DAPHNE, Ala. — With the collective gaze of the Gulf Coast fixed on the oil spill ravaging its shores, it’s easy to forget the last disaster responsible for widespread suffering and economic turmoil.

Phillip Drane, executive director of The Shoulder in Daphne, hasn’t forgotten the destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina, and his frustrations almost five years later will soon ripple through the community at large when his agency is forced to cut more than half the number of patients the facility is able to serve.

“People don’t understand that when someone wants help in overcoming their addiction; they need help right away,” Drane said. “The longer they have to wait for admission, the greater the likelihood they will change their minds or something devastating might happen to their families. We are in the life-saving business, and our ability to save lives on a large scale is definitely going to be impaired, at least temporarily.”

The issue, he said, is that The Shoulder cannot proceed with construction of the new facility until the Federal Emergency Management Agency signs off on plans submitted initially in 2008 and revamped for consideration in November 2009 after the national economic downturn forced the nonprofit to downsize the project.

Because of the delay on starting construction, the rehabilitation center’s temporary landlord has been forced to proceed with its own renovation and expansion project. With the work nearing a start date, the nonprofit’s only option to remain operational is to accept the landlord’s offer to remain on site in only 7,000 square feet of space—or roughly one-quarter of its current space.

See the rest of this story in the July 17 Daphne Bulletin.