| Waking up to Halton drug use | February 2, 1998 |
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'Maybe, just maybe, we're not doing enough for our children' Last year a Substance Abuse Committee was created and headed by Dr. Robert Nosal, Halton Medical Officer of Health, as a result of a motion from Halton Regional Council. On this committee sat representatives from the Halton police, health department, both school boards, Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital, ADAPT (Alcohol Drug Addiction Prevention and Treatment), several local municipal and provincial politicians, various agencies, service clubs, and many others. Parent Watch was invited after writing a report titled "Recommendations for Responding to Halton Youth Drug Abuse." In the first couple of meetings we all did our best to share our opinions and focus as professionally as possible on the issue of drug abuse. Then something happened that changed how we view our services. A 17-year-old recovering drug addict, also a member of the committee, began to share her thoughts. At first we just stared at her. There appeared to be one of those contradictions that tend to make things a little unbelievable. You see, this one young woman was in fact quite passionate and articulate. She began to speak about her past experiences in Halton and how the shortage of services had made her recovery that much harder. That's when some of us began to squirm. This young woman had incredible courage, authenticity and sincerity She told us privately afterwards about the extent of heroin abuse in Halton. In her neighbourhood, her peer group had been introduced to heroin five years ago. That one meeting and that one woman not only challenged the way we had come to view our services, but also motivated us to find new ways of servicing families. You see, she was right. We need to re-examine our response to drug use. On Dec. 27, 1997 the headline in The Hamilton Spectator read 'No decline in student drug use.' The stark reality is that, maybe, just maybe, we're not doing enough for our children and that some of what we are doing might be ineffective, outdated or both. Some of the people around the committee table may have a hard time agreeing with this. First, we need to acknowledge that the greatest obstacle we face is the energy people expend to hide the truth. Yes, substance abuse is a major problem facing this and every other community. Secondly, ignorance and denial put our children at greatest risk. This diminishes our community's level of vigilance. It is only through our collective vigilance that we can begin to protect our children. We had better decide quickly what our community position is. You might be surprised to learn that more charges were laid for skateboard related offences than drug offences for youth last year. Did you know that we have no adolescent detox centres, youth hostels or treatment beds in Halton? Yes, it's wonderful that we can ship our children to other communities for treatment but we must be able to take responsibility for their recovery. Recently the provincial government recommended that the Regional Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Unit for Halton be moved to Mississauga. Is our community being sanitized? We can't afford to let what little treatment we have be removed. The wake up call from this young woman showed us once again what we have learned in Parent Watch, that one community member acting alone or in concert can create an effective and relevant service. Because of her efforts and her commitment to her own recovery, a group of adolescents struggling to control addiction to alcohol and drugs now meets weekly in Oakville, Ontario. To the young woman who has helped to open our hearts and minds we say thank you. Her goal is liberation for the hundreds of youth and families in Halton who struggle with the effects of drug abuse and we must join her.  Back to the articles menu
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