Is there anything out there for people with a checkered past of drugs and jail?

September 15, 2009 11:52 AM

How do I help my brother help himself? My brother is 40ish and has spent his adult life in and out of jail on various drug related charges. He is currently living with our mom in the Atlanta metro area, after getting out of jail earlier this year. I don't live anywhere near Atlanta.

He can't find a job and my mom is at her wit's end on what to do to help him. Personally, I think he is showing all the classic signs of depression. Obviously, he doesn't have medical insurance, nor does he have any reasonable prospects of having insurance in the near future. Are there programs available to help him? I'm thinking he needs to get away and start over. Something like joining the military, but for repetitive drug abusers. Someplace where he'll be watched closely, be told what to do, and be put to work in exchange for room, board, and minimal spending money. He can be a hard worker and good employee - but he has to be told exactly what to do. His trouble begins whenever he starts making decisions.

My mother is too old to have to be dealing with this stuff, and she is simply unwilling to push him out the door to fend for himself. If I could point him towards something that gets him out of her house permanently, and gives him some direction, or just a job, it will be a win - win.

Is there anything out there for people with a checkered past of drugs and jail? Where do people like my brother find jobs? At this point, carnie at a carnival, some company shipping ex-cons to Iraq for contract work, it doesn't matter. He is not in a position to be choosy.

Throwaway email if you need to contact me: [e-mail]

posted by anonymous to Work & Money (7 answers total)

The choice of what kind of treatment to engage in if any is your brother's. If you mother wants to make engaging in treatment or finding employment part of the terms of their agreement for him to stay in her home, that's her decision, though it sounds like she's not capable of enforcing such an agreement, which your brother probably knows. It sounds like he could benefit from outpatient substance abuse treatment, perhaps a dual diagnosis program if his history of depression is chronic. But again, it's his choice. There are compulsory drug treatment programs but those are part of the criminal justice system. If he catches another charge he could be stipulated to treatment as a term of probation or parole, or he could plea into a drug court program like the one I work for. But it doesn't sound like your brother has any criminal justice involvement at the moment, so your best bet is to simply encourage him to seek treatment voluntarily because you love him and you think it will help him improve the quality of his life.

If he wants treatment he can start the process by going to the county assistance office and starting an application for Medicaid. Then he should contact a community substance abuse treatment site and ask to speak to the intake department about receiving outpatient drug and possibly mental health treatment.
posted by The Straightener at 12:06 PM on September 15, 2009

All joking aside, I hear the French Foreign Legion will accept 40-year-olds and you pretty much get a clean slate. It's a tough gig though.
posted by jlstitt at 12:45 PM on September 15, 2009

The people I know in this situation have undiagnosed/poorly diagnosed mental illness, and drugs are self-medicating. So, I recommend a psychiatrist, and possibly appropriate medication to treat underlying mental illness. I also recommend applying for disability as well as Medicaid, and then volunteering at community service jobs, and going to school. Eventually, he may be able to get a regular job. This is what vocational rehab is for. Good luck.
posted by theora55 at 1:33 PM on September 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

Here in Durham, we have TROSA, which sounds like exactly what your brother needs: a 2 year program with structure, job skills, a place to live, and help. They have an amazing success rate and everybody in town uses their moving company and frame shop. They are a part of the community we're proud to have. If you think getting him out of Atlanta might help, he should apply.
posted by hydropsyche at 1:36 PM on September 15, 2009

If he qualifies for Medicaid and engages in outpatient substance abuse program as a standard practice he'll be psychiatrically evaluated at the outset of his treatment. If it turns out that he has no mental health disorder he'll have no grounds for applying for disability. If he does have a mental health disorder and applies for SSI he'll likely be denied due to his substance abuse history. At this point he'll likely require the assistance of a legal aid attorney to appeal this decision and prove that his substance abuse history is immaterial to his mental health disorder after his application is initially denied on these grounds. All of these things, applying for Medicaid, getting engaged in treatment, applying for and being awarded SSI take time, sometimes a lot of time, so you should be patient with your brother's progress if he is taking steps in this direction.
posted by The Straightener at 1:52 PM on September 15, 2009

do NOT get him to look into a gig with a carnival. apologies to carnies everywhere, but those are some sketchy people.

look into a halfway house. i don't know much about about prisons & parole, but i assume he has a parole officer & that there are social services available. use them. in the meantime, find some aa, na, whatever-a meetings he can attend. all the regular issues with why he will not be down with that plan (i'm not using now, i'm not an addict, i don't like the religious aspects, etc.), this is a community of people who have close, intimate knowledge of what a bottom looks like. they meet every day around the clock. they've been in his position (maybe not in prison, but lots of folks in those rooms lost everything & had to start over from the bottom to prove themselves again.)

it's noble of you to want to help your brother; truth is, though, that he's got to want to help himself. if he can get into a structured environment like a halfway house, that's a good start.

best of luck.
posted by msconduct at 3:24 PM on September 15, 2009

What actual skills, abilities, aptitudes, knowledge, etc. does he have?
posted by Jacqueline at 8:39 PM on September 15, 2009