GOVERNMENT'S latest attempt to cure addicts of drug abuse is certain to fail because it is far too expensive for most sufferers, it has been claimed.

And former alcoholic Bruce Gibbons hopes to set up a long-term residential care unit on the island to make treatment programmes accessible to those who need it most ¿ the poor.

Mr. Gibbons went public with his proposal after the US-based Caron Group set up a centre on the island in the summer. However, the internationally renowned programme only provides initial consultation services on the island. Addicts seeking to enter a long-term residential programme have to travel to the charity's headquarters outside Philadelphia - at a cost of around $23,000 a month.

Announcing the setting up of Caron Bermuda earlier this year, Social Rehabilitation Minister Dale Butler described the scheme as "the only way to rid our community of drug and alcohol addiction".

But yesterday Mr. Gibbons said many addicts would never be able to afford to enter the programme, and that an island-based residential centre would make treatment more accessible.

Mr. Gibbons, who underwent a Salvation Army addiction course in the US more than ten years ago, has devised an "alternative lifestyle" programme to help addicts kick the habit over a two-year period. He said it was essential for addicts to exist in a "separate community structure" and be given spiritual and emotional guidence in order for them to become productive members of society.

He approached Government with his proposal last year, claiming that, with an initial grant of $1 million, his scheme could house and treat up to 50 addicts at a time. The project would also eventually become self-funding ¿ recovering addicts could eventually find work and pay for their living expenses and treatment costs. He suggested that prisoners approaching the end of their sentences would be ideal candidates to qualify for the programme.

Although initial feedback was positive, Mr. Gibbons said he heard nothing more about his concept until the announcement that Caron Bermuda had been formed.

"I have nothing against Caron, they do a very good job and are very highly regarded," Mr. Gibbons told the Mid-Ocean News.

"But the fact is, nine out of ten crack users currently incarcerated come from a lower economic background. What inmate has the ability to pay $23,000 for a four-week programme? They will then come back seeking after care only to relapse because they don't have any family support. Really this is a designer programme for the affluent. It will work if you have the wealth, the family support and the educational background, but how many of our addicts in Bermuda have that? That's why they resort to crime."

"You can't cure addiction in just four weeks ¿ it has to be done over a lengthy period of time because the initial addiction has been adopted and practiced over a long period of time."

Mr. Gibbons said that Caron Bermuda would become nothing more than a clearing house for wealthy addicts and that Government was paying lip service to the problem.

However, yesterday Caron Bermuda chairman Rory Gorman pointed out that attempts to set up residential clinics on the island had repeatedly failed because of staffing and other difficulties.

He said it had proved impossible to provide a wide-ranging programme for addicts simply because the island lacked the necessary resources.

Instead, he said, Bermudian addicts could benefit from well established and internationally recognised treatment facilities in the US.

And he added that the Bermuda branch of the non-profit organisation was already meeting its target of sending two clients overseas for treatment every month.

Mr. Gorman, who was involved in the Fair Havens residential drug treatment programme before it shut down, said: "The reason why we set up Caron Bermuda is because for years various entities have tried to establish residential facilities on the island and it has proven just too difficult.

"You may say that it is costly to send people overseas but is is more cost-effective than them not getting any treatment at all.

Caron has hundreds of staff and provides such a depth and breadth of services in purpose-built facilities. The prior attempt to have a residential model on the island ¿ Fair Havens ¿ struggled because of staffing problems. It's a 24/7 operation and they had difficulty recruiting staff."

Mr. Gorman said clients were willing to foot the bill for treatment overseas but funds were also available from Government and both private and corporate donations. The parent company in the US was also providing financial assistance.

"We are finding that the clients are funding it, or their employer is funding it or its funded by insurance," he said.

"We have sent several people away to the centre just outside Philadelphia and in fact before we opened on July 1 we managed to send seven or eight people away. That's indicative of the support we have. Caron is a world-renowned, highly respected charity."