Chicago's
Howard Brown Health Center, which provides care to the
city's gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender
residents as well as HIV patients, last week launched
Crystal Clear, an outpatient treatment program for
crystal methamphetamine users and addicts, the Windy City
Times reports. Participants in the program will
spend at least nine hours each week in sessions designed to
combat the physical and psychological reasons why they abuse
the drug.
Because the
program is funded by the Chicago Department of Public
Health, it is open to anyone regardless of their
ability to pay, says Howard Brown executive director
Michael Cook. The health department will provide
$567,000 for the program over the next three years.
"Crystal meth is
a demon," Cook told the Times.
"Ultimately, its victims experience dependence,
depression, health problems, impaired sexual function,
occupational problems, the loss of valued relationships, and
sometimes death. As community leaders, we have the
obligation to work together."
For more
information on the program, go online to www.howardbrown.org or
call (773) 388-8891. (Advocate.com)