my son qualified for medicaid...and got help getting it (after I tried for months) from a hospital he went to...try going to some of these services directly..if they can get the insurance, they may take payments on the dedutable...or have a grant that pays it...that is what happened to my neighbor. his hospital bill got paid by catholic charities, and he is not catholic and either was the hospital.

There are facilities that accept you without insurance,,, and without money my addict got into one,,, it may not be the top of the cake,,, but it is something that will get them, detox and start the steps to recovery,,, keep looking,, never give up,,,, if tie addict is willing to get clean it dies not matter what the cost is,,,, what matters is he is choosing to get clean,,,, just like to the top dog rehap, paying big bucks,,, if an addict does not want to be clean ,, they won't,,,, it's not the place,,,, but the heart, mind and soul, along with great support group,,,, never give up

Do you have anything in your area like a "crisis care" or anything like that? It is a place you can go (walk in clinic early mornings) to get FREE help but sometimes there are LONG lines. I am sorry you are going through this. I recently found out about 3 months ago my childrens father was addicted to heroin when he came to me for help. We took him to the hospital to see if they would admit him into the rehab unit but they wouldnt. We went to crisis care and they said they could get him into a rehab but it would take about 3 weeks for the process. He was withdrawing from heroin and was going on 48 hours without it, he needed help THEN not 3 weeks from that day. Eventually the same day he turned himself into the county jail because he had some warrants for unpaid fines and they put him in a rehab program through the jail. It has been wonderful in a weird way. It is so sad when people want help and no one will help them. That is why so many people stay on the drugs! Please call your job and family services in your area and ask about a walk in clinic that will take people with low income. It may help.

Call your local Community Mental Health Center, tell them the situation and they should point you in the right direction.... That's what I did and my BF is now in treatment with no medical insurance or job and it didn't cost him anything. There are places, you just need to know where to look. Best of luck!!!

Blueviolet I will look into medicaid but as far as I knew here it was only for children or low income pregnant women. I get a form of it because of social security disability but not full coverage because income restrictions. We have considered applying for disability for him because of his bipolar.

When the facility opens I am going to contact a hospital that I know will write off your portion of the bill to pay (as have done). Like you said Cardinal it may not be exactly what he wants but some care is better than none.

Miss Richey I do not know of a crisis care but can certainly look into it.

Indailypain we did contact our community services board and their only option was the Salvation Army and he did this years ago. There was no therapy or counseling, all you did was work for them and get fed.

I hope to have some better news soon.....

Hang in there I know it's hard but if he really wants to get clean a door will open for him somewhere. I have an 18 year old son who has through the normal progression become a heroin addict. Even with very good health insurance it has been a struggle trying to get him into a place ( like you said they need help now) when they are still willing to go not weeks later. I wish him luck and strength to get through this trying time and God bless you for trying to help him. Dee

I don't know the answers...I do know to not give up...Ask everyone...and one way I get good answers is I say "If this was your family memeber, what would you do next?" it breaks down the barriers because it MAKES them relate...I would call every one I could think of and every social worker, churches sometimes have lists of resources...NAMI groups in the area...think out of the box. Don't give up. Are there support groups in your area for families of the mentally ill? My son had no income, no money saved, was losing his house to live in, and lost his job...he was concidered indigent.
the second place he went was St. Christopher's Inn in Garrison NY...run by the friars of attonement...they have emails for their admissions offices, as do other treatment places, maybe writing to them- not to go there, but to ask for advice, might help...try everything.
Meanwhile, from what I have read on DS in the AA group, it seems like many depressions and bipolar issues are helped quite a bit by the addict not using. whether it is the meds being able to work or the drugs and alcohol not messing up their biochemistry so much, there seems to be better mental health with the stopping of usage, so that would be the first thing...then they can work on the second. My son went to some dual diagnoisis meetings...now, 3 plus years out, he handles his SAD (seasonal affective disorder) with exercise, and his other issues are managable by being sober...and dealing with them. Thank God.
AA and NA are free...and there are plenty of people there with the same issues he has...believe me...so in the meantime, at least he would be getting support. The only requirement is that he has to want to stop...not be stopped, just want to....

look up all and any social services, my friend is a social worker and she said every county has an emergancy hotline and they work with the uninsured or underinsured. My son spent his entire trust fund and when they ran out he went to all the free programs and trust me they are out there they are just hard to find.
I don't know where you live but I am sure that you will find the help he needs. He is just going to have to want it, you can't do this for him.

My addict had very limited options while he was employed. He was fired from his job. And that's when all these programs opened up for him. My addict's DOC is heroin. And there is no way he could have maintained a job and got clean at the same time. Now, his job is staying clean and sober. That in itself is a full time occupation. I know this isn't much help. The system is very flawed.

In my State they have what's called a Rule 25 voucher system that basically affords people who want treatment but have little if no resources. I encourage you to check with your state.