Heroin treatment far away for many in Del.

DRUG ADDICTION THRIVES IN KENT AND SUSSEX COUNTIES. SERVICES ARE BADLY NEEDED.

Southern Delaware has a bigger heroin problem than does its larger neighbor to the north, state and local police say. But when an addict hits bottom here, he or she could be offered a tent rather than a bed in a halfway house.

Treatment services are sparse, requiring addicts hitch rides or drive 30 miles to counseling sessions and support group meetings. There are no state-funded detox or inpatient rehabs downstate, as there are in New Castle County. And experts say there is a culture of denial among residents in Kent and Sussex counties about the widespread abuse of heroin.

"A lot of it has to do with the rural culture in which people don't reach beyond their inner circles or families to find ways to solve their problems," says Joseph Connor, director of the Addictions Coalition of Delaware. "They solve them internally."

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