No Services for D.C. Residents in Need of Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Programs, Union Says

No Services for D.C. Residents in Need of Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation
Programs, Union Says

Layoffs, plans to privatize not the solution to help those struggling with
addiction

WASHINGTON, Oct. 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- 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 own web site approximately 60,000 or 12 percent of D.C.
residents struggle with substance abuse, but the American Federation of
Government Employees said city leaders are not taking the best action needed
to manage the situation. In fact, AFGE wants to know why D.C. City
Councilmember David Catania, chair of the Committee on Health who will hold a
hearing tomorrow, didn't ask any of the APRA employees or union
representatives to testify on the impact budget cuts are having on the agency.

"The simple fact is with the budget cuts initiated by the Mayor - There are no
services," said Johnnie Walker, president of AFGE Local 383, who represents
employees in the agency. The agency has been crippled by lay-offs, leaving a
vulnerable population struggling to battle their demons alone. "If Councilman
David Catania wants to know what's happening at APRA we can tell him. The
people who need help the most are not getting it. But, I can't say we're
surprised. This has been the mantra of this administration, if you really need
help, forget about it."

"The real issue here is community impact," said AFGE 14th District President
Dwight Bowman. "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.

"We continue to see this throughout D.C. government. Public services are being
privatized under the guise of budgetary constraints without any determination
as to whether or not privatization actually saves money," said Walker
referring to privatization initiatives carried out by the Fenty administration
at D.C. Parks and Recreations and the D.C. Department of Mental Health. "It is
becoming increasingly clear that the Fenty administration just does not
believe that the government should be in the business of providing public
services."

The American Federation of Government Employees is the nation's largest
federal employee union representing 600,000 workers in the federal government
and the government of the District of Columbia.

SOURCE American Federation of Government Employees

Michael Victorian of American Federation of Government Employees,
+1-202-639-6405