African-Americans in public housing: a traditional social work approach to substance abuse treatment

In recent years, an increased and special emphasis on family issues of public housing residents emerged among social service professionals in northeast Georgia. This emphasis was launched because of the disparity between the number of substance-dependent African-Americans and those who sought and remained in substance abuse treatment programs. The relationship between these factors prompted an examination of preferences for substance abuse treatment among African-Americans in three northeast Georgia public housing complexes. This paper describes the implementation and evaluation of a traditional social work practice approach involving the identification of families where substance abuse was present, the examination of their preferences for substance abuse treatment, and the efficacy of home-based, family-centered practice. The evaluation results support the claim that elements of traditional social work practice, such as community or home-based, family-centered treatment, can be effective in addressing substance abuse issues of African-Americans residing in public housing complexes. In addition, this form of treatment supports the notion that African-American families residing in public housing can be assisted in the resolution of substance abuse issues.