Treatment center wins $27,500 grant

A Carson City substance abuse treatment center will receive a $27,500 grant today from the Smallwood Foundation.

Carson Treatment Center co-founder and executive director Maryellen Waltz said Suzanne Stockdale, chief executive officer of the Smallwood Foundation, will hand over a check at a noon ceremony.

Waltz said the money will help keep the center's literacy and employment program going for another year.

"Last year we received a grant from the Smallwood Foundation and hired a social worker who worked in rehabilitation and has excellent skills assessing people and all of their needs," she said.

Waltz said the money will help pay the center's social worker, Tony Anderson, who helps clients find work or education after they complete their treatment.

"He helps facilitate employment for the people as they complete their substance abuse treatment," she said. "It's a real natural fit."

The center's program helps those who have been treated for addictions find employment, learn to read or obtain skills they will need when they have completed treatment.

"We do resume writing here," she said. "We were told by a United Way site visitor that this is the most comprehensive literacy and employment program that she has seen established among those supported by the United Way in the state."

Many of the patients seen by the treatment center are from the construction or casino industries.

"Much of the construction in our area was accomplished on methamphetamine and Gatorade," Waltz said. "Some of the better construction companies have implemented drug free policies. But the problem is still huge."

Most of the treatment center's budget consists of salaries.

"Over 95 percent of the Carson Treatment Center budget is salary," she said. "This work is extremely labor intensive. Tony has to work with each person as an individual; that's why he does such a good job."

To find out more about the center, call 885-2727