BUTLER TWP — An increase in the number of female addicts has the Ellen O'Brien Gaiser Center, 165 Old Plank Road, planning an expansion of its in-patient facility.

Linda Franiewski, the executive director of the nonprofit organization treating addiction, said the organization has an outpatient center at 315 Liberty St., as well as the in-patient facility on Old Plank Road.

Franiewski said the in-patient facility can treat eight women and 21 men in separate living facilities, but the demand keeps rising.

“At this point the maximum capacity is eight for female living quarters,” said Franiewski. “But we've had many referrals for women seeking treatment, and we've identified very unique women's issues.

“For example, losing children can be very traumatic. They have a lot of trauma in their life that affects their recovery,” Franiewski said.

She said plans call for erecting a 7,000-square-foot addition to the present building housing offices, meeting rooms and a cafeteria, doubling the number of beds for in-patient women to 16.

Franiewski said it would cost an estimated $1.3 million to build the expansion. “We are going to look for donors, grants, financing and our reserves.”

But first, she said, the center must work on securing the necessary permits from the township, a task that is in the early stages.

“This is just so they can have their own area and focus on their recovery,” said Rebecca Petsinger, the facility director.

“It's really hard when you are the minority of eight females to 21 males,” said Franiewski.

“There is a need for a women's program,” said Alicia Fairman, Gaiser's program director.

“It's hard to find a placement for a woman and her specialized needs, so we are going to create it,” Fairman said.

Franiewski said, “Our plan is to mirror our present facility. It will be one-story with a partial second story. We are still working on the dimensions, but it's needed because of the sheer number of people seeking treatment.

Referring to the 38 heroin overdose deaths in Butler County so far in 2015, Franiewski said southwestern Pennsylvania was a hot spot for heroin addiction.

She hopes that ground can be broken on the project in 2016.

“It's early in the process, but we are excited about it. We're hoping to have more support from the community,” Franiewski said

Fairman said the center must work to counter public perception that addicts are criminals and not suffering from a disease.

Petsinger said “Addiction is viewed as a crime, not a medical condition. It's been viewed for 40 years in the United States as crime worthy of severe punishment.”

“Nobody would complain if we were building a hospital for diabetics,” Fairman said. “People are like 'Keep the druggies out.' Well, they're here.”

The center was founded in October 1970 as the Butler Alcoholism Recovery Center. In 1974, the agency purchased the Old Plank Road property and changed its name to the Butler Alcoholism Recovery Center.

The center was under the leadership of Ellen O'Brien Gaiser from 1979 until her death in 1994. A year after her death, the center was renamed, the Ellen O'Brien Gaiser Addiction Center, to honor her legacy.

The Gaiser Center also has offices located at the VA Butler Healthcare Medical Center campus. Additionally, the Gaiser Center takes drug and alcohol educational groups into the Butler County Prison and Adult Probation Office.

• To date in 2015, there have been 38 drug-related deaths in Butler County. In 2014 there were 33 drug-related deaths.Butler County Coroner• In heroin-related deaths where the victim’s race was reported, 91 percent were white, 73 percent were men and 27 percent were women.State Coroner’s Association• Only 11.2 percent of the individuals needing drug and alcohol treatment actually receive treatment at a specialty facility.Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration• 80 percent of the people who use heroin first became addicted to opioid painkillers.Center For Rural Pennsylvania• Pennsylvania recently rose from 14th to seventh place in the U.S. for its drug overdose death rate.Centers For Disease Control and Prevention for 2011, most recent data available