Washington, D.C. -- The union which represents employees at the District of Columbia's Addiction Prevention and Recovery Administration (APRA) called on the D.C. City Council to restore services to thousands of D.C. residents struggling with addiction. According to the District government's web site approximately 60,000 or 12 percent of D.C. residents struggle with substance abuse.
"The simple fact is with the budget cuts initiated by the Mayor - There are no services," said Johnnie Walker, president of the union local that represents employees in the agency. The agency has been crippled by lay-offs, leaving a vulnerable population struggling to battle their demons alone.
"The real issue here is community impact," said Dwight Bowman, a district union president. "Addiction ravages the lives of the affected, but it also irreparably damages their families, and undermines public safety, as many of those struggling with addition often resort to criminal activity to deal with their habit."
During the summer, the Fenty administration moved to eliminate services by terminating over 100 employees at the addiction recovery agency, saying that budget constraints required the government to hand the work over to a private contractor. By the end of August, APRA was no longer providing direct service and the agency has been unable to find a contractor able to appropriately perform the work.
| 
RSS - Blogs
