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Gateway Community Services Awarded Grant to Expand e-Therapy Services across the State of Florida

Gateway Community Services has been awarded a grant from The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to build the capacity and ability of Florida's treatment providers to effectively provide substance abuse treatment services over the phone and internet. Joining Gateway in this project will be three of Florida's largest substance abuse treatment agencies, Operation PAR (ST Pete), DISC Village (Tallahassee) and Center for Drug Free Living (Orlando).

The grant will assist the participating agencies to provide effective, evidence-based treatment and recovery services through the development of standards, training and certification process for addictions counselors to provide eServices. In addition, this project plans to work with military families to provide treatment services over the phone and internet as a means of addressing the many barriers to treatment for military families.

According to the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 23.2 million individuals needed treatment for an alcohol or illicit drug use problem. Only 10 percent of these individuals received treatment at a specialty facility in the past year. Through reducing barriers, such as transportation, time of day and stigma through technology, Connect Expansion facilitates more people accessing and engaging in needed treatment. By providing more of these treatment services this program intends to reduce the health and social costs of substance abuse and dependence to the public, and increase the safety of America’s citizens by reducing substance abuse related crime and violence.