Program puts emphasis on housing to treat substance abuse

July 14, 2008

Program puts emphasis on housing to treat substance abuse

By DEBORAH CIRCELLI
Staff writer

DAYTONA BEACH -- Some nights, Diana Hettmansperger would close her eyes and fall asleep on the beach. Other times, she'd curl up behind a building or find shelter in abandoned structures by the river.

"I was just be-bopping all over the place. If people let me stay with them I would," said the 27-year-old who grew up in Daytona Beach.

Prescription drug abuse and, later, cocaine caused her to become estranged from her four children, three who live with an ex-husband and a 4-year-old who is with relatives after her problems led to him being taken by the state.

She was living a dangerous life until she got into a new Housing First program that targets chronically homeless people who have substance abuse and mental health problems.

Four months ago, she moved into Serenity House's permanent housing program at My Place Apartments on North and Segrave streets.

"I had nowhere to go. No money. No job. I was starving," Hettmansperger said.

The concept, based on a model piloted in cities nationwide, is to first get homeless people off the street and surround them with services as opposed to trying to get them into a substance abuse treatment program. Under the traditional model, when patients complete residential treatment, they often don't have a place to live, and the cycle starts again, according to local and national officials.

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