The Truth about Their Substance Abuse...

One summer I worked in an internship with a parachurch organization. Their goal was engaging their neighborhood and trying to solve food security, homelessness, violence, and substance abuse.  

Over the summer I worked at the mission and the staff grew more concerned about break ins going on in the neighborhood and growing risk to the mission. The director decided we needed to have some security. We didn’t have any funding for extra help, so the decision was made to get one of our biggest local volunteers to help with the problem. It seemed like a great plan. He would help with building security and have a place to stay for the night. There had already been several attempts to rob from the mission, so the program director wanted to have a security presence on sight. There was no funding for salaried positions, so it was just the one volunteer.

 One morning when I came in to work the program director met me out front angry and agitated. Trying to figure out what was going on I began asking questions. I found out the facilities had been completely cleaned out. Everything of value was gone. At first, we assumed that the robbery was from someone in the neighborhood but after further investigation we found out it was the volunteer that was supposed to be watching the facility. So what happened?

One night when he had a moment of weakness he loaded everything up of value and sold it for drugs. He had been a dear friend of the mission and helped serve and help for over a year and then just one night betrayed the program and stole everything. Was he just a bad guy? What would make someone do such a thing? The answer drugs.

People aren’t themselves when they have a drug problem. Drugs rob us of our love’s ones. They are no longer our parent, sibling, coworker, or friends. The drug turns them into someone that we no longer recognize, which is why they call it a disease. Substance abuse and addiction can change you from someone that is a loving parent and spouse into a person that causes destruction in everything around you.

Stories I mentioned above are more numerous than I can recall, which is why any mental illness or other concerns have to be separated out after the substance abuse is dealt with. It’s hard to see what is really going on with our loved one while they are engaged in addictive behaviors with an illegal substance.

Understanding what caused the drug use is at the core to dealing with the substance problem. It is hard to find motivation to want to get better if the reason behind the substance abuse is not addressed. It is also true that as an addiction grows it is difficult for people to restrain themselves. It’s called drug addiction for a reason. It is a disease that requires serious intervention sometimes resulting in an inpatient rehab facility. 

Often there are medical personal to help monitor someone as they are detoxing from drugs.  There is no magic for getting better but each person should be given the chance to find the motivation to change.  Sometimes life gets in the way. For example, someone may develop a drinking problem after a divorce from a spouse. Often, the best person to help is someone who has been there.  It can remind someone they are not alone.

Consider the 5 tips below that can be helpful when dealing with drug and alcohol abuse.

1.     Look for local programs and clinics to get support.

2.     Inpatient help may be required.

3.     Support groups like AA and NA can help with support and accountability.

4.     Find a sponsor to help with accountability and support.

5.     Get help for yourself if you have a loved one—sometimes watching a loved one go through an addition to a substance can take a toll on you.

6.     Consider a move to a new area and a change in peer group. It can be tempting to fall back into the same problems if our environment and the people in it don’t change.

7.     Find religion. It may sound silly but many people find connecting to something bigger than themselves offers the support and encouragement they need to sustain a change.  

I hope you noticed that the recurring them was getting support for you and your loved ones. It is a problem that can’t be solved alone but with lots of support and encouragement people can make changes to better their future.

--Jered Dane