Conference Planned on Abuse Services

Politicians, law enforcement leaders, prevention specialists and education officials will meet next month for a daylong conference designed to better coordinate drug and alcohol programs in the county.

The county’s Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs, together with Cal Lutheran University and the district attorney’s office, has invited about 200 members of the public and private sectors to the event, which will begin Nov. 2.

Conference organizers expect to generate long-term plans for integrating abuse services, changing societal attitudes and developing public policy and legislation, said Felipe Santana, director of prevention and education for the department.

While he would not single out specific cities in Ventura County, Santana said many have more than one organization fulfilling similar needs while other cities have few, if any, programs. The conference should help eliminate a duplication of services, he said.

“If we develop a council for the entire county, we can develop a more creative operation of existing services,” he said.

Those invited include representatives from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, the Ventura County Council of Churches, citizens advisory boards from various cities, city mayors and private nonprofit organizations, he said.

In 1987, 42 county residents suffered drug-related deaths, he said, and in 1988 there were 51. Figures for 1989 will be released at the conference.

One of the problems to be discussed at the conference is that few services exist in the Oxnard-Port Hueneme area for low-income addicts, said Brenda Cordobes, a spokeswoman for Steps, an Oxnard prevention agency.

In Ventura, there is a lack of facilities for the disabled, including those in wheelchairs and the hearing impaired, said Betty Gips, a Ventura communication consultant.