Nov. 23--Faced with increasing demand for services and a lack of space, Smithtown will be able to expand its drug and alcohol abuse program, now that the state has agreed to purchase a building in town for that use.

The program will move to Main Street into what is now the Sunrise Golf building, Town Supervisor Patrick Vecchio said.

The state will pay $1.5 million for the building and spend $1.4 million on renovations. It also budgeted $500,000 for equipment and other related costs.

The Smithtown program, called Horizons, though funded by the state, is run by the town. Smithtown has been working for two years with the state's Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services to buy a building for Horizons.

Officials say a lack of space has stymied the program's efforts to expand its services to handle an increase in admissions for drug and alcohol use, especially among adolescents.

"This will enhance our ability to deal with the issue of substance abuse," Vecchio said.. Space in the Devine building, where the program is now located, is too small for the influx of clients, according to Elaine Economopoulos, the program's director.

"We are on top of each other," she said. "Counselors are carrying their files in a basket from desk to office."

Demand for services has increased in the past few years, she said, including a rise in heroin use among its teen and young adult clients.

The new building will also afford much-needed privacy, said Economopoulos, especially for family counseling and group sessions. Horizons has been expanding its family therapy as part of its work with adolescents. Economopoulos notes that rehabilitation is more successful when family is involved in the process.

"With two stories, we can hold our family and adolescent work upstairs and keep them separate from the adults," she said.

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