Drug dependence has scarred people like Rosie, an amiable, chronic drinker and crack-cocaine user who struggled through a long wait but entered treatment when she got the chance. <

It wastes lives, like that of James E. Washington, a 24-year-old addict who got high morning till night the day he killed his friend, Lawrence "Mickey" Williams, 19, on March 27, 2003. <

Washington smoked marijuana and maybe cocaine that day, police reports say. And he was on crack when he was arrested two weeks later. Washington, who had two prior felony drug convictions, is in prison. He has been ordered to undergo treatment. <

The healing word - treatment - is the best hope for saving lives and families and saving the costs of welfare and prison. <

Dane County spent nearly $8 million - 2 percent of the county's $400 million budget last year - on more than a dozen alcohol - and drug-related programs. <

The county spends another $16 million for adult mental health, including programs to divert people from jail, and $7.8 million on youth mental health. Many addicts have mental health problems. <

But the county budget is increasingly squeezed by unfunded state mandates. Future resources are uncertain. <

Meanwhile, prevention and treatment opportunities don't meet demands in Allied Drive - or other poor neighborhoods where people don't have insurance. So more residents suffer and police and social service costs are higher. <

"I see families torn apart. I see moms going to prison. I see dads going to jail," said Marty Zupan, program manager for the Mental Health Center of Dane County, which provides outpatient treatment in homes. "We know what we do works. (But) we don't have enough staff and we don't have the resources to serve the people who need it." <

The center has a 200-person, two-month wait for treatment, Zupan said. <

Rosie endured such a wait. (Her full name is not being used because of her concerns that publicity would harm her recovery and job prospects.) <

After years of partying, friends and supporters convinced Rosie to change her lifestyle. But she had to wait months for help. It's a dangerous time when a user can slip deeper into abuse. A drug-dependent parolee can commit a crime and return to jail. An addict can overdose, hurt someone or die. <

On the late fall night before she was to enter an in-patient clinic, Rosie drank and smoked a little crack. <

"It was my last time," she said. "I had some crack but I was looking for more. I couldn't get nobody to get me some." <

The next morning, as she prepared to leave for treatment, a friend who was bagging crack said, "I know you want a little before you go." <

But she had the will to become sober. <

"I told him no," Rosie said. "I woke up for this early. I had my bags packed." <

In fact, Rosie showed up early for her appointment at the clinic, a nondescript, converted apartment building Downtown where addicts can remake their lives. <

"It feels good," she said, looking weary but determined that first morning. "I'm getting some help. It's what I want to do." <

It's a silent, courageous step taken by many living around Allied Drive. <

"There is a perception that Allied Drive is a monolithic culture. It isn't," said Kevin McConeghey, a drug and alcohol counselor for the mental health center. "There are people doing well recovering with addiction issues....There is a tremendous amount of resolve." <

Alcohol and drug abuse affect people of all races, incomes and neighborhoods, health professionals stressed. <

But factors that fuel addiction - family history, poverty, unemployment, trauma or mental health problems - are concentrated on Allied Drive. <

"We have a large population of clients from that neighborhood," said Bruce Nicholas, director of Hope Haven-Rebos United, which offers many services from intensive in-patient treatment to the new Pathfinder program, which uses electronic monitoring and out-patient treatment to help keep people out of jail. <

When people can't get a job, "the comfort for them is drugs," said Jacquelyn Hunt, an alcohol and drug counselor with the mental health center. <

Desperate dads or moms sell drugs to make quick cash, and women open apartments to dealers to help cover rent, Hunt said. "People do what they can to make it," she said. <

A car problem or lost job, coupled with temptations on the street, make recovery even more challenging, Zupan said. <

"The struggles people have with substance abuse are chronic and reoccurring," he said. "They're going to resurface from time to time and cause difficulty." <

Madison spends virtually nothing on alcohol and drug treatment because the county is mandated to provide such services and gets state and federal money to do it, city community services coordinator Bruce Newton said. <

But the city could choose to help fund treatment, just like it does child care or senior services, Newton said. <

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Contact Dean Mosiman at dmosiman@madison.com or 252-6141, and Andy Hall at ahall@madison.com or 252-6136. <