Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities Offering Outreach Services Still Rising
SAMHSA's latest report shows a 10 percentage increase from 2006 to 2012.
The number of substance use treatment facilities in the United States that provided community outreach increased from 47 percent in 2006 to 57 percent in 2012, according to a National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services report issued Aug. 5 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Outreach services are designed to help people in the community learn about the harmful effects of substance use, and they're designed for people needing treatment, to provide encouragement and information on how they can get help. These services can be especially important for underserved populations such as homeless people and people living in rural areas, according to SAMHSA.
The agency stressed that only about 11 percent of people needing substance use treatment receive such treatment, so it's important to raise awareness about the benefits of treatment and where people can turn to for help.
The report is available here. It is based on the findings of the 2006 to 2012 SAMHSA National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS), a survey of all known substance use treatment facilities in the United States.