Sterling Heights Treatment Centers

Sterling Heights, Michigan, is home to around 124,471 people. It is found in Macomb County, and is around 17 miles outside of Detroit and 7 miles outside of Warren. During the 1990s, the city saw a population growth of about 6%. Today, the population continues to grow, although at a rate below 1% per year. There has been a positive correlation between property and violent crimes, and drug and alcohol abuse, the latter being a causality of the first. While Sterling Heights certainly has a problem with substance abuse, its levels of property and violent crimes are lower than the state average. This suggests that the prevention and intervention efforts that the city has put in place are having a positive effect.

Statistics on Drug and Alcohol Abuse in Sterling Heights, MI

Sterling Heights public officials are keen to prevent young people from being initiated to different substances in the first place. To achieve this, they have conducted a piece of research on parental disapproval of substance use, as this is linked to how many young people turn to these substances. What they found was that, among young people aged between 12 and 17:

• 90.8% believed that their parents strongly disapproved of cannabis abuse. This was a significant increase from 2002, when that level was 89.1%. This shows that the prevention and intervention efforts put in place to involve the community are having a positive effect.
• 89.7% of young people believed that their parents strongly disapproved of alcohol use, which has remained virtually unchanged.
• 92.4% of young people believed that their parents strongly disapproved of them using tobacco products. This is a significant increase from the 89.5% reported in 2002.

Unfortunately, despite the fact that parents strongly disapprove of their children using drugs or alcohol, there was an increase in the number of young people using substances, which currently stands at 10%, up from 9.3%. At present, 8.7% of the population of Sterling Heights is believed to be suffering from a dependency or addiction.

Initiatives in Sterling Heights to Fight Substance Abuse

Statistics from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) show that only around 11.2% of those who require treatment for a substance abuse disorder go out to receive it. To combat this, Sterling Heights has a Treatment Court, which is part of the 37th District Court of Michigan. Through these courts, nonviolent offenders are given the opportunity to seek treatment from detox and rehab facilities in order to avoid a prison sentence.

At the same time, the city authorities are committed to making treatment facilities more accessible across the board. Hence, they have put in place strategies to improve signposting to inpatient and outpatient treatment facilities, as well as investing in aftercare programs. These include 12 step programs, peer support groups, counseling and therapy, and sober living facilities.

The city aims to continue with its current efforts in order to prevent future substance abuse, while at the same time ensuring that those already trapped in the cycle of addiction are able to get the help they need.