Sometimes, it's necessary for a neighborhood newspaper to speak out against possible misspending, even though it's money that may have been misspent citywide or statewide. We are referring to a recent report in a Boston daily newspaper (Herald, December 8). That report alleged that many individuals under treatment for substance abuse are taking advantage of the system to obtain expensive, unnecessary personal transportation to and from clinics.

      Why should South Boston Online care about this issue more than any others?
Well, our concern goes deeper than simply being worried about the misuse of scarce tax money. South Boston is waging, and winning, a hard-fought war against drug and alcohol abuse. This requires government funding - lots of it.

      We are fighting for more recovery facilities here, after several years of decreased funding and a reduction in the number of treatment beds for addiction. Another bed in a recovery facility requires an investment of tens of thousands of dollars (one time); the Herald article mentioned a possible wastage of millions (ongoing, year after year).

      We have enjoyed a measure of success in resolving substance abuse problems. South Boston is home to successful halfway and three-quarter houses. Our police and political officials have become sensitive to alcohol- and drug-related issues. Recently, the Cushing House expanded its facility to accommodate young women in recovery from addiction.

      This expansion was the result of a major collective effort by all South Boston sectors - public/private, business/labor, federal/state/local, the courts, the clinics, and those who work - often thanklessly - in recovery programs. The generosity of Cole Hersee Co. was notable. For an example of local volunteer efforts at Cushing House, see our article on page 3.

      Despite winning many battles, victory in the war against substances is a long way off. South Boston is the second worst neighborhood in Boston by one critical measurement: we have more heroin-related EMT calls than any other neighborhood except Charlestown. Even worse, the largest number of our EMT calls concerns young people in the 15 to 25 age bracket. South Boston's EMT heroin emergencies in that age group are far more numerous than any other area of Boston.

     With that kind of problem, it should be no surprise that we are asking questions about other spending on treatment program transport.

     South Boston Online has not checked recovery-related transportation figures in detail. Spending on all medical transportation in Massachusetts is $100 million, which seems like an awful lot of money to us. That amounts to approximately $15 for every man, woman, and child in the Commonwealth.

     Neither have we gone down to the nearby methadone clinic to check out how its clients arrive every day. Frankly, we don't have the resources to do that kind of investigative reporting. In addition, many successful recovery programs depend on complete privacy and anonymity. Even in the interests of public information, South Boston Online is reluctant to interfere with the confidentiality of these programs.

     But we can ask our officials for explanations of how transportation funds are spent. South Boston is well-represented at all levels of government. Here's a message to our officials: meet with us and talk to us about how our tax money is being spent on recovery program expenses. We'll be happy to listen. And if our "take" on this situation is in any way wrong, we'll be even happier to publish a prominent article that gives the true facts.