Aurora Treatment Centers

Aurora, Illinois, is home to around 143,000 people. It is found in Kane County and is around 20 miles from Joliet and nine miles from Naperville. During the 1990s, there was a significant population boom in the city of around 44%. Today, growth continues to be faster than most other cities in the country, with a rate of approximately 4.1% per year. Aurora has a drug and alcohol abuse problem but public officials have put numerous prevention, intervention, and treatment tactics in place that seem to be having a positive effect. This is seen, for instance, in the fact that the levels of property crimes in this city are below the state average.

Statistics on Substance Abuse in Aurora, IL

Aurora officials have first painted a picture of the current situation with substance abuse in the city, so that they could direct their resources in the right way. What they found was that there was a significant link between educational status and illicit substance abuse. What they found in the population aged 18 and over was that:

• 5.7% of college graduates are current substance abusers.
• 8.1% of those who did not finish high school are current substance abusers.
• 8.6% of high school graduates are current substance abusers.
• 9.4% of those with some college education are current substance abusers.
• 51.8% of college graduates have tried an illicit substance at least once.
• 37.7% of those who did not complete high school had tried an illicit substance at least once.

These statistics provided a great insight into where more intervention and prevention methods are required.

The city authorities then looked into young people (ages 12 to 17) and substance abuse, particularly with regards to their attitude towards substance abuse. They found that:

• 81% believe that it is dangerous to use heroin once or twice a week, down from 82.5% in 2002.
• 57% believe that it is dangerous to try heroin, down from 58.5%.
• 48.4% believe it is dangerous to use cocaine once or twice per week, down from 52.6%.
• 71.8% believe it is dangerous to try LSD, down from 76.2%.
• 49.5% believe it is dangerous to use cocaine once per month, down from 50.5%.

These statistics have caused great concern for city officials, particularly because it seems that fewer young people regard substance abuse to be dangerous. Hence, various educational efforts have been put in place to combat this, steering young people towards healthy alternatives.

Lastly, the city authorities looked at rates of substance abuse depending on age, and found that:

• 20.8% of those with an addiction are aged between 18 and 25.
• 7.6% of those with an addiction are aged between 12 and 17.
• 7% of those with an addiction are older than 26.

To ensure that people who have developed an addiction can get the treatment they need, Aurora has linked up to the Kane County Drug Court. In so doing, nonviolent offenders are given the opportunity to seek treatment through detox and rehab facilities, avoiding a prison if they finish the treatment successfully.