Marshall calls on Council to Help Addicts

Marshall calls on Council to find help for addicts
By: Howard J. Castay, Jr.

Franklin – City of Franklin Marshall David McCoy called on the St. Mary Parish Council to consider opening an in-patient center in the parish to help alcohol and drug addicts.

“Drugs in our neighborhoods are getting worse. It’s not easy to quit. Who knows what people are going to out there and do when they can’t supply their habits anymore, because they’ve run out of money,” McCoy said.

The marshall told the parish council that he needs there help, because there is a three to six week wait for beds at area hospitals like the Fairview Treatment Center and Hospital in Bayou Vista.

McCoy also brought up the St. Mary Parish Drug Court which he said is a growing problem because it has exploded in size due to more of, “violators becoming victims of their own substance habit.”

“How do you tell people (who come to me for help) that are all messed up that they have to wait three weeks,” he asked. “I want all of you to come out with me late at night and see the drug problem in our neighborhoods. Drugs are now everyone’s problem. It’s funny how we can find funds to take of 30 to 40 people, but we can’t find any money to begin a program that tackles this growing problem.”

Andre Beverly, a recovering alcoholic, also spoke to the council. “I’ve been sober for 14 years. I’ve been trying to establish something here. A lot of things are happening in your neighborhoods that you don’t know about.”

Councilman Craig Matthews suggested parish officials meet with the Sheriff and other municipality leaders to see what could be done, and to seek help from outside the area.

“With more and more addicts, the state is being overwhelmed,” he said. “It will take a concerted effort, not just the council and the courts, and until communities think outside the box to address the problem and provide treatment, the problem will only grow.”

Matthews added state and federal help would be needed to address the problem.“There are grants we can apply for to mobilize people and have community programs,” he said. “But to have a permanent facility, we need to have this discussion in Baton Rouge and Washington, D.C.”

McCoy suggested the council consider the former Franklin Foundation Hospital, which the parish closed in 2007, to make way for a new facility.

However, the council ignored that suggestion and instead agreed to allow McCoy to set up a committee that includes parish officials, in an attempt to try and address the substance abuse concerns.

Built in 1952 with 50 beds over three floors, the former Franklin Hospital was down to just 20 beds and only one floor in operation when it closed. It is situated in a neighborhood, near Cynthia, Haifleigh, and King Streets.

Last fall, the council stamped the final approval needed to sell the former facility Franklin Foundation Hospital for $226,000 to Rukkus Properties, LCC. However, the sale fell through.

In 2008, between utilities, maintenance and insurance, the old hospital cost the parish $50,000 to maintain.