The Shepherd’s House Intensive Outpatient Program has made a difference in the lives of those addicted to drugs or alcohol since it opened on Feb. 27, 2017, at 454 South Third St., in the former Red Cross building; and it’s also saved the county money, according to the program’s director, Roger Fox.

From April to December 2017, the program served, on average, 30 clients a month. A total of 74 have participated.

Fox said there have been three clients who participated in the program twice and a total of 17 who have graduated from the six-month program.

Fox said they had also referred 24 clients to inpatient treatment centers.

“On average, it takes about seven or eight trips to treatment to get sober,” he said.

Numbers are not readily available for March 2017 and are not yet available for January 2018. For the month of December 2017, according to monthly reviews made available by Fox, there were 30 clients being treated and four new admissions. Three were discharged and one graduated.

Ten clients were working on their GED. Six have full-time jobs; one has a part-time job and six were in inpatient treatment. Clients were working in community service facilities, including: distributing commodities in Junction City, working for the Mercer County Jailer or road department and working for the Boyle County Road Department.

During the month of December, 61 drug screens were performed with an 85 percent success rate (52 of the screens tested negative for drug use).

Financially, the program saved the county and estimated $156,275 from April to December. It costs about $13 a day while clients participate in the program; it would cost $32 a day to house them as inmates at the Boyle County Detention Center instead.

Fox said the program is making a difference in its client’s lives. One client had lost custody of his kids and was told he would likely never get them back, he said.

But, “he was able to stay sober.” The client’s mother passed away while he was in the program, but he was still able to stay clean. He maintained employment and learned last week that the courts have started the process to reunite him with his children, Fox said.

“That’s not the only success story.”

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