I have spent a number of years wondering if anyone really cared about the alcohol and drug problems that are facing us in our county and our State. At times it has seemed to me that there was an abundance of apathy. Sure I heard the cry’s from the newspaper. Sure I heard the cries from the parents who have personally struggled with these issues but there seemed to be little action taken by the families at large.

The MADD organization’s national leader was here and did a great job with her personal story and still there wasn’t much action taken by our community. Our own local chapter has done some great things and still we are facing a large problem. The school Chemical Dependency counselor’s job is up for grabs because of budget concerns and no one seems to care. Do we care? Have the articles and the stories in the paper had an impact?
Here is a quick way to check if I’m right. How many different ways can you name that help young people to stay away from alcohol or drugs? There have been lots of articles in the paper during the last few years that talk about different ways. There have been many discussions at the community and school levels that cover some of the ways and yet there still is a growing problem here in our County and State.

I have seen other towns and cities struggle with this problem during my life. I’ve sat in quiet anticipation waiting for the message to get through to our town and county. I grew up here in this community and I went through school here. I graduated from the local high school. I love this whole area. It really is a great place to live and raise children.

I’ve worked in and around the recovery field for a couple of decades. In that time I’ve seen what it takes to make happen for families, schools, neighborhoods and communities. What it takes is lots of patience and waiting for the right moment to start moving.

The moment has happened and I’m sure a few people even saw what I’m going to talk about. It wasn’t a headline. It wasn’t even a feature article that someone wrote with lots of thought. There won’t be an award for the writing or accolades for the time spent on the story. But what was written is the most important act that was in that paper that day. Tucked away in the police reports was a quick two or three sentences telling about a family who came home, found their underage child along with some friends in their home, drinking. The parents called the police and turned everyone in.
The funny thing is most people are shocked by what happened and will tell the person involved that they did the wrong thing. So often when a person acts they get slapped down for acting. They get slapped for the doing the right thing and that’s the tragedy of addiction. When I saw it in the paper I shouted to my wife with happiness. I felt that something great may get started as long that family is willing to take the brunt of what people might say to them and know they did the right thing.

So many communities have struggled with the same problem that we are struggling with. Each community comes through the same process. Some go faster than we have and some go at the same pace we have. We, as a State, do have the dubious honor of getting an F from the MADD organization and sadly we are the first State to have that honor.

We should have learned from that disgrace but we seem to have not learned our lesson. If our State was to be graded now we would probably be really unhappy with the grade. We, as a State, were encouraged by the leader of the MADD group to implement things that have not yet happened, to curb the flow of addiction. We were told by the Governor that some things were going to happen in our State so we could shake off the dust of shame and move on. Since those speeches nothing has really changed.

Look at the headlines since that grade was given to our State and see just how far we have come. Look at the local headlines and even at the school newspapers and we can see how far we have come.

What is my point?. Here’s my point. When those parents came home and found the party happening in their home, instead of pushing the problem aside or under the rug they called the police. The police came and MIPs were issued to some of the kids at the party.

That small act alone is the bravest thing a parent can do. That small act shows where the line is and those powerful parents were not willing to cross that line. I would love to meet the parent that did that heroic act. Taking the path they chose is not an easy or popular path. It’s full of ridicule and trouble but those parents took a stand and drew a line in the dirt for their family.

That is a hard line to draw and it’s even harder to defend. I’ve watched families draw that line and then fall back from exhaustion. I’ve seen family’s draw that line and then have to deal with the community, and because of the community’s reaction to the line they drew, they caved in and drew back. I’ve seen families draw that line and have the children turn themselves around and not walk the path of addiction.

That’s why I encourage families to draw that line. Turning back the flow of addiction is the reason for the line. Addiction is an insidious problem that pervades throughout the lives of those who have to live with it. Addiction is a troubling, terrible enemy to have.

To that family who drew the line: My hat is off to you and I commend you for what you did that night. Holding your family accountable for their actions is hard. Taking a stand that is really unpopular is difficult at best. I personally encourage you to hold the line firm and not to give in to addiction.
It doesn’t take more meetings or impact studies to fight addiction. It doesn’t take more meetings from the community leaders or the school board to fight the battle of addiction. What it really takes is what happened in one family’s home and the action they took. All we need is more parents and families willing to kick alcohol and drugs out of their homes.

That is alcohol and drugs greatest enemy, an angry parent.