Sober N Clean

It was the first Monday of the month and that meant reading and discussing a tradition. Those of us “regulars” at the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Sisters) meeting usually expect fewer women on a Tradition Monday but this night, the room was amazingly full. We were reading Tradition Ten from the “Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions” and unlike shares for many of the traditions, this one was lively and very animated.

Tradition Ten states that “Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy.” What immediately comes to mind is that we are getting close to election time and this particular election is evoking a lot of emotions in a lot of people. Think about what would happen in your fellowship if someone, during his or her share, endorsed a candidate. Think what would happen if you went to a meeting and there were political posters all over the meeting room and the candidate was not of your choosing. I’m sure it is not going to make you go out and have a drink (or drug, eat, gamble, not eat, shop, etc.) but if you are like me, you might be annoyed just enough to make a decision to stay away. If you are a newcomer, I am positively sure you would get the wrong idea about the fellowship and that might be your first step back into your addiction.

It isn’t just politics that should be left out of the fellowship. There are times when a person shares, he or she gets on the soapbox and promotes a belief or idea that perhaps isn’t terribly controversial but makes people very uncomfortable. And why would we feel uncomfortable? Because someone else is going to respond in a negative way to what was said and what have we got here, folks? We’ve got ourselves a real, live fellowship argument? People take sides; sometimes silently, sometimes not. It is never a positive experience.

Some people, not just those of us in recovery, have very short fuses. This doesn’t necessarily change because someone has been in recovery for any length of time. My own experience is that the longer someone has been in recovery it seems the more they feel entitled to state their opinions as truth for everyone or does not hesitate to be the first to respond to another if he/she disagrees. This is my experience. It may not be yours. I’ve come to the conclusion that people who are inappropriate in their sharing might still have a need to control or maybe they are a bit too righteous. Whoops! Am I taking their inventory? I am not intending to do that. Honestly, I think they are just human beings and that’s just how they are. Recovery doesn’t change our humanness. If that were the case everyone would want to be a part of a 12 Step group just to be perfect.

Personally, I have always hated controversy. I hate it even more when it happens in a meeting. I don’t think I’m the only one. Group conscious meetings are historically known to create some tensions because, it seems, that personal opinions run higher than normal. And we wonder why no one wants to stick around and be a part of one. One of the women at the meeting said that she believes that if what you say publicly (in a meeting) is based on “your experience” it is a much safer bet then to be making others believe your way is the only way. This is particularly important because AA and other programs have no rules; no best way for everyone. The steps are but suggestions.

A number of years ago (pre-recovery), I was in a leadership position at my job. My boss and I had one agreement. We would agree to disagree. And we never agreed on anything. It was the best and most productive position in my career. Why? Because we set ground rules and nothing was ever personal. It’s a bit different when you are in a recovery program because the only agreements we have are, in fact, the traditions and that doesn’t mean everyone reads them the same way. The Traditions, however, are our boundaries. The reason why AA is still around today is because there were and still are enough people who hold onto the original traditions to keep it in tact. 12 Step programs should be safe. Our purpose is to stay sober and to help other alcoholics. How can we possibly help another addict when they are too frightened or disgusted to come back to a meeting?

The most important message I can give or share (as I see it) is that each one of us has to make a conscious effort to be mindful of what we say and how we say it. I don’t think that means we have to be afraid to share but I do think we have to have the common sense to know if we are going to create a controversy. Likewise, maybe you are the person who wants to respond to a person creating the controversy. It takes two people to begin any type of argument or confrontation. Personally, I prefer to be neither.

Lastly, we are human and rather complicated but we have to keep in mind that our own sobriety and recovery is the most important thing in our lives. Before you decide not to attend a meeting because you were uncomfortable or angry, remember who you are punishing. If you are even at the very beginning of working a 12 Step program, you already realize that you have choices. Don’t let anyone else make them for you. We each have a responsibility to ourselves to be happy, joyous and free. It is our destiny.

Namaste’. May you walk your journey in peace and harmony.
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source: http://www.bellaonline.com

Addiction to drugs and alcohol is a devastating problem in the U.S., and overcoming it is no easy task.

Now, Central New Yorkers in recovery have another resource to rely on.
Friends of Recovery is an organization founded to provide an outlet and networking opportunities to those recovering from addiction. Formed in 2007, the local affiliate of the national organization states as its mission to “provide social, recreational and educational activities to support people in recovery as well as their families and friends.”

“There are people in recovery in all walks of life,” said Kimberly Sacco, executive director of the Syracuse-Onondaga Drug and Alcohol Abuse Commission, one of the partners in Friends of Recovery. “We want to provide as many resources as we can in the community.”

Friends of Recovery is the result of a collaboration between numerous community organizations, including the Syracuse-Onondaga Drug and Alcohol Abuse Commission, the Prevention Network, Crouse Hospital, Syracuse Teen Challenge, Tully Hill Chemical Dependency Treatment Center, Rescue Mission, Altamont Treatment and the Center for Community Alternatives.

“It’s really a community collaboration,” Sacco said. “A lot of different groups work together to make it happen.”

The group, which is free, is open to everyone, whether they are recovering from addiction, have a family member or friend in recovery or just want to help out with events, mailings and other activities.
“It’s open to anybody who wants to be a part of that support system,” Sacco said, “and anybody who feels like they need support.”

Sacco said no particular recovery program is advocated by Friends of Recovery.
“Nothing is pushed,” she said. “We recognize faith-based programs, 12-step programs – we’re sort of non-denominational. Anything that works for people.”
The local organization was founded last September, Sacco said.

“In recognition of National Recovery Month, OASAS [New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services] sponsored a luncheon at LeMoyne Manor in Liverpool,” she said. “The state wanted to expand their programs. Previously, the focus had been on treatment, then on prevention. The state wanted to focus on recovery and complete that triad.”

In order to come up with a program to address recovery services, people from across Onondaga County met for a brainstorming session.
“The goal was to set up places and organizations around the state for people in recovery to get services,” Sacco said.

Friends of Recovery was established as just such a resource. With an $11,000 grant from the Onondaga County Department of Mental Health, the group has been able to hold events, like their first, a family bowling night in November of 2007 that attracted some 500 people. They also host an annual Recovery Day celebration at the Inner Harbor; this year’s event took place on Saturday Sept. 13.

Friends of Recovery holds meetings on the second Wednesday of every month at which they discuss various programs and welcome addiction professionals as speakers. The meetings alternate between afternoons – 12 to 1:30 p.m. – and evenings – 5:30 to 7 p.m. – in order to accommodate anyone interested in coming. All meetings and events take place at the Salvation Army building, 667 South Salina St., Syracuse.
In addition to its regular meetings, Friends of Recovery has begun holding coffee hours at 7 p.m. on the first Tuesday of every month.

“It’s just an opportunity for a cup of coffee and some networking and fellowship with other people,” Sacco said. “You can come and just sit and drink coffee, or you can meet other people. There’s no agenda.”
The organization also offers family movie nights on the last Friday of the month.
“It’s a family event,” Sacco said. “It’s a lot of fun.”

The goal of the group is to not only provide support for those in recovery and their families, but also to remove the stigma attached to addiction.
“Addiction is recognized as a disease,” Sacco said. “Recovery from addiction is just like recovery from cancer or heart disease. You’re just as much a survivor for coming through that.”
For more information, e-mail FORCNY@yahoo.com.
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source: http://www.cnylink.com

On the morning after the house party on Johnson Street, Jenna Foellmi and several other twentysomethings lay sprawled on the beds and couches. When a friend reached out to wake her, Foellmi was cold to the touch.

The friend's screams woke up the others still asleep in the house.

Foellmi, a 20-year-old biochemistry major at Winona State University, died of alcohol poisoning on Dec. 14, one day after she had finished her last exam of the semester. According to police reports, she had three beers during the day, then played beer pong — a drinking game — in the evening, and downed some vodka, too.

Foellmi's death was tragic, but typical in many ways.

An Associated Press analysis of federal records found that 157 college-age people, 18 to 23, drank themselves to death from 1999 through 2005, the most recent year for which figures are available. The number of alcohol-poisoning deaths per year rose from 18 in 1999 to 35 in 2005.

Over the seven-year span, 83 of the college-age victims were, like Foellmi, under the drinking age of 21.

"There have always been problems with young people and alcohol, but it just seems like they are a little more intense now than they used to be," said Connie Gores, vice president for student life at Winona State. "The goal of a lot of them is just to get smashed."

A separate AP analysis of hundreds of news articles about alcohol-poisoning deaths in the past decade found that victims drank themselves well past the point of oblivion — with an average blood-alcohol level of 0.40 percent, or five times the legal limit for driving. In nearly every case, friends knew the victim was drunk and put him or her to bed to "sleep it off."

"Her friends were with her. It's not like they just left her alone," said Jenna's mother, Kate Foellmi. "She went to bed and she was snoring. She just didn't wake up."

Schools and communities have responded in a variety of ways, including programs to teach incoming freshmen the dangers of extreme drinking; designating professors to help students avoid overdoing it; and passing laws to discourage binge drinking.

Charges were filed in about 40 percent of the cases in which outcomes of criminal investigations were known — most often against fraternity members or others who obtained alcohol for someone underage. There were a few hazing charges. In most cases, plea bargains were reached and the penalties included fines, probation or community service. Jail time was rare.

The federal data showed deaths spiking on weekends — when young people are more likely to go out with the goal of getting drunk — and in December, when college students wrap up finals. Most of the dead were young men.

College students on average drink only a little more than adults in a typical week or month, said Scott Walters, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Texas. But college students "tend to save the drinks up and drink them all at once."

The federal figures do not indicate whether a victim was a student or not. But the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health showed that adults ages 18 to 22 in college full-time are more likely to binge-drink than those not in school.

AP's analysis of news articles found freshmen at greatest risk, with 11 of 18 freshmen deaths occurring during the first semester.

Walters said one reason is that freshmen are on their own for the first time and trying new things. Also, there is a mentality that "if you're under 21 and someone's got alcohol, you've got to drink it, because you never know when somebody's going to have it again."

One practice — drinking 21 shots on a 21st birthday — has proven especially lethal. Of the college-age deaths that made news, 11 people, including eight college students, died while celebrating their 21st birthdays.

"The 21st birthday we knew was coming. We didn't know about the 21-shot thing," said Cindy McCue, who lost her son Bradley, a junior at Michigan State University, in 1998 after he downed 24 drinks in less than two hours.

The McCue family started a nonprofit organization nearly 10 years ago called Be Responsible About Drinking, or B.R.A.D., to teach young people about the dangers. The foundation created birthday cards reminding those turning 21 to celebrate responsibly.

Some universities are trying to send the same message with Web sites and programs that feature slogans such as "Remember Last Night."

San Diego State has a Web site that lets students punch in information about their drinking habits and learn about the risks. Winona State is starting an online course to teach incoming freshmen the dangers of excessive drinking.

Forty professors at Fresno State in California have taken a pledge to learn about the effects of alcohol misuse and advise students. The professors' names are on posters around campus. Other universities have banned or restricted alcohol advertising and sponsorships in athletics.

Minnesota passed a law that blocks people turning 21 from being served alcohol until 8 a.m. on the day of their birthday — a measure aimed at stopping customers who turn legal at midnight from drinking as much as they can before closing time. Other states have similar laws.

In the case of Bradley McCue, who went out at midnight when he turned 21, the bartender kept serving him, even though he was obviously intoxicated, his mother said. The bar owner was charged with supplying alcohol to an intoxicated person and other counts. The owner agreed to pay $50,000 in fines and costs, close for 30 days, and retrain employees.

Jenna Foellmi worked to put herself through school, made the dean's list one semester and was a high school member of Students Against Destructive Decisions, according to her mother.

"She was the one we never had to worry about," Kate Foellmi said. "I remember calling her up and saying, `I am just so proud of you. I'm so glad you have your head screwed on straight.'"

On the morning of Dec. 13, the young woman finished a physics final and called her mom, screaming: "I passed!" She told her mother she was going to go have a beer.

"I said, `You deserve one,'" Kate Foellmi recalled.

Exactly how much Jenna drank that night isn't clear. The coroner did not release her blood-alcohol level, saying only that it was "not compatible with life."
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source: Associated Press

"Why don't you just get lost?"

The words, tossed out at the end of an otherwise unremarkable marital dispute, slapped Wayne Davies a lot harder than they should have.

"It just hit me and pierced my heart," Davies said. "I got my feelings hurt, and I just took it like a little kid."

He ran.

He was in the truck 10 minutes before he realized he had pointed it toward a Council Bluffs casino. Davies, a retired shipbuilder and longtime advocate against the spread of gambling, was headed back to the slot machines that once cost him his dream home, his quiet California retirement and nearly everything else he owned. According to Davies, gambling was a mistress he thought he'd left behind when he moved to Iowa and rediscovered the Bible roughly 13 years ago.

"It was unplanned," he said. "There was no intention. It just kind of snuck up on me."

So, while West Des Moines police searched for the "lost" 68-year-old heart patient, Davies burned up 36 hours and roughly $1,300, one casino-cashed check at a time.

But Wayne Davies ultimately found his way back. And he wants you to understand.

"I don't feel this time that I fell, so much as I stumbled," Davies said in a meeting room at the Valley Junction church where he still presides over a weekly anti-addiction support group. "You don't get ahead by looking back. ... You get ahead by looking forward."

Iowa experts figure that up to 5 percent of the population wrestles with some form of gambling addiction, but there are no statistics on how those people fare in long-term battles with their demons. The best Iowa survey says slightly fewer than 71 percent of problem gamblers can expect to be gambling-free six months after they finish addiction treatment.

Most should expect to feel that familiar pull for the rest of their lives, said Lisa Pierce, director of the nonprofit Central Iowa Gambling Treatment Program. If they are successful in treatment, most will manage to turn somewhere for help before they get too far out of control.

"There are always going to be certain things that trigger it though life as crises come up," Pierce said. "You're always going to be compulsive. You're always going to have compulsive tendencies."

Davies, a San Francisco-area shipbuilder, gambled for the first time as part of all-night excursion with his work buddies to Lake Tahoe on the California-Nevada line. He was 21. Over the next few decades, he and his wife and two children made frequent weekend trips to casinos, mostly in Reno, Nev. They'd spend the night, see a show and play some slot machines. It was fun.

As time passed, however, freeways sprang up and made it quicker and easier to get to Nevada. Davies' children grew up and moved away. He began to gamble longer and longer during the trips. His wife, who didn't like his refusals to quit, began to stay behind.

By the mid-1990s, the debts had begun to pile up. Chunks of money intended for a new house found their way into the slot machines. By the time the couple's retirement home was finished, there was too much debt to afford the payments.

Finally, during a visit to his son in Iowa, Davies' granddaughter told him he needed to accept Jesus into his life.

"I just buried myself in the Bible, and that's what got me out of it," he said. "None of my ways was ever going to do it."

A few years later, in 1997, Davies paid the city of Madrid $1 for the deed to a dilapidated old movie theater. The plan was to refurbish and reopen it as a venue for good, old-fashioned family-friendly films from the 1940s and '50s. Down the road, there was supposed to be a restaurant and maybe an addiction treatment center next door.

"This shows what a dollar and a dream can do," former Vice President Dan Quayle said in a pre-caucus visit to the theater in 1999.

But there were never enough dollars, so Davies ultimately abandoned the dream. He moved to West Des Moines.

Today, he uses space at the Valley Junction Church of God to run Family Tyme, a nonprofit organization set up as part of the theater project. He's been working with experts, including Pastor David Redden, and hopes to train people to run support groups similar to the one he leads on Tuesday nights at the church.

"Wayne is not doing the training," Redden said. "What he's doing is saying, 'These people need help like I need help.' "

Twelve people are lined up for classes that begin later this month. The focus, according to Davies, will be simple: Live by the Bible.

You don't have to be perfect. You just can't let anything knock you too far off the path.

For his own part, Davies says he's worked to cut expenses and eliminate bills and the stress that leads to his weakness.

"I don't think I should ever get the attitude that I don't need a support group like this," Davies said. "I can't do it for them. I can only encourage them. But I know the way."

Now, especially.
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source: Des Moines Register

If you're a manager or supervisor, you may one day face the unpleasant task of dealing with an employee with an alcohol or other addiction.

About 80% of heavy drinkers are employed either full or part time, reports the Hazelden Foundation, a treatment and research center in Center City, Minn. About 500 million work days are lost annually due to alcoholism, a 1991 study shows, while lost productivity due to alcohol and drug abuse in the U.S. is estimated at $81 billion a year, according to a 1995 study.

Rather than firing an employee due to alcohol or substance abuse, or ignoring the issue, alcoholism-treatment experts say the best plan is for managers to treat the issue as a job-performance problem.

"Managers can't identify the problem, even if they are sure, because that would mean they are making a diagnosis, and they aren't qualified to do that," says Bill Arnold, corporate director of substance-abuse counseling services for Quad/Graphics, a Sussex, Wis., printing company with about 12,000 employees.

Approaching the issue as a performance problem avoids legal issues that might surface from labeling an employee and therefore being liable for their actions, says Eric Goplerud, director of Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems, a program offered by George Washington University Medical Center to encourage treatment. Once they are treated and recovering, employed alcoholics and addicts are covered by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and cannot be fired because of their illness.

"The ADA says a person in recovery is a protected class and must be treated as any other employee," says Dr. Goplerud.

Dealing with addiction issues as a performance problem applies whether an employee has been a star performer or just average. And just as with any other performance issue, it should be done as soon as problems surface. "The worst thing you can do is look the other way," says Mr. Arnold.

Most employers use a progressive approach when disciplining employees with performance problems, starting with a warning and leading up to more severe consequences and eventually, termination, if the problems aren't corrected. Managers should use progressive discipline when dealing with employees who may have addiction issues, starting by documenting the performance problems or concerns and then meeting with the employee to discuss them, says Dr. Goplerud.

"The kind of intervention that usually makes sense is for the supervisor to sit down with the employee and say, 'I have observed that your productivity is slipping,' or 'that you are missing meetings,' " Dr. Goplerud says. "If their performance deteriorates, then whatever human-resources processes that are in place for discipline or removal from the job should be applied."

During the initial discussion, managers should provide employees with a list of resources they can tap to deal with personal issues that might be causing their poor performance.

At many companies, managers refer employees to an (EAP) for evaluation. EAPs have counselors who are trained to diagnose substance-abuse problems and recommend treatment. About 86% of companies with more than 500 employees have EAPs, while 62% of companies with between 25 and 499 employees have them, according to a 2002 study by Open Minds, a market-research and consulting firm in Gettysburg, Pa.

For companies, a lot is at stake in intervening with alcoholics and addicts effectively. Screening and treating employees with alcohol problems yields a 215% return on investment in health-care savings for employers, according to Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems, which offers an "alcohol cost calculator" that shows the financial return for businesses investing in alcohol treatment.

Employees are more likely to get help when they are given deadlines to improve performance and told they'll face more serious consequences, such as termination, if they don't, says Scott Basinger, associate dean of extramural affairs for Baylor College of Medicine's Graduate School of Biomedical Studies, who leads its Substance Abuse Assistance Council and the program.

Dr. Basinger says he recalls counseling an associate professor, a medical doctor in his late 40s who was sent for an evaluation. The chairman of the department said the professor had become increasingly irritable, was missing work because of the "flu," and had other performance problems, he says.

During the counseling session, the professor admitted he had a drinking problem and agreed to enter a treatment center. When he returned to work, he signed a contract agreeing to attend support meetings and counseling sessions and take random drug-screening tests. Now, three years later, he is in recovery and holds a high-ranking clinical position at Baylor, says Dr. Basinger.

Sometimes all employees need to hear to get help is that it's available and that their company will support them if they seek treatment.

A.J. Johnson says while he was a general manager of food and beverage for Marriott International Inc., he was a daily drinker and suffering from memory blackouts. After Marriott hired an EAP provider, Mr. Johnson attended a meeting for managers to learn about the new service. "They talked about the symptoms of the illness and that there was help available and employees wouldn't lose their jobs as a result," says Mr. Johnson.

He went home after the meeting and had what he says was his last alcoholic drink. "I called them that morning and said I had a friend who drinks too much," he says. "This nice lady I talked with asked me if I was drinking now, and, by 5 p.m., I was in treatment."

Mr. Johnson worked for Marriott another 11 years before starting a new career as an alcohol counselor at the Kolmac Clinic in Silver Spring, Md., where he had been a patient years earlier. He is now its assistant clinical director.

source: Wall Street Journal

Most of us know someone at work whom we believe drinks a bit too much.

It can be the co-worker who puts away a couple of six-packs of beer after work, or the colleague who imbibes too much wine at various gatherings or even the boss who smells like alcohol after lunch, despite the breath mints.

It's not that we think they're alcoholics, but we are aware that there could be a problem. And that's where a little education can go a long way to making sure these little problems don't become full-scale disasters that ruin professional and personal lives, says one expert.

Eric Goplerud, a Ph.D. and the director of Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems at the George Washington University Medical Center (www.ensuringsolutions.org), says that while workers' alcohol problems cost employers millions of dollars each year and contribute to skyrocketing health insurance costs, the problem often is not effectively dealt with in the workplace.

"I think one of the reasons that more employers have not addressed this issue is because it's perceived as a private issue in the life of an employee," he says. "We're hoping that people will see there are several things they can do that are relatively easy."

The goal, he says, is getting more employees to talk to those who drink too much, in a program called AIM - aim, inform and motivate.

"You go to someone and you say, 'You know, you seem to be drinking more - how much are you drinking?' Then, you inform them that what they're drinking seems like an awful lot. Finally, you motivate them to get help, by expressing your concern and saying: 'Have you thought about changing?' "

Goplerud also explains that just as an unhealthy lifestyle can lead to more serious issues such as diabetes, drinking too much can really impact someone's health and possibly lead to alcoholism.

source: Cincinnati Enquirer

Drinking experts have come together to tackle booze misuse in a holistic way. Reformed alcoholic Kevan Martin has set up a group in Sunderland called North East Regional Alcohol Forum to help recovering alcoholics with holistic therapy methods.

Alcohol misuse campaigners gathered in the region to explain why a new holistic approach was needed to support people with the problem.

Kevan Martin, chief executive of the North East Regional Alcohol Forum (NERAF), set up the national charity after the system failed to help him through his own journey out of addiction.

Addressing experts at a special Alcohol Abuse Symposium, hosted by Northumbria University’s Centre for Public Policy, Mr Martin said it was pointless giving people detox as the only form of support.

“It is essential that we move towards a more holistic approach to tackling alcohol misuse,” he explained.

“It’s pointless giving people detox alone as it just doesn’t work in isolation – you have to look at all other aspects of life at the same time as providing treatment.

“Relationships, housing and debt are just some of the external factors that can all impact on a person’s treatment programme and ultimately on their recovery.

“We believe that by taking this holistic approach, it will enable people to enjoy a total and radical lifestyle change, which is what is needed for people who have been misusing alcohol for many years.”

Alcohol misuse affects every area of life, from education, employment and health to crime and disorder.

At the event some of the strategic priorities for reducing the risks of alcohol abuse were addressed.

The event focused on alcohol misuse in its broadest sense, with a specific interest in young people and binge drinking.

It also looked at the links between alcohol and domestic violence and focused on alcohol policy within a regional context.

The Centre for Public Policy, which has had a team of staff working with NERAF, organised the meeting.

They have devised an extensive toolkit that is set to help people experiencing problems with alcohol, as well as providing a wide source of data regarding misuse.

Rob Wiggins, business manager at Northumbria’s Centre for Public Policy, said: “This project is part of a major initiative called Urban Regeneration: Making a Difference.

“The aim of the scheme is to tackle some of the real and very complex problems facing communities across the North of England.

“Working with NERAF has given us the opportunity to provide academic and research expertise to a valuable organisation while working alongside the team in a holistic way.”

He added: “We have devised a special toolkit that enables individuals to chart how alcohol is affecting their lives overall, including their health and wellbeing, relationships with family and friends, finance and employment and their self-esteem.

“The progress results will be charted on a specifically tailored database that will then give a clear view of the wider social and economic impact of alcohol misuse in the lives of the individuals.

“The results from this database could also potentially have a policy impact in terms of the way individuals receive and respond to treatment, as well as the implications for wider society.

“This has been an excellent opportunity for us to help make a real difference to people’s lives, as well as providing a greater understanding of the key issues. We believe this could eventually become the template for a national model of excellence.

“It has also given us the opportunity to work alongside the NERAF team in a genuinely collaborative way.”

The Alcohol Misuse Symposium was chaired by David Warcup, Det Chief Constable of Northumbria Police, along with Rob Wiggins from Northumbria’s Centre for Public Policy and Rosie Cunningham, associate dean of Northumbria’s School of Arts and Social Sciences.

The event came days after the findings of a study conducted by Northumbria and Keele University were presented at the British Psychological Society’s Annual Conference, revealing binge drinking by teenagers may put them at risk of everyday memory loss.

Binge drinking teenagers run the risk of losing their memory because of the permanent damage alcohol is doing to their brains.

Psychologists in the region discovered high levels of everyday memory loss among university students who have regular heavy boozing sessions.

Bingeing appeared to have a large impact on prospective memory, the kind used to remember future tasks such as calling a friend or buying washing powder from a supermarket.

Study leader Dr Thomas Heffernan, from Northumbria University, said: “There is evidence that excess alcohol and binge drinking in particular damages parts of the brain that underpin everyday memory.

“Not only may these teenagers be harming their memory, if their brains are still developing they could be storing up problems for the future.”

Scientists who carried out the tests on volunteers aged 17 to 19 from the region believed the harm caused to the brain may be long lasting or even permanent.

Teenagers were asked to fill in questionnaires about how good they believed their memory was before carrying out a video memory test.

Dr Heffernan added: “We found no differences between binge drinkers and non-binge drinkers in the self-reporting questionnaires, but when it came to the video the binge drinkers recalled significantly less than the non-binge drinkers.

“Although from their own reports they appeared to have good memories, they didn’t perform as well in the video test. The binge drinkers recalled up to a third less of the items, a significant difference.”

Help in looking at your lifestyle

Reformed alcoholic Kevan Martin was addicted to booze for 20 years but has now turned his life around and set up the North East Regional Alcohol Forum.

The 47-year-old, of Whitburn, South Shields, said his out-of-control habit ruined his life as it cost him his job, his marriage and his relationship with his daughter.

He would consume an average of eight litres of cider a day until he won his battle in 2000.

To help others in a similar situation, Kevan set up the North East Regional Alcohol Forum (NERAF) to offer a holistic approach to tackling the problem.

He said: "I misused alcohol for 20 years and it ruined my life during that time. I lost my job, my home, my relationship with my daughter and my wife.

"My addiction to alcohol started when I was in my 20s. I enjoyed going out to the pub and I liked socialising.

"I did not realise how addictive alcohol was and how much of my lifestyle was taken up by drinking. My problem just crept up on me without any warning signs."

He added: "When I finally accepted I was an alcoholic and stopped drinking I realised I’d been failed by the system. I had only been given ways to combat the issue through medication and was not encouraged to look at my lifestyle – which is essential.

"As a result I set up the North East Regional Alcohol Forum, which I did using my own money as it is something I’m very passionate about.

"It is crucial if someone wants to give up drinking that they look at the root cause of the problem, which generally involves assessing their lifestyle as that can be why the misuse of alcohol begins.

"Often people start drinking because they are in debt, unemployed, have a terrible home life and very few friends. NERAF provides long term aftercare and support to those affected by alcohol misuse.

"We highlight the dangers and health risks of misusing alcohol and, at the same time tell you that if you treat alcohol with respect and drink safely then none of the health risks should affect you."

source: Evening Chronicle

Alcoholism, like many addictions, is a disease of reinforcement. When you take drugs or alcohol, you feel better and when you stop drinking, you miss the feeling. By this same mechanism, the people you associate with can start to reinforce your drinking behavior.

Even though, for many, alcoholism ends up being a disease of solitude and loneliness, but it could start off completely differently. The divorced alcoholic that drinks half a bottle of whiskey every night before going to bed, probably started off drinking socially with friends.

That is not to say that everyone you might drink with is an alcoholic, but when trying to recover, it is wise to cut ties with people who could influence you to drink. If you have friends that you only saw on the weekends at the bar, these friendships reinforce your alcohol use. And when you're trying to get sober, it can be challenging to be with these friends.

Aside from the obvious fact that you need to have great self control to be around other people drinking and not drink yourselves, often times your friends can try to persuade you to drink. This doesn't make them bad people. It can be hard for someone who does not suffer from alcoholism to understand the disease. Most of the time, these friends just want you to be having fun with them.

Even if you are completely committed to getting sober once you've realized you have a problem, being around other drinkers can be too hard and lead to relapse. You might find yourself faced with a choice between sobriety or your friends. Usually, you end up either leaving these old noxious friendships behind and getting better, or maintaining your friendships and potentially giving up to alcoholism.

It is not easy to stop being friends with people. Some, when faced with this situation, just slowly phase out those old friendships. But this can be hard to do. It also helps to talk to your friends and try to make them understand the nature of your condition and why you cannot be around them when they're drinking. This can cause a lot of fights, but in the end your real friends will see you through your recovery and those that only wanted the fun drunk you get phased out.

The important thing to remember is that you need to do what is best for you when you're trying to recover. Friendships are great, but not if they are damaging your health and your body. Being sober trumps good times with your old drinking buddies.
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source: associated content

Alcohol abuse and underage drinking continue to plague Oregon, and the health and social consequences are serious, sometimes fatal, according to the Oregon Department of Human Services Addictions and Mental Health Division.

Drinking starts young in this state. Thirty-one percent of Oregon's eighth graders and half the 11th graders reported regular alcohol use last year, approximately 38,000 youngsters have a serious alcohol problem, and it's the leading cause of death among youth here. That's why Gov. Ted Kulongoski has proclaimed April as Alcohol Awareness Month in Oregon.

As noted in the proclamation, alcohol contributes to adolescent motor vehicle crashes, traumatic injuries, poor school performance, and health and safety problems. Research shows that the younger individuals are when they start to drink, the more likely they are to become alcoholic. And alcohol, not methamphetamine or marijuana, is the most frequently used drug among Oregon high school students.

Alcohol causes big problems for adults too, according to DHS statistics. In Oregon, approximately 66 percent of men and 50 percent of women drink. Nearly six percent of older adults and 20 percent of 18- to 25-year-olds abuse or are dependent on alcohol and need treatment. Each year there are more than 1,000 alcohol-related deaths in Oregon. About one-third of all motor vehicle fatalities involve alcohol.

"Alcohol Awareness Month is a great opportunity to get people involved in solving some of the problems associated with drinking," said Rick Cady, prevention manager of DHS' Addictions and Mental Health Division. "April is just a starting point. Underage drinking and alcohol abuse have such life-shattering consequences that we must be vigilant about it year around."

Cady recently joined DHS in the newly created position and is nationally recognized for his leadership and consultation work in the field of alcohol and drug abuse prevention.

Cady said DHS works with the Governor's Council on Drug and Alcohol Abuse Programs, the Oregon Department of Transportation, Oregon Liquor Control Commission, Oregon Partnership, and other groups and community providers to broaden its alcohol prevention outreach mission.

One new partner in the fight against underage drinking is the Statewide Leadership Team for Alcohol-Free Kids, chaired by Oregon Sen. Laurie Monnes Anderson (D-Gresham).

The Governor called for creation of the team to develop a wide-ranging set of youth alcohol prevention strategies, recommendations, and a five-year action plan for consideration by the 2009 Legislature. Areas of focus are:

• Strengthening community mobilization and leadership;
• Implementing research-based school and family prevention curricula;
• Enhancing support for enforcement and adjudication efforts;
• Creating targeted and consistent statewide public education efforts; and
• Improving data collection to monitor programs and inform policy decisions.

Underage drinking must be addressed on "multiple fronts with multiple strategies," with collaboration among state and local agencies, community partners, researchers, health care entities, business leaders and elected officials. And all segments of the public must be willing to adopt recommendations for change to occur, said the Governor in calling for the Alcohol-Free Kids team.

"I'm excited about the work of this leadership team, because we're looking at solving underage drinking problems in a multi-disciplinary way," said Monnes Anderson. "If changes in laws are needed, then we'll propose legislation. We can work with police and courts on enforcement and judicial issues, or if a treatment option is needed, then we'll go for that. We're bringing a lot of different partners to the table."

Cady said it will take the support of all Oregonians to cut the underage drinking rate, especially the support of parents, who are the critical "ounce of prevention."

"Parents play a stronger role than they might think in influencing their kids not to drink," said Cady. "Parents must talk about the issue, set some boundaries and get kids thinking about alcohol's consequences. And all of us, really, should be concerned about those consequences."

source: Bend Weekly News

Should an employee ever divulge a drinking problem to a manager voluntarily?

Part of Liz Dvorak's job as a human-resources specialist for the Army Corps of Engineers in St. Paul, Minn., is promoting the employee-assistance programs available to staff members if they have drug or alcohol problems. She puts up refrigerator magnets in the office kitchen advertising the anonymous and confidential EAP services. Ms. Dvorak, 51, long hesitated to get some employee assistance for herself.

Ms. Dvorak says she had a drinking problem for years. She rarely let it interfere with her work, which helped her minimize the problem. "There were times I missed work because of hangovers, but not very often, and it was a denial kind of thing," she says. "If I missed a lot of work, it would be obvious to me that I had a problem, and I didn't want to do that."

About three years ago, she says she used the employee-assistance package to enter an alcohol-abuse treatment program. Counseling was three nights a week, after work, and billed to the Army as an expense without a listing of the client or the type of treatment. Ms. Dvorak says she could have kept the information to herself, and no one at work would have known.

But she was tired of keeping secrets, she says. The first person she told at work was her boss.

Revealing an alcohol problem to a supervisor can be a flat-out risky proposition, especially if it has affected your performance. Doctors and HR professionals, including Ms. Dvorak, caution employees to think carefully before assuming that a supervisor will accept the news with sympathy and the same relief that the alcoholic may feel at finally coming to a point of resolution.

Ms. Dvorak says she felt confident that her sterling record at work and the good relationship she had with her boss would make for a smooth conversation, even a cathartic one. "It was a decision for my personal benefit to not carry a burden of shame and embarrassment," she says. "I don't want to hide who I am, because I think that keeps people sick."

Late in the afternoon, she says she went into her supervisor's office and asked to speak with her. They closed the door. Ms. Dvorak was worried she would cry. "I just want you to know what's going on," she says she told her boss. "I can't talk about it a whole lot, but I've been going through this treatment." Her boss was calm and supportive. They didn't talk much more about it at the time.

While many alcoholics let their dependency flood every facet of their lives, those that limit their drinking to after hours may have a tougher time recognizing its effects. But the employee who sips from a flask stowed in her desk drawer is likely to be impaired at work, perform poorly, and warrant discipline from above that could include termination.

Charles Herndon, director of Providence Breakthrough, a substance-abuse treatment center in Anchorage, Alaska, says he cautions his clients against alerting their supervisors. "I recommend keeping the reasons for chemical dependency treatment private in order to reduce the likelihood of receiving prejudicial treatment based on their diagnosis," he says.

If the individual can be treated after work in an outpatient program, keeping the matter private is not difficult. Federal laws and regulations keep privileged medical information between doctor and patient, and many employee-assistance packages don't share the client names when billing a company for services.

But when a doctor deems a person so ill from alcohol abuse that he or she must enter inpatient treatment for four to six weeks, employers will likely need an explanation to permit the leave. The Family and Medical Leave Act requires that employers with more than 50 employees permit unpaid leave to an employee who has been with the organization for a year or more for up to 12 work weeks per year in the case of a serious health condition that inhibits his or her ability to perform the job, among other situations.

Employers may also have their own policy governing the type of leave granted, says Michael Aitken, director of governmental affairs with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). It could be paid leave, for example, or considered sick leave or short-term disability, especially if the employee seeking it has been with the employer for less than 12 months, he says.

If you're that employee with a life-threatening case of alcoholism, how do you explain your situation to the boss, who certainly will notice a six-week absence? Keeping the nature of the problem private might take the poker face of a CIA agent. Those with a more transparent veneer may choose to consult their human-resources department before disclosing their condition to the boss.

That's the course of action Johnny Taylor, chairman of SHRM, recommends. "The HR person is trying to step outside of their own biases and do the best thing for the employee and the employer, whereas managers may not be in that same position," says Mr. Taylor, who is senior vice president of human resources for IAC/InterActiveCorp. "Imagine you go to someone who's extremely conservative and judgmental?" He says HR should work with an employee to come up with a plan for how to bring up the problem with his or her manager.

If an employee has been working while impaired by alcohol, an employer has grounds for dismissal, says Loring Spolter, an employment law attorney in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

A long period of sloppy work as a result of being hungover or drunk can jeopardize a career. Dr. Herndon says when job performance declines, and an employer notices, many companies may prefer to try to solve the problem rather than replace the employee. "If the employer knows that there is a treatable cause for the impairment, they are more likely to refer for treatment and allow the individual to come back on probation after completing treatment," he says.

source: Wall Street Journal

On seven week nights, groups of 30 or more local residents gather to discuss their common problem — their inability to cope with a deadly allergy. Alcoholism.

And make no bones about it, this far too often turns into a fatal illness because an illness is just what it is.

These victims must face three pertinent ideas of Alcoholics Anonymous.

• “We were alcoholic and could not manage our lives.”

• “Probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism” and

• “That God could and would if He were sought.”

New members must face their addiction and realize they were born with this weakness. The sincere desire to stop drinking must precede that first step toward total sobriety. A spokesman for one of the seven Wilmington branches cited “AA Unity” as members provide mutual support.

The plate is passed for contributions which purchase the mandatory coffee, cookies and pay the rent of the building where they meet. The coordinator-spokesman said, “I was a hopeless case — a total drunk.Then my wife and I decided that after trying everything else, AA was the last resort. I came here from out of town one night a week in an attempt to get dried out. That was in 2005 and for most of that time I have been dry. The idea of taking a drink now is a thing of the past. It has made a complete change in my life.”

“Now I can hold my head high,” he enthused. “Everyone is welcome at these hour-long meetings as AA tries to find a power greater than ourselves.”

The Wilmington branch was opened in 1959 and today AA has proven its effectiveness throughout the United States, Canada and in many foreign countries. There are no racial. religious, racial or economic requirements. Famous actors, television personalities, athletes and political leaders as well as convicts and social derelicts have attended the meetings. A prayer always opens each AA meeting. The door is always open to the AA member who falls along the way to sobriety.

Does AA work?

“You bet it does,” came the snappy reply from the coordinator. For those who attend the meetings regularly, 75 percent kick the habit for good. But if the alcoholic doesn’t want to kick it, AA is not for him.

When asked why AA does not assess dues on its members, the coordinator replied, “We’ve already paid the price.”

An old proverb is found on the first page of the AA’s monthly publication, “The Grapevine” expresses the ideal to which all AAs subscribe. “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change and the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.”

It exists in the form of group therapy. Members talk out their problems probing the causes of their addiction. It attempts to straighten the tangled, miserable lives of the “lush” or the “out of control drinker” who realizes where he or she is headed and through introspection or advice from a minister, pastor or friend attend the first meeting.

The AA policy goes on to state, “We cannot give AA membership to nonalcoholic addicts. But like anyone else they should be able to attend open AA meetings, provided, of course. that the group themselves are willing.”

Many members have been hospitalized numerous times for “defecting” and taking that one drink that is transformed into nine or 10 or 100. Others have awakened in the drunk tank of the city jail. Walking inevitably, hand in hand, with this situation is a plummeting reputation followed in rapid order by the departure of friends and family members and a pink slip from the boss.

There is no way this can be rationalized. Now the drinking starts with a vengeance.

“This is what AA tries to avoid,” the local AA spokesman concluded.

source: Wilmington News Journal

Millions of people have proclaimed their resolutions for the new year and have likely started off strong, hitting the gym, eating more healthfully and staying away from alcohol, to name a few. Statistics show, however, that of those who set a New Year's resolution at least 50% abandon it by the end of January and up to 90% by the end of March. There's now a better way to stick with and reach one's goals: DailyStrength, the Internet's fastest growing health-focused social network, has unveiled its new Goals feature. "Goals" provides members with measurement and tracking tools to keep them focused, and harnesses the power of online support groups (http://dailystrength.org) to keep them on the right path.

Free and available now on DailyStrength, the Goals feature is fun and easy to use, whether one's desire is to lose weight, nurture a relationship, stay sober, or simply cut out soda. The Goals interface walks each member through the process, providing options for receiving e-mail encouragement from friends, for tracking progress, for setting start and end dates, and for adding a badge to a MySpace page or blog. Goals can be made private or public, viewable only to one's DailyStrength friends, or viewable to all. When members input their goals, they are connected to others with similar goals, and encouraged to chat with and support one another.

Goals is already a hit with DailyStrength's members: just three weeks since it became available on the site, 10,180 goals have been set by nearly 7,000 members, with more than 7,600 "encouragement" e-mails sent to the goal-setters. To see some goals in action, visit the Depression Forum (http://dailystrength.org/discussions/Depression/messages) or the Alcoholism Forum (http://dailystrength.org/discussions/Alcoholism/messages) and click on "goals" in the upper right corner.

"I am very excited about our DailyStrength Goals feature," said Cyndi Sarnoff-Ross, a licensed psychotherapist and DailyStrength Advisory Board member. "Setting goals that you can see and track is an extremely effective way of achieving them. In my private practice, I routinely set goals with my clients and check in regularly to keep them on track. Having others bear witness to your progress, offer support and encouragement, and share their own experience with you helps to motivate individuals to stick to their program. DailyStrength's Goals offers a supportive and positive venue for members to achieve the goals they have set for themselves."

Helping over 400,000 users every month in more than 600 Community Support Groups (http://dailystrength.org/support-groups/), DailyStrength has become the "go to" destination for people facing health and life issues. Beyond support and encouragement, DailyStrength offers detailed information on more than 3,000 different treatments, so users can find and talk with others about their real-world experience using the same therapies. This valuable information can help a patient make more informed decisions when considering treatment options. DailyStrength also offers live news feeds tailored to each community, so members can read relevant news about their topics of concern as it happens.

About DailyStrength

DailyStrength offers hundreds of free online support groups (http://dailystrength.org/) for people seeking information, advice, and inspiration from others facing similar challenges, be it depression, divorce, grief, weight loss, breast cancer, parenting, HIV, or hundreds of other issues. Community members share experiences with thousands of treatments, recommend doctors, explore local support resources, post photos and videos, maintain wellness journals and send each other virtual hugs. In the words of one depression support group member, "This is what the Internet should be used for. A real global community, supporting and caring for our fellow beings. Absolutely inspired and inspiring."

DailyStrength is headquartered in Los Angeles and is backed by Redpoint Ventures.

source: http://www.pr-usa.net/

For many years, Westwood native Dan Sullivan struggled with alcoholism that started with experimental drinking as a youth and escalated into more serious drinking as a young man.

Now the 43-year-old, recently of Franklin, who in December celebrated 17 years of sobriety, is using the Internet to help others going through the same struggle.

Sullivan's podcast, "Just For Today," is the No. 1 sobriety program on iTunes, according to the show's production company, Hipfire Productions, based in Melrose.

"Our first show aired on Jan. 1 of 2007. We posted 103 shows in 12 months," Sullivan said, noting that his top downloaded sober podcast, aajustfortoday.org, gets about 18,000 hits each month.

Reaching thousands of recovering alcoholics with the message of staying sober "one day at a time," Sullivan began recording his podcast - a kind of program available for downloading from the Internet - from the basement of his Franklin home; now he creates the program from a new home in Rhode Island, to which he moved in December. He talks with others dealing with alcoholism, and conducts interviews with authors and other professionals also helping alcoholics recover.

"I just want to be a voice in the wilderness that's willing to talk to you about my pain and stupidity in alcoholism and that there is life afterwards. This isn't a lifelong sentence. You didn't come out of the womb drinking a beer or a scotch ... you had a time in your life where you lived without alcohol and you probably lived pretty good," Sullivan said.

The former radio sports show broadcaster who now holds two jobs - one as a sales representative for a computer services company in Rhode Island and one as a part-time karaoke host - says his goal is simple.

"I don't want to make any money from this. I just want to help other people get sober," he said. "My goal is, if I help one person, I'll be happy, and everything else will just be gravy."

Sullivan decided he wanted to help others like himself about 14 years into becoming involved with Alcoholics Anonymous.

"I'd gotten so much from the program, I was trying to figure out a way to give back," he said.

One day, while trolling craigslist.com, he came upon an ad looking for ideas for podcasts. He called the number and suggested podcasts about marriage and sobriety. The company that placed the ad, Hipfire, told Sullivan to work on the sobriety podcast idea.

"They said to put together a pilot show and they'd decide whether it was something they might want to start up," Sullivan said.

"A podcast is like an on-demand radio talk show," executive producer Rick Schettino, of Hipfire Productions, explained. "This content is not commercial enough for a radio station to take on, but the Internet makes that a moot point because you don't have to be in range of the radio station nor even in the same country. And you don't have to be available at the time that they broadcast the show to listen in. It's at your fingertips on your computer or on your iPod 24/7."

After answering the Hipfire ad, Sullivan cranked up his recording equipment and "just started talking" about his struggles with alcoholism and about sobriety. "And an hour later I was still talking, so I shut it down, and put a beginning and an ending on it," he said.

"When Dan contacted us about doing a sobriety podcast, we realized that there's a huge need to enable people like Dan to do their thing," said Schettino. "There are plenty of challenges that we all face. It's hard to care much about topics like global warming when your own life is in shambles. We need a healthy population if we're going to solve the problems that we all share."

The first week, Sullivan said, he got an e-mail from a man who said "this is great. It's helped me a lot." Now, Sullivan said, he gets e-mails from all over the nation and the world, including Australia and South America.

Sullivan is known only as Dan on his podcast - he withholds his last name in keeping with the philosophy of AA. He stresses that his podcast is not meant to be a replacement for professional help or AA meetings. The show is not affiliated with AA.

"Basically, it's a bridge. It's not a substitute for a meeting, it's a bridge," Sullivan said.

He doesn't present himself as a professional, Sullivan said, but rather as a voice of someone who has gone through it.

"I'm just telling you (on the podcast) from my experience what's worked (to stay sober) for 17 years," he said.

Sullivan revealed that he had his first drink when he was in sixth grade. "Nothing serious, but as I got into my middle to late teens it got more serious," he said. "I drank from about 16 to 27, when I got off the train."

During his struggle, he said, "I lost the respect of family and friends, lost jobs, and money... I had no emotion, nothing but doom, death and despair in my life. I didn't know what I was going to do."

"I got to the end and I was dying and I said 'I don't want to check out at 27 years old,' " he said.

While he has been sober for 17 years, Sullivan admits it remains a struggle, which is the reason the premise for his show - one day at a time - is so significant not only for him, but for others like him.

"I have one responsibility today and that is to not take a drink today. All I've got to do is not drink today. It's getting into that mindset of making the most of every single day that you have and making sure that you don't screw up by having a drink."

To speak with Schettino or Sullivan about www.aajustfortoday.com or www.nonprofitcast.com, contact Schettino at 781-665-0433 or email him at rick@rickschettino.com; or email Sullivan at aajustfortoday@hotmail.com (this e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, so JavaScript must be enabled to view it).

source: http://www.dailynewstranscript.com

Guest House offers 5-step plan off streets

Richard Johnson no longer calls the Guest House a homeless shelter. "It's an anti-homeless shelter," he says.

For the last 14 years, he's drifted in and out of shelters and slept on park benches or in empty cars as he battled the ups and downs of alcoholism, drug abuse and failed recovery efforts. But today he's hopeful and enthusiastic about rebuilding his life one step at a time.

In the last 10 weeks as part of new program at the Guest House, he's been involved in treatment and counseling for his substance abuse, developed a rsum that he's submitted to three employers and received his driver's permit. He hopes to get his license in two weeks.

At 45, he's looking forward to getting a job, his own apartment and a new, secure, sober and stable life. He's not there yet, but he's hopeful.

He's not alone.

Once considered a revolving door where a homeless person could get a warm place to sleep for the night and then move on once daylight dawned, the Guest House and other homeless shelters here and across the country are moving to make permanent housing a priority for the people who come to their doors, says Cindy Krahenbuhl, the new executive director of the Guest House. Krahenbuhl, 50, formerly was director of human services at the Milwaukee Center for Independence. Before that she worked at the Curative Care Network and the Mental Health Association.

"I like getting up to go to work every day and know that I'm making a difference, not only in the system, but in the individual lives of those here," she says. "It's all about the guys."

Last year the Guest House, which has annual budget of $3 million, provided shelter and services to 487 homeless men. Of those, 48% stayed and participated in transitional programming. Almost 60% of those then left and moved into permanent housing, according to agency statistics.

Krahenbuhl replaces Andrew DeFranza, who left after two years of shaking up the system and working to create more permanent housing for the homeless.

"He really laid the groundwork for the new model that's evolving and we're going to continue to build on that," says Krahenbuhl.

In partnership with Heartland Properties of Chicago, the Guest House plans to build 24 new, affordable housing units at 1218 W. Highland Ave. Half of the units will be reserved for those who are homeless or have disabilities.

Other affordable housing projects also are under development by other groups, including a 48-unit project under construction at N. 26th and W. Center streets, and the proposed renovation of the former Johnson Community Health Center at 1230 W. Grant St., which would provide 89 housing units.

The projects all were developed in reaction to a series of stories in the Journal Sentinel about the abysmal housing conditions for those who are homeless and suffer from mental illness.

In addition to housing, homeless people need supportive services, Krahenbuhl says.

The Guest House has developed a new program called LEADS, for Launch, Explore, Achieve, Discover and Succeed. Each stage comes with a certain list of criteria needed to move to the next stage, and a set of privileges, such as extended curfew and increased recreational activities.

Each person gets a case worker and a series of services to help him move through the stages into a job and a home.

Each stage corresponds to a letter in the acronym that are hooked on a keychain. Each participant must complete all five parts of the program, which includes following shelter rules, clean alcohol and drug tests, getting a job, and saving money. When all stages are successfully completed, the man gets a key to an apartment that he can put on the chain.

Johnson has completed the first two stages. He's having a hard time finding a job because of his run-ins with the criminal justice system, he says.

But he believes in the program. "This works better because it's not just talk. There's coaching and you see other men going to work, saving money and moving out," he says.

Tim Matthias, 41, now a resident service manager at the shelter, was homeless when he came to the Guest House because of drug and alcoholic problems, chronic depression and anxiety. He went through a different program at the shelter - a classroom approach that preceded LEADS - but found it worked for him. He's now completely independent, paying rent and thinking about the future.

"I was always a blue collar worker, but now I'm seriously considering going back to school and maybe work in the social service field," he says.

source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Carolyn Dean is smoking again. A decade off tobacco proved not long enough.

Addictions are big nasty bears, of course.

They know all about that where Dean hangs out, where she lights up without being treated like a leper. It is the Floyd County Token Club, a one-time auto-parts store in New Albany's downtown that is home to 12-step meetings, about 20 each week.

Alcoholics come to listen, to talk. They need the support they hopefully want. "I just like to think I'm one drink away from a drunk," said Dean, a 67-year-old former social worker who says she turned to alcohol at 14 and turned away at 36.

"This is life and death, for me."

Like it is for others there, if not for all. The afternoon I met Dean at the club, news spread of a former member who had lost her struggle and had died. Members were to eulogize, to be confronted surely by their own demons.

They also have reason to celebrate, however. The 19-year-old club has just paid off its mortgage, through hat passing and other fundraising. An organization not always on anything close to sure footing counts on remaining for the 500 or so Dean figures show up sometime during each week.

"It's a safe place," she said.

Denny Sims, its president, is a 59-year-old factory retiree who said he has been sober 12 years. The words differ each meeting, Sims said, but the message is basically the same. In speeches and discussions, the moral of the stories remains vital no matter how familiar. Sims said by helping himself, he helps others.

"We just have to be sure we don't put the first drink in us," he said.

The club is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Meetings are both mornings and evenings. Some people, like Sims, show up voluntarily. Others are sent by courts and by treatment centers. They are teenagers and they are grandparents. They attend routinely, or occasionally. "When you come back," Sims said, "you're welcome just like you've never left."

If they expect magic, they quickly learn otherwise. If they acknowledge their problem and are finally fed up with it, they are on their way to change. Sims said he attended two or three meetings each day, for quite awhile. "They know down deep it doesn't come overnight," he said.

"Denial is so strong," said Dean, a charter member who has been active off and on.

Come once and receive a white token -- akin to a poker chip -- that validates a day of sobriety. Return and trade it in for other-colored tokens that reflect ongoing progress. After one year, the token is bronze. It is typically kept handy for reassurance, a symbol of an important, maybe unlikely goal met. "It's a big deal to people who come around here," Sims said.

Sims drank for years yet somehow dodged legal consequences. Dean was not so lucky; she said she lost custody of her children.

When they were ready for better, they did better. Dean even led the establishment of Our Place, a center in Floyd County that counsels people with drug and alcohol issues.

Dean likens alcoholism to an elevator she wishes she had got off much sooner. "We get sober when we get sober," she said.

The club is in a rambling, old building with a roof and heating and cooling systems replaced not too long ago by a grant from the Caesars Foundation of Floyd County. A card game often goes on, and the pool tables stay pretty busy. There are Token Club dances and bowling teams. The club kitchen is operated by a contractor; otherwise, management is volunteer. The club receives no aid from the government or United Way, and Dean seeks broader backing.

"It's just like this disease," she said. "I'm chipping away at a rock."

"We're doing well, as far as helping people," Sims said.

To help, send checks to the Floyd County Token Club, 506 Pearl St., New Albany, IN 47150. Its telephone number is 945-4563. A Token Club also operates in Jeffersonville, at 511 Indiana Ave.

source: http://www.courier-journal.com

When recovering alcoholic Michael Z began sending quotes he had heard in the 12 Step meetings he had attended to a small group of friends he never expected that his weekly email would turn into a global phenomenon and a book.

Over a series of years, quietly and anonymously on his own journey of recovery, author Michael Z collected and wrote down the sayings and quotes he heard in the various 12 Step meetings he attended. A little over a year ago, he began sending these quotes via email to a small group of friends. He soon began receiving requests to be added to his Monday morning email list which within just a few months exploded into the thousands worldwide. Astonished by the response to his simple email Michael Z created http://www.TheWisdomoftheRooms.com As his readership expanded over the following year, Michael Z put his weekly 12 Step quotes and reflections into a new book entitled, "The Wisdom of the Rooms: A Year of Weekly Reflections."

The book was an immediate hit and readers are already raving that this book is changing lives. "What a fantastic collection," Barb Metcalfe, Public Relations director of The Orchard Recovery Center (in British Columbia) says. "The Wisdom of the Rooms takes the myriad quotes heard throughout the recovery community, puts them all in one place, and persuades the reader to deepen her meaning and commitment to the process."

Through quotes like, "Instead of telling God how big your fears are, start telling your fears how big your God is," Michael Z challenges the reader to reflect on daily struggles and to act on this wisdom in their own lives. Readers are encouraged to reflect on one of 52 quotes each week by answering a series six questions that are related to each quote.

The Wisdom of the Rooms helps those both in and out of recovery. One weekly reader writes, "As the mother of a struggling teen addict, our family tales are the same as many. Reading this inspiration each week has helped me gain a certain perspective of the trials and tribulations my son faces and an understanding of his struggles that he is unable to explain. Each week, you fill my glass with hope."

Michael Z lives in Los Angeles, CA, where he works as a psychotherapist intern and Life Skills coach. He has worked the 12 Steps in a variety of programs and lectures and leads workshops and retreats on the journey of recovery. Each week thousands of subscribers across the globe receive his Monday morning email and visit http://www.TheWisdomoftheRooms.com

The Wisdom of the Rooms, by Michael Z (Palm Tree Press 2007) ISBN 0979441692

source: prweb.com

The holiday season between Christmas and News Year's Day can be a testing time for recovering alcoholics trying to stay sober.

If alcohol has a season, it is right now.

Alcoholics feel particularly vulnerable during holidays by pointing out to them the shortfalls in their lives. It's self-delusional, of course, but many alcoholics believe that because life has failed them, it's a reason to drink.

As if alcoholics needed a reason to drink.

Some drinkers believe New Year's is coming up so it's OK to drink. But, after the holidays, they are filled with guilt and remorse.

Other heavy drinkers say the holidays mean nothing -- that when you drink, it's just another "drinking day," as they call it.

At open-to-the-public Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in Lewisburg and Sunbury on Friday, members were eager to share their experiences and talk about temptations to drink during the holiday season.

Because AA members prefer anonymity, the names of those interviewed might or might not be fictious.

Shawn, of Lewisburg, said, "At this time of year, I tend to stay away from parties where I know alcohol is being served, but if I do go I just remember that I shouldn't be drinking because I am an alcoholic. I refuse any kind of alcohol. I have to keep on my toes and pour my own drinks if I can because somebody might spike it, or someone might pass you something and say it's just Coca Cola' or juice. I'll watch the drinks being poured or pour it myself. Those are some of the precautions I personally have to take."

Shawn recalls being at a New Year's party one year where there was much toasting going on. "I was with another AA recovering person and everyone was raising their wine up or champagne at midnight... we raised the soda up, and a woman looked at us quite derisively, and said, Oh look, AA has got the soda,' and laughed at me. I remember that."

Shawn has been sober eight years.

Steve, a recovering alcoholic (sober for almost five years) from Lewisburg, said, "The holiday season isn't really a difficult time for me. I've been in the AA program for quite a few years and I think that particularly at this time of year, you should go to meetings on a regular basis. If I start to feel a little uncomfortable, I try to hit more meetings. If I have to go to parties or other social events, it's always good for me to bring along another member of AA. If I can't, I always have a way out. I drive myself, so that if I am not feeling right about a party, I can just get up and leave. I don't have to stay until the end of the party, like I used to, when I was drinking.

"At this time of year, no doubt about it, I've had thoughts about drinking," he said. "I've driven by a liquor store and thought, ah, look at the price on that bottle. It's really cheap.'

"I always thought that if I went to a party and someone offered me a drink and I asked for a Coke, they would say, What's wrong with you?' But what I've learned through the years is, people don't really care one way or the other."

A woman who chose to call herself anonymous (she also refused to say where she is from), said, "This is a difficult time of year. Particularly because there are more memories associated with the holidays than any other time. I don't remember what I did on March 7 or April 20. They are not prime numbers in my mind. But Christmas and New Year's have family memories, memories of people who are gone and people who are here. So it's more nostalgic. There's more emotional booby traps than we'd have at other times of year.

"My advice for alcoholics is to do the same things they do every day. Use a sponsor, go to meetings, read the literature, stay connected. I don't go around alcohol a lot. I don't have it in my house, I don't hang out with people who drink it, I don't go to places where it's served. I'll occasionally go out to dinner, but if I'm uncomfortable I don't go. Or I leave. It's important to have a way to get away if you need to.

"Alcoholism is sneaky," said anonymous. "You're never over it. It's always there. It can be arrested, but never gotten over completely and it doesn't matter how many years you've been sober. If you are an alcoholic, you think about drinking in ways that are different from other people. There is always that illusion that it's been a while or I could do this or I could have that. All the excuses. If I drink here, it wouldn't be a problem. And there are stories of people who have relapsed after really long terms and they end up dead.

"I've probably gone to 8,000 hours of AA meetings in a 25-year period since I became sober," she added, sadly. "And many people aren't here anymore. They would disappear. There is a lot of loss. A lot of recovery too, but more loss than you'd imagine."

Bob, from the Mifflinburg area is 60 days sober. He said, "this holiday season has been a difficult time of year for me. I come from a family of party people and now that I don't drink, it was a little rough at first to be with them. They did, however, support me and took away the alcohol at Christmas parties.

"This time of year, I felt more alone than I have in a long time Even being with my family, I felt alone, because when you give yourself to AA, give up the bottle after drinking for two-thirds of your life, you also give up your friends you've known all your life. Your drinking buddies."

Bob is able to deal with the season by knowing he has a sponsor to turn to. "If I have that urge, I can call him if everything went wrong at work. I would come with all kinds of excuses to stop and have that beer. One won't hurt,' I'd say to myself. But it will. So you need a support group. The sponsor will come get to you, talk to you... and the urge will usually pass."

Ben, sober for five and a half years is originally from Pittsburgh, and lives in the Lewisburg area. "In the beginning, I had a very rough time. I was a terrible person. My holidays were tougher on my family than they were on me. I was drinking, blind drunk. I wouldn't remember anything the next day. If I did remember something from the night before, it meant I didn't drink enough. My family would cry all night while I was away. It's a family illness, and if you're married with a couple of kids the emotional damage for them is 10 times worse. It should be a capital offense. I really believe that.

"Active alcoholics hurt a lot of people, mostly their families. I didn't want to, but I did. And during the holidays? Wow."

All of Ben's drinking days were tough, he said, not just Christmas and New Year's eve. "Those particular days were just an excuse to do more stupid things. I even once committed a robbery during the holidays. Crazy right? But, at least I was able to do something successfully. Even if it was criminal. By that time, I was in really terrible shape. I nearly died from alcoholism. I was as close to dying as anyone could be. I came out here to die. And I started going to meetings, got some hope...and little by little, I started getting better. Things didn't get better, but I got better.

"I was divorced. My family wouldn't have anything to do with me except my sister, who lived in this area. My three kids wouldn't talk to me. My wife divorced me. I was literally alone. I had to lose everything. I had no job. No money. But once I got here, I fell in love, got married and I'm living a good life.

John, of New Columbia, sober for less than three weeks, shared his thoughts with the Lewisburg AA group and confessed that this year provided a "new experience at Christmas. It was the first time in a long time without drinking. I didn't knock over the Christmas tree. So that was nice."

At the Sunbury AA meeting, Gene, from Coal Township, who has been sober for 30 years, said, "I'm OK now. I can deal with the amateurs out there on New Year's eve, out to prove how good a drinker they are. This is a tough time of year for newcomers. They have a difficult time with the un-wise men passing off gifts of alcohol. It's that time of year. Booze is flying around pretty loosely. We advise our newer members to stay close to the fellowship, attend plenty of meetings and keep close to your sponsors, stay away from parties, events that serve alcohol if you think you might be uncomfortable there, don't stay around people drinking alcohol."

Talking about the holidays, Gene said, "for most of us alcoholics, we'd drink every day anyhow. The holidays are just a cover up to do what we do naturally. It's the time of the year when people see us in all our natural behavior and they make allowances for us, because it is the holidays and everybody's doing it. Not knowing that we do it every day."

Gene said that on New Year's eve there would be "60 of us at someone's home celebrating in our own, non-alcoholic way. And we do this every Dec. 31. We provide a safe place for people who don't want to drink that night.

"We have a feast. It's become a tradition for this group."

But there are other ways to avoid those drinks.

Consider these New Year's eve tips courtesy of the recovering alcoholics at the Sunbury and Lewisburg area AA fellowships:

Keep a non-alcohol drink in your hand at all times.

Be prepared with what you are going to do when someone opens a beer or mixes a drink, and sticks it in your hand. Be very firm.

Remember the people you know that don't drink much or any, and seek out their company.

Keep a phone list (of sponsors if you're in AA) with you. If you have problems and you feel like you might need some help, call someone.

If you're starting to feel a little thirsty, like maybe one drink might take the edge off the nervousness, leave.

Expect questions about why you are not drinking. One suggestion: Say "doctor's orders," and leave it at that.

The AA groups we talked to for this article meet regularly in St. Matthews Church on Front Street in Sunbury and in First Baptist Church on Third Street in Lewisburg.

source: http://www.dailyitem.com

Mamie Medrano, 44 and a recovering alcoholic, has struggled to find safe, affordable housing.

Living in shelters and then with relatives, she drifted in and out of homelessness for years, taking her young daughter with her.

Their lives changed for the better in November 2001, when the pair moved into The Holland Apartments in Roseland on the city's far South Side.

The building is owned, managed and operated by Mercy Housing Lakefront, a non-profit that helps provide housing, job training and other services to previously homeless residents.

The organization, which serves some 2,000 people in 15 buildings throughout Chicago, is funded in part by the Corporation for Supportive Housing. Both are supported by Chicago Tribune Holiday Giving, a campaign of Chicago Tribune Charities, a McCormick Tribune Foundation fund.

Medrano said her spacious, two-bedroom apartment brings her the type of peace one can only feel in the knowledge one has a safe, clean place to live. It's allowed her to focus on her other problems, to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and work each day to fight her addiction.

'I can get sober,' she said. 'But to stay sober, that takes a lot of work for me.'

It's been hard to stay clean, and her resolve has been tested many times.

'I've been through so much,' she said. 'I grew up real fast.'

Medrano started sipping alcohol in her bedroom when she was 11. Now, when she's tempted to drink, she knows how to fight the urge.

Standing inside her apartment, her brow damp with sweat from cooking dinner, she's finally on firm ground.

'I thank God,' she said. 'I'm stable now.'

Her daughter, 9-year-old Mandi Walker, a playful girl who greets visitors with a hug, is thriving in the apartment, saying she's happy to have her own bedroom.

'It feels great,' she said, playing cards in the living room next to a brightly lit Christmas tree.

Residents living in other Mercy-run buildings echo the same pride.

It's been two years since Freeman Rufus moved into Wentworth Commons, also in Roseland.

He needed a place to stay after asthma forced him to quit his job as a meat cutter.

Rufus, who punctuates nearly every sentence with a hearty laugh, lived for a time in a shelter and spent a couple of nights in the lobby of a police station, anything to get out of the cold.

Wentworth Commons has not only provided him with shelter, but also has given him an added sense of purpose. Rufus, 56, spends much of his time volunteering, participating in voter registrations drives, neighborhood cleanups and other programs.

'I never imagined I'd be doing all of this,' he said, thumbing through a wall calendar that's nearly full. 'It's opened up the door to so many things.'

Rufus revels in the comforts of his small apartment. But like many residents here, he looks forward to when he can move and make room for the next tenant. Until then, he'll relish every day here.

'This is my family,' he said of the other residents.

Each tenant in Mercy's buildings has a case manager and property manager to help them take responsibility for paying rent, among other goals. In many cases, tenants are employed on site, some as custodians and desk clerks.

Part of Mercy's goal is for the housing units to blend into - and in some cases improve - the quality of the surrounding area.

Residents are invited to use the buildings' meeting spaces and computers. Tenants are encouraged to take ownership of the communities in which they live, which is why there is such a push to volunteer.

Organizations like Mercy Housing Lakefront couldn't operate without funding from other groups, such as the Corporation for Supportive Housing or CSH.

CSH, a national organization with an office in Chicago, doesn't build homes. Instead, it helps other groups formulate plans to build new housing units or convert other buildings into permanent homes by providing both money and guidance.

'Our role is to help organizations create this type of housing,' said Katrina Van Valkenburgh, the Corporation's associate director.

Peggy Haywood, 42, wanted to give her daughter and grandson a safe place to live. She and her family moved into Wentworth Commons about five months ago.

Haywood used to work for an attorney in a law firm. But when he left, she was out of a job. She now works as a clerk for another of Mercy's housing units.

'I'm very pleased with what I have,' she said of her apartment. 'It's quiet, secure. All of the apartments are well-built. It's my own little sanctuary.'

source: By Jo Napolitano
Chicago Tribune
jnapolitano@tribune.com

Copyright © 2007 Chicago Tribune, All Rights Reserved.

'No. 1 problem substance in Canada'

Do you ever drink to escape from your worries or troubles?

If you answer yes, you might need help.

Across Canada, per capita consumption of our favourite legal psychoactive substance has increased more than 11 per cent over the past decade.

People are drinking more frequently, more heavily, and more women are starting to drink like men. Women who pick up a bottle on the way home from work. Women who don't have sober sex. Teachers and administrators and nurses and doctors' wives who sit in group therapy sessions in rehab with former sex workers and drug addicts fighting to get their children back, wondering, "How did I get here?"

Meanwhile, a prosperous economy, an increase in the availability of alcohol nationwide, longer drinking hours, more concentrated hot spots where bars compete and offer discount drinks and sometimes less-than-strict serving practices are fuelling the consumption, experts say.

And as our bond with booze grows, so too will hospital stays for alcohol-related violence, road crashes and attempted suicides; cirrhosis of the liver and drink-related cancers that follow alcohol's path from the lips and mouth down through the body's many systems.

In 2005, there were 25,194 alcohol-related injuries and illnesses in B.C. needing hospitalization, compared with 4,817 related to illicit drug use. A Canadian study found that 42 per cent of those with violent injuries had a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit.

"Alcohol has always been, and will continue to be for a long time, the No. 1 problem substance in Canada for men and women," says Gail Malmo, of the Aurora Centre at B.C. Women's Hospital and Health Centre. The largest women's-only addictions treatment centre in B.C. treats about 300 patients a year.

"We like to think of it as 'other' people. By focusing on the heroin users and the cocaine users you can keep addiction away from you," Malmo says.

A drinker's response to a second question -- Do you drink to build up self-confidence? -- can also be telling.

If you answer yes to this question, and if you also answered yes to the question about drinking to escape your worries, chances are you are an alcoholic. That's according to a recognized test used by Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore.

Despite warnings that alcohol use and misuse is substantial, Canada has no national drinking guidelines.

"If you just tell somebody, drink responsibly, what's it mean? We have no idea. We've never told anybody what it means," says Doug Beirness, manager of research and policy for the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse.

"We tell people, well, you know you shouldn't get drunk. But what does it mean to drink responsibly? Does it mean not drunk?"

Health Canada is expected to issue in the new year responsible drinking limits that would essentially be the equivalent of Canada's Food Guide, for drinking.

After one to three drinks, skin flushes, the heart speeds up and people become more talkative. At four to six drinks, judgment is slower. People are giddy, and their coordination impaired.

It usually takes less for women to get drunk, because of their proportionately higher ratio of fat to water than men. It's worse over the holiday season, when women court anorexia to squeeze into cocktail dresses.

There's a critical third question -- Do you drink alone? -- that can indicate a cause for concern.

Heavy drinking, defined as five or more drinks on a single occasion for men and four or more drinks for women on a monthly or more frequent basis, is considered the strongest predictor that someone will get into trouble with alcohol.

Approximately 3.3 million Canadians are high-risk drinkers. Among youth, 46 per cent are drinking heavily at least once a month.

But doctors aren't asking patients about their drinking, waiting lists for publicly funded treatment programs are growing and most provinces don't pay for medications to treat heavy drinking. Meanwhile, the drain on the Canadian economy from lost productivity from sickness and premature death, health care and patrols for impaired drivers and other law enforcement costs was nearly $15 billion in 2002 alone.

A new national alcohol strategy makes 41 recommendations to move the country toward a "culture of moderation" and a new way of thinking about booze. The strategy calls for visible labels that list the number of standard drinks in each container of beer, wine or liquor, better screening for risky drinkers, improved access to addiction services, minimum retail prices for alcohol and public awareness campaigns.

So, are calls for a "nation of moderation" just a new cultural war, or a sort of puritan way of what the world should look like? The norms around alcohol have become tighter and tighter, says sociologist Ron Roizen. One sign? "Lower and lower levels of drinking have become defined as problematic."

Binge drinking, he says, has become institutionalized within the research industry as five drinks per sitting for men, four for women, "more or less independent of the length of the sitting, the size of the drinker and their experience."

"That is not what ordinary language regards as a binge. A binge is a protracted episode of drinking that may stretch across days with no periods of non-drinking, save for sleeping or unconsciousness.

"An awful lot of people are very light drinkers. Alcohol is used with remarkable temperance by most people who use it," Roizen says. "What is a 'problem' that's worthy of the public's concern? I don't think it's necessarily true that because people report that their wife gets angry with them about their drinking now and then that that's something public policy should be interested in."

Alcohol exists in virtually every segment of society in some form or another: beers at the hockey game, a toast to the bride. During the holiday season, "you can hardly go to any social function anywhere without there being alcohol," Beirness says. "Not that there's anything wrong with that. That's how ingrained it is. It's everywhere."

Not only is it available, there's an implicit expectation that you will partake, that you will drink.

"When we talk about a culture of moderation, that's where we have to make the changes, so that even if alcohol is there, you don't have to have any," Beirness says.

"Or, you can have one, or two. You don't have to have six."

The following simple test is used at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore to help determine whether a patient is an alcoholic.

Answer yes or no to the following 20 questions:

1. Do you lose time from work due to drinking?

2. Is drinking making your home life unhappy?

3. Do you drink because you are shy with other people?

4. Is drinking affecting your reputation?

5. Have you ever felt remorse after drinking?

6. Have you ever had financial difficulties as a result of drinking?

7. Do you turn to lower companions and an inferior environment when drinking?

8. Does your drinking make you care less of your family's welfare?

9. Has your ambition decreased since drinking?

10. Do you crave a drink at a definite time?

11. Do you want a drink the next morning?

12. Does drinking affect your sleeping?

13. Has your efficiency decreased since drinking?

14. Is drinking jeopardizing your job or business?

15. Do you drink to escape from worries or troubles?

16. Do you drink alone?

17. Have you ever had a complete loss of memory as a result of drinking?

18. Has your physician ever treated you for drinking?

19. Do you drink to build up self-confidence?

20. Have you ever been to a hospital or institution because of drinking?

If you answer yes to any one of the questions, that is a warning you may be an alcoholic.

If you answer yes to any two, chances are you are an alcoholic

If you answer yes to three or more, you are an alcoholic.

How to get help:

If you need emergency help, go to your local emergency department or call 911.

Distress or crisis phone lines are open 24 hours a day if you need to talk to someone.

For a list of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in Canada, go to www.aacanada.com.

For a list of Al-Anon/Alateen meetings for anyone whose life has been affected by someone else's drinking, go to www.al-anon.alateen.org. You can also call 1-888-4AL-ANON (1-888-425-2666) Monday through Friday, 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. To find local meetings, check the white pages of your phone book under Al-Anon.

source: CanWest News Service © The Vancouver Sun 2007