Ellington

A Jackson alcohol and drug treatment facility that houses approximately 28 patients without insurance or ability to pay for treatment is expected to close its doors tomorrow.

Board members of Country Oaks Recovery Center, a 105-day long-term addiction-treatment facility located at 1005 County Club Drive, made the decision to close earlier this month due to financial difficulties.

Louis Armstrong, deputy director of human and cultural services for the city of Jackson and former Country Oaks branch manager, organized a resource team last week to relocate the patients.

"We were concerned," he said. "I got a called from a resident who was concerned that they would not have a place to live. We put together a resource team to start processing them for relocation to other facilities."

The resource team includes the city's homeless coordinator, and representatives from the Jackson Housing Authority, Veterans Affairs, and the drug-abuse prevention nonprofit New Way Mississippi. Armstrong said Friday that 26 of the 28 patients had filed applications for housing, and the resource team had referred them to other area facilities. The other two patients, he said, are veterans and will relocate to the VA Medical Center in Jackson.

Country Oaks offered a sliding payment scale to residents based on income, and also accepted HIV/AIDS patients.

"It's the only place in Jackson where you can go--males and females--for alcohol and drug treatment without money," Armstrong said, adding that the organization played a valuable role is assisting homeless men and women.

"We are losing a valuable resource to assist the community with treatment," he said. "In the long term, we will probably see an increase in the number of homeless individuals on the street as the result of Country Oaks closing."

Dorothy Triplett, vice president of training and community for CONTACT the Crisis Line, an emergency counseling call center, said the center was a valuable resource for the area, but CONTACT still has other facilities for referral such as Harbor House, New Way Mississippi and Common Bond.

"Its unfortunate because Country Oaks had a very good program," Triplett said. "People who didn't have insurance could be served there. ... It takes a good program off our referral list"

Country Oaks Chairwoman Betty Daugherty was not available for comment due to a family emergency.

Previous Comments

ID

162537

Comment

I am saddened to hear of the closing of Country Oaks Alcohol and Drug Treatment Facility. One thing that this article missed is the inclusion of any commentary from Edwin Legrand, Executive Director of the State Department of Mental Health and Mr. Herbert Loving who is the Bureau Director of Alcohol and Drugs. Since this organization is certified by the Department of Mental Health, it would only make sense, in my opinion, to know what happened to funding sources for Country Oaks or for tax paying citizens to know if there are other issues involved. Much has been said about budgetary cuts in mental health funding; however, will this be the beginning of a "domino-effect" for mental health facility closures in MS? Just asking.

Author

justjess

Date

2011-03-15T10:36:24-06:00

ID

162538

Comment

@ Jess - With Republican control in the Senate and Governor's mansion, the aim is to privatize, don't expect any increases any time soon in regards to mental health

Author

Duan C.

Date

2011-03-15T11:44:00-06:00