My mom always used to tell me that this was the time of year when we were to count our blessings. When I was a little kid, that basically meant counting the number of gifts under the tree with my name on them. Later I realized she meant something much deeper.
So I looked back at 2010 and I decided to count my blessings here in the blog, as they relate to our fight against meth.
1. I'm thankful for my return to social service work - it was like coming home after a long vacation.
2. I'm thankful for the Human Resource Assn. lunch meeting in May where I had the opportunity to hear Sgt. Don's meth presentation for the first time.
3. I'm thankful for our Meth Awareness Partnership and the hope we've conjured up for this problem.
4. I'm thankful I met Jeff "Hoss" Smith and his group at Serenity House.
5. I'm very thankful God made us passionate people.
6. I'm thankful for the support the community has shown us.
7. I'm thankful for the Kosciusko Drug Task Force and all of the police departments who work so tirelessly to serve us.
8. I'm thankful for the new "I AM" group which is helping families of addicts.
9. I'm also thankful for the new in-jail recovery program and all of the treatment programs offered in our area.
10. I'm thankful to our legislators for looking at this problem and considering a law change that will help solve it.
If you wish to count your blessings here too, please add them!
AND MAY EVERYONE HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS, AND A SAFE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! WE HAVE A LOT MORE GROUND TO COVER IN 2011 - METH HAS MET ITS MATCH!
Meth is a huge problem in this area and finally the police are making arrests. The courts have to do their part in this fight also. The people charged with drug offenses are going to have to do more than a few days in jail and fines, to stop this chaos. I have seen quite a few people be arrested and out in less than a week and back to terrorizing their families or neighborhoods for more money for meth. The consequences are going to have to be harsher to get these people off these drugs. Most people arrested are barely through withdraws and released back onto the streets to start all over again.
ReplyDeleteThe police are making arrests and chasing down the meth labs, but their time could be better spent if the numbers of meth labs were reduced. That is why we have fought so hard to see sudafed-type products made available by prescription only. The sentencing and treatment/recovery aspects are a tricky balance. Some are nearly hopeless cases and harsher sentences do seem to be the only answer. But there are also a hopeful group of users, cookers, etc. that sincerely want to turn away from meth. They may not know how to get there. The Kosciusko Courts and Sheriff's Dept. have been very supportive of a program that will carefully select addicts who are ready to help themselves. The program includes longer-term sentencing, but also offers a path for treatment and recovery that will begin while they are still in jail. We know they need a much longer time to get through withdraw and be isolated from the drug. Knowing that the prison population in our state is busting at the seams, we need to find more effective ways to deal with some of the "hopefuls" and turn them back into productive community members.
ReplyDeleteAll of them want rehab and want to be away from meth when they get arrested but once they are released it is a different story. Take Sarah Hein and Richard Holbrook for example. Sarah may just get rehab and be out in a few months and then her children are at risk once again. But since she will run around and tell on the others doing meth, her family, children, and associates all have to be at risk. I know this girl personally and she has threatened her mother, father, sisters, brother, and children. She has charges of abuse on her children and since she has the meth arrest now those charges will probably be lost. Both of these people have had many chances and chose to remain in the meth life so they should pay the consequences.
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