An appeal for OTC medications and supplies

Drug Topics received a call last week for help. A unique substance abuse program known as TROSA, Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers, based in Durham, N.C., was in need of over-the-counter medications and supplies for its residents, men and women aged 18 and older, who had entered its 2-year residential program.

Like most requests, I asked the caller to send an e-mail request and then I forget about it. But today, the caller asked if I’d received his e-mail and whether I could help. I opened the e-mail and found not only the request and a list of OTC meds that are needed, but a compelling story of TROSA’s recovery program and a celebration of its success over 15 years. The Herald Sun explained that TROSA had helped more than 4,000 people through a “comprehensive, long-term drug recovery program.”

The goal of the program is to provide its residents with hope and prepare them for a real-world job. In addition, the article stated that only about 8% of its graduates returned to drug abuse a year after graduation. Volunteer resident psychiatrists from Duke University help to provide counseling for drug abuse and the underlying mental illness.

If you would like to support this effort or for more information, go to www.trosainc.org or call Ntuthuko Moffat at 919-419-1059, ext. 1247.