HONOLULU -- Tom was sitting on Hotel Street, wanting to die.

Wearing a shirt and shorts, barefoot and "dirty as hell," he needed help. However, after he became addicted to "ice," or crystal Methamphetamine, his family abandoned him, physically and emotionally.

A stranger saved him. In what Tom calls a "spiritual intervention," a man approached and offered to pray for Tom. This man offered hope -- and the opportunity to escape his 15-year "ice" addiction.

That was seven years ago. With the help of a stranger, who has since become a friend, Tom -- that is his real name -- got the drug and Alcohol treatment needed and is now a substance abuse counselor at Hina Mauka, a Hawaii drug-treatment center, and now is helping others.

Spreading the word about treatment options is the goal of drug treatment centers such as Hina Mauka, community organizations, the University of Hawaii at Manoa Center for Substance Abuse and the UH Counseling and Student Development Center.

With Hawaii's growing "ice" epidemic, Hina Mauka, along with the Coalition for a Drug Free Hawaii and the Community Works in 96744, is planning a rally from noon to 4 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 23, at the State Capitol rotunda. Although the agenda is still being planned, the grass-roots rally is in response to the state drug-control summit in September.

"The idea is to promote a balanced and family-friendly agenda for solving this 'ice' epidemic," said Greg Tjapkes, corporate development officer at Hina Mauka.

The scheduled rally is to be focused on promoting education and awareness of drug-treatment programs. It is an effort for drug rehabilitation advocates to gather from the neighbor islands to address the issue, Tjapkes said. The organizations want to look at solutions to the "ice" problem that are not incarceration, he said.

He stressed that tax dollars should be focused on treatment and prevention, since "it's cheaper to treat a person than to incarcerate them."

It costs $33,000 annually to send someone to prison compared as opposed to $6,000 to $10,000 annually for comprehensive treatment, Tjapkes said.

"Just because they go to prison doesn't mean they're not addicted anymore," he said.

When clients complete their treatment, ideally they should have a support system and job skills to become productive members of the community, he said.

About 45 percent of people seeking treatment at Hina Mauka are primarily addicted to "ice," according to Tjapkes, with the second most common addiction being Alcohol and the third marijuana.

This year, for the first time in Hina Mauka's 27-year history, "ice" has been the primary addiction.

Unlike the rest of the state, UHM's Center for Substance Abuse has not seen a reported increase in "ice" use on campus, according to coordinator Michael Taleff. In a UH survey on drug use, about 1 to 2 percent of students said they used "ice." Alcohol remains the main problem on campus.

But Taleff said he has received calls from community college campuses about drug and Alcohol problems.

Earlier this spring, Taleff petitioned the deans of students at UH's 10 community colleges to expand Manoa's drug-education program systemwide, since the other campuses do not have such a program.

Although Taleff got a favorable response, he said the idea has been stalled because of financial constraints.

Meanwhile, he is applying for a $600,000 federal grant, which is only for alcohol-related problems. If he gets the grant, it will give him some credibility to apply for drug grants, Taleff said. If the Alcohol grant is approved, he could implement his intervention plans by next fall semester.

Russ Henrie, clinical coordinator at the UHM Counseling and Student Development Center, said students who use "ice" are an underground group. Although the students' productivity may increase initially when they're using "ice," eventually they may be unable to function in school, he said. More students seek counseling when they see the detrimental effects of "ice" in their friends, Henrie said. Students using "ice" can become delusional, psychotic or suicidal.

But students aren't the only ones affected by "ice."

"We've had to treat doctors, lawyers, teachers, athletes," said Tom, the Hina Mauka counselor. "It affects every walk of life."

Tom has noticed "ice" use among children as young as 9 years old. He said young users usually have parents who use the drug. Most families, he said, don't know how to help the user.

"My family was my biggest enabler," he said, because they allowed him to continue using drugs. Tom said he wants to encourage families and loved ones to get educated about drug treatment options and supporting the recovering addict.

"There is help out there," he said, "I'm one of the lucky ones that didn't die."