Drug Abuse and Drug Rehab in Denham Springs, Louisiana

When a family in Denham Springs, Louisiana, discovers that one of their own is struggling with addiction, there is no time to waste. A reliable drug rehab must be found quickly, before the powerful drugs on the market can claim another victim.

Very often, these families have never faced this problem before and don’t know where to start. The solution often starts with determining what type of drug rehab a person needs to get their sobriety and health back.

A family or individual faced with the need for addiction recovery would be advised to look carefully at any rehab program they are considering. They may need to talk to the intake staff at the facility to get the full story. Just looking at online listings for a program will seldom tell the full story.

Available Programs and Their Features

Whether the program is inpatient or outpatient, here are some of the aspects of recovery programs to look at when a family is faced with making this choice.

1. There should be close supervision as a person comes off the drugs they were using. Some people will require medically supported detox if they were drinking consistently and heavily or taking benzodiazepines like Xanax as these drugs can cause fevers, seizures and similar serious problems. A person with health problems may also need close medical monitoring. However, most people in reasonably good health can get through a withdrawal with the right nutritional and staff support, with medical monitoring to ensure no problems come up.

2. Once they are free from the effects of the drugs they were using, each person in recovery needs to restore their self-respect and find relief from the guilt from the past. Some inpatient and outpatient rehabs address this aspect of recovery with group therapy or one-on-one counseling.

3. It’s essential that each newly sober person learns how to deal with life’s stresses without lapsing back into drug abuse. The most successful drug rehab programs employ a series of life skills training curricula to help their participants solidify new skills. When a rehab program is being considered, ask about their life skills training.

4. A holistic drug rehab program will also directly address the personal problems and loss of self-esteem each individual in recovery struggles with. The goal is to strengthen the individual right at the core so that sobriety does not have to be a daily battle. Some holistic drug rehab programs also address the physical aspects of the person’s former addiction so that cravings also diminish.

A family looking into drug rehabs for a loved one can learn a lot about each program by asking about each of these aspects.

More Access to Drug Rehab Is Needed in Denham Springs

For the ten thousand residents of Denham Springs, there are only two drug rehab facilities available. Fortunately for those who need support staying sober once they have broken free from their habits, there are 40 Twelve Step meetings for those wishing to stay off alcohol. There are dozens more meetings focusing on support of those who previously took other drugs such as cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.

One thing Denham Springs needs is greater access to a drug rehab that successfully helps people get and stay sober. The people of Livingston Parish need it and deserve it.

About Drug Rehab and Prevention

Drug rehab and drug prevention are essential tools in reducing our drug problem and saving lives. Drug rehab and prevention must both be effective. Families evaluating the effectiveness of either type of program before making a choice must look at the results. Families can ask the staff of a rehab: How many people stay drug-free after either rehab or prevention? Based on the answers, they can make a decision about who they would trust their loved one to in recovery.

If they are evaluating a drug prevention program, they can ask questions about the effectiveness of the program. How many students report that they have changed their minds about using drugs?

But be forewarned, some drug rehab programs and even prevention programs measure their success by the number of people who complete the programs. That too often means that they stay in the program for the required number of days or attend the required number of lessons. Too many programs fail to measure their success by the number staying drug-free after they go home or complete the prevention program. The proof of a drug rehab or prevention action is in a drug-free result among the majority of people who complete that program.

Louisianans Struggle with Addiction

Among Louisiana residents, roughly 7% of those aged 12 and older struggle with an addiction to drugs and nearly 10% damage their lives with excessive drinking they can’t stop. Based on these numbers, more than 1,500 people in Denham Springs alone need help to restore the quality of their lives.¹

Many pounds of methamphetamine are seized in this area, along with heroin, cocaine, marijuana and fentanyl pressed into counterfeit pills.^2,3 These drugs are highly addictive and it sometimes doesn’t take very long for a person to get trapped in their drug use. There must be good solutions to help people escape.

The drug problems of Baton Rouge, to a large degree, are also the problems of Denham Springs, Louisiana. That’s because these two cities are just a few miles apart. Any products bought in by drug dealers supplying Baton Rouge will promptly leak into Denham Springs. It is an unfortunate truth that individuals susceptible to drug abuse and addiction exist in every community in the world. Once that susceptibility meets supply, tragedy results all too often.

For this reason, both drug rehab and drug prevention need to exist in ample supply to save lives. With the powerful drug fentanyl currently present in every state in the country, drug abuse is riskier than it has ever been. While some people are helped to get and stay sober, others must be taught about the instant death that can occur from a single pill or injection before they can get started.

The Communities in Livingston Parish Fight Back

Law enforcement personnel in Denham Springs do their best to take drug dealers and their products off the streets. In April 2022, eleven drug dealers were arrested in one law enforcement operation. Along with these arrests, fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana were seized.⁴

In addition:

• Fifty-three pounds of methamphetamine along with heroin, cocaine and marijuana were seized on Highway 16 in Denham Springs in January 2022, meaning that residents in this area were a little safer from harm.²

• Courageous law enforcement officers took two thousand pills containing fentanyl off the streets, seizing them from a home in nearby Holden, Louisiana.³

Law enforcement will continue their efforts to take these drugs off the street but there must be two other strong measures taken to quell Louisiana’s drug problem: drug prevention and drug rehab.

Getting an Addicted Loved One to Drug Rehab

It very often takes the combined efforts of an entire family to convince a person to arrive at the front door of a drug rehab facility. A wife, single parent or grandparent may be overwhelmed by that individual’s resistance and opposition. That is why successful interventions usually bring the entire family together to overcome that resistance.

A refusal to accept help going to rehab does not have to mean failure. The strongest members of the group can spearhead an intervention that closes off all avenues of escape. If even a concerted appeal to the person fails, there is yet another step that can be taken. And that is a professional intervention carried out by someone who has been through this process many times before. They can not only strengthen the family’s resolve, but they can also express to the addicted person what is likely to happen if they continue the way they are going. A professional interventionist has often been there themselves.

The key is not to give up. Your loved one can recover if they find the right program and the right support after the program is complete.

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