals and treatment centers are making stronger efforts to prevent people with addictions from falling through the cracks as they are passed between institutions. And physicians, hospitals and private clinics have learned that treatment also means setting the stage for a successful reentry into a life without drugs and alcohol.
The push is fueled by groundbreaking brain research in the late 1990s that indicates that addiction isn't driven by weak character, loose morals or lax discipline. While downing those first few drinks or pills may be a choice, studies indicate that, from there, genetics may take over for the one in two people who are predisposed to addiction. The discovery has led to a growing sense that a connect-the-dots approach is needed at every turn.
2000 by William Celis. PHOTOS. GRAPHIC.
ADDICTION-MEDICAL-COST: PAJ -- You've made the life-saving decision to go for help; now how do you pay for it? With 30 days of treatment running anywhere from $14,000 to $30,000, the cost can seem insurmountable for someone already in a shaky position to deal with high finance, red tape and insurance companies. 700 by William Celis. MOVED
ADDICTION-MEDICAL-GUIDE: PAJ -- How to choose a quality treatment program. 750 by William Celis.
ADDICTION-MEDICAL-VOICE: PAJ -- Spring is here, and Pierre, an otherwise successful 46-year-old businessman, has been out of treatment about a dozen weeks now. But his month at the McShin Foundation in Richmond, Va., a critical time during which he addressed his addictions, his health and his ghosts, is still fresh on his mind. 850 by William Celis.
ADDICTION-MEDICAL-RESOURCES: PAJ -- Contacts for treatment providers and services. 450.
YOUTH
The danger zone: 1.6 million addicted kids
shaping outside-the-box treatment strategies
ADDICTION-YOUTH: PAJ -- Of the 1.6 million young people between the ages of 12 and 18 with serious alcohol and drug problems, fewer than one in 10 receive treatment. Of the estimated 175,000 who do, only about 25 percent stay in treatment for three months, as recommended by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. And there is virtually no continuing care for teenagers who struggle to stay straight once back in the larger community.
The epidemic of drug and alcohol abuse among young people was until recently an invisible problem, either unrecognized, ignored or wishfully dismissed as too awful to be true. Today, the field is moving from an uninhabited backwater to a state-of-the-art discipline, with dozens of new federal grants, hundreds of published studies, promising new interventions and evaluated program outcomes. 2100 by Richard Scheinin. PHOTOS.
ADDICTION-YOUTH-SUCCESS: PAJ -- California's Santa Cruz County provides a pretty accurate snapshot of teens in the U.S. juvenile justice system: Eighty percent are involved with drugs. But that picture brightens considerably when a teen comes into the county's Alcohol and Drug Program, which has undergone major reform. 650 by Richard Scheinin.
ADDICTION-YOUTH-VOICE: PAJ -- Tony Landecker has two words tattooed on his back: "Never Forget." He was a child prodigy of substance abuse -- drunk, crack smoker, paint huffer. Now 23 and living in special housing for students in recovery at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, he is a believer in the 12 Steps. 1300 by Richard Scheinin. PHOTOS.
ADDICTION-YOUTH-GUIDE: PAJ -- First, take a deep breath: Tips to finding addiction treatment for your child. 800 by Richard Scheinin. PHOTOS.
ADDICTION-YOUTH-TEST: PAJ -- Check yourself: A test for teens. 500 by Richard Scheinin.
ADDICTION-YOUTH-RESOURCES: PAJ -- Contacts for adolescent and teen treatment and services. 550 by Richard Scheinin.
DISPARITY
With nearly 50 percent rise in drug-related arrests, women are the silent casualties of war on drugs
ADDICTION-DISPARITY: PAJ -- By most estimates, women are paying the highest price in America's war on drugs. Though men still far outnumber them in arrests for drug-related crimes, women now represent the fastest-growing prison population nationwide for drug offenses, growing at nearly double the rate of males. And specialized treatment is hard to come by.
1800 Sara Solovitch. PHOTOS.
ADDICTION-DISPARITY-WOMEN: PAJ -- When a man and a woman drink too much alcohol -- by far the most widely abused substance in the country -- they not only do it for different reasons, they also get different results. For 4.6 million women, that's just the start of their unique relationship with drink. During the past 10 years, segregated treatment has become a key to success, providing a more nurturing environment that encourages patients to open up and talk about the traumas that led them there. 950 by Sara Solovitch.
ADDICTION-DISPARITY-VOICE: PAJ -- For the first time in her 28 years, things are on track for Holly, a perky blonde and recent graduate of Fayette County Drug Court in Lexington, Ky., and a specialized women's aftercare treatment program. But this was her life before: "I was raised in an alcoholic home. My dad was very abusive to my mother growing up. After my dad left the house, I was molested, sexually abused, and raped -- all by a friend of the family." 1000 by Sara Solovitch.
ADDICTION-DISPARITY-RACIAL: PAJ -- Increasingly harsher sentencing mandates have stacked the numbers against African American men, resulting in prisons becoming the largest treatment centers in the country. 1250 by Sara Solovitch. PHOTOS.
ADDICTION-DISPARITY-RESOURCES: PAJ -- Contacts for support systems in navigating the criminal justice system. 350.
ADDICTION-DISPARITY-WOMRESOURCES: PAJ -- Contacts for women-specific programs. 150.
RECOVERY
The new activism: Addiction recovery prepares to move 'out of the basement' into public health arena
ADDICTION-RECOVERY: PAJ -- For a community of people -- believed to number in the millions -- who have learned to live with their addictions, overcoming an age-old silence is the next big challenge. A small but growing group of activists bubbling up from national, state and local recovery groups are hoping to end discrimination against addicts, drumming up moral and financial support by modeling their efforts after the public awareness campaigns that pushed breast cancer and AIDS onto the country's radar screen. The new recovery movement is part of a sprawling underground network as diverse as addiction itself, united in its goal to make addiction a public health issue. 2500 by Jodi Mailander Farrell. PHOTOS.
ADDICTION-RECOVERY-VOICE: PAJ -- Angela Lee's sobriety date -- Dec. 20, 2000 -- is embedded in her memory, like a birthday or a wedding anniversary. It's the day her body shut down from chronic alcohol poisoning. For Angela, 54, it was the beginning of a difficult, dangerous journey she will be on until the day she dies. It's called recovery. 2200 by Jodi Mailander Farrell. PHOTOS.
ADDICTION-RECOVERY-GUIDE: PAJ -- The first year of recovery is the most perilous. Some tips for beginners or those trying again. 750 by Jodi Mailander Farrell.
ADDICTION-RECOVERY-PATHS: PAJ -- Recovery road gets a little smoother with groups, support and financial aid catering to all backgrounds, walks of life and beliefs. 850 by Jodi Mailander Farrell. PHOTOS.
ADDICTION-RECOVERY-RESOURCES: PAJ--A list of recovery groups, programs and services. 650.
