I am looking to form a committee consisting of family members who have loved ones who are addicted to drugs, and who are concerned about the lack of services available to them on PEI. The committee will work to improve services for the benefit of all Islanders.

Committee members must:
- be willing and able to put in the time required to effect change (it will not happen overnight)
- be upstanding citizens in the community (this is important to establish credibility)
- be professional
- be articulate (speaking or writing)
- have a loved one who is addicted to drugs or be an addict in recovery
- have experienced first-hand the roadblocks that addicts face
- be willing to speak openly about your experience (one thing I've learned is that it is very freeing to talk about it. You'd be surprised how many Islanders are in the same boat but afraid to talk about it for fear of judgment. With any luck, this committee will change that!)

It is important to note that this is not a politically motivated committee. The motivation is to help Islanders with addiction get access to adequate treatment regardless of the government in power.

If you are interested, please send me a note with a little information about yourself (you don't have to give me your name at this point). I would like to have the committee formed by early fall.

I applaud your efforts to improve the addictions services for youth in PEI.

Although I find these requirements:




a bit exclusive. As if people who are "not" the above must be excluded, and shouldn't be heard or represent your cause. And will exclude some great candidates.

sorry

I appreciate your feedback. Thank you!

I understand how it may sound exclusive so I should have given more detail. Since the committee will be working on behalf of all addicts and their families, the members need to be able to articulate the messages to the general public, government officials, etc. They also need to conduct themselves in a professional manner or will be ignored.

When I say "upstanding in the community", I by no means mean they have to be well-to-do or anything like that. Only that each individual on the committee be someone who has gained the trust and respect of those in their communities.

In order for the committee to be effective, we'd need to meet with people from all over PEI to hear their concerns. Everyone's voice matters!

To expand on HomerJ's comment, you are not being inclusive at all.
"Everyone's voice must be heard" is a quaint position but when you start to put limits on who can speak and who can be representative you are really defying your own position.

How about having some people who have been though drug issues as youth included?

I would suspect that their input on what they feel is needed might be far more valuable that of the parents.

I think Mom means that all the voices of the addicts who face roadblocks must have their voices heard through articulate people.

The articulate must be able to speak in an inarticulate vernacular to the inarticulate in their own manner of speaking and understanding.

You'll be looking for people who don't only converse well with the articulate, but are equally at ease with the logically, grammatical and lexicographically challenged.

Which is not at all inclusive.
Why limit participation to those with good grammatical skills? This seems like an issue that as much or more than any should be inclusive of ALL people.

I believe it should be exclusive.
is the only criterium which I lack and it renders me completely useless to this committee.

Other than that I:
- would be willing and able to put in the time required to effect change (up to the point where I lose the ability to work and sleep).
- am an upstanding citizen
- can be professional (or trailer trash when needed)
- am articulate (speaking and especially writing)
- have a loved one who is addicted to drugs and is a dry drunk
- am willing to speak openly about my experience.

My loved one will not seek help so I have absolutely no experience with the roadblocks in the way of getting help (with the exception that everyone around me is too proud to publicly admit there's a problem - as obvious to as it is).

Rather then argue about semantics, diction, inclusion or exclusion, just have a public meeting.

And see what transpires........... and then evolve from there,

I would agree.
This is an issue that need immediate attention and should have as many voices as possible on board.
To say it's not political is naive. Find the politicians who will carry your cause and boycott those who will not.

Makes sense actually... let the politicians be the articulate ones.

But is their inaction and lip-service really needed.

To clarify, a public meeting was meant to see who shows up - not invite Politicans who will just play the game

Thank you for all your feedback and lively debate. I do not mean to offend or exclude anyone. I know the pain of seeing a loved one addicted to drugs and I know the pain of being an addict as my loved ones are very open with me. People fitting into one or both groups would add a lot to a committee.

Basically, I am a very worried mom who wants to put together a group of people who are motivated to do something. Action-oriented people are needed in order to raise awareness of this issue and make changes.

I apologize if I offended anyone or made them feel unwelcome. That certainly was not my intent.

I don't think you offended anyone worriedmom.
I think your idea and direction are noble and need to be pursued.

I do think that you need some political action though to help propagate the message.
The Ghiz government has failed miserably on this issue. Time for change and time to talk to politicians who will take the issue seriously.

To Pogo: So sorry to hear that you have a loved one who is addicted and not ready to access help just yet. I know the pain and the struggles that you are experiencing. My own health started to deteriorate because of stress until I took steps to find peace in all the chaos brought on by addiction. I will never give up fighting for my loved ones, though. I take it one day at a time.

Thank you Mother. It is hardest on my aging parents, especially my own mother. I however leave my pain as a sacrifice to God and am young enough for this to be my opiate. I'm of the religious ilk.

Thank you Raiders! Your post means a lot.

I am so worried about making it political because governments change and I wouldn't want any progress that we make be taken away after an election. I do think that government has to be consulted, of course. They are the only ones who can change things but it will take pressure for them to do so.

This experience has been a true nightmare. Prior to all this, I did not have any addicts/alcoholics in my life so it has been a learning experience for me to understand why it is a disease and what works and what doesn't when dealing with it.

I've been talking to a lot of people and opening a lot of eyes (people tend to be shocked to hear that addiction is in my family) but there is much more to be done. Governments listen when you have the numbers behind you.

If I hadn't learned to "Let Go and Let God", I don't know where I'd be today. I had to stop hounding my loved ones to get help because it was killing me with the worry and stress.

My loved ones are now ready to get help, which is why I am throwing my hat in the ring to fight for them to get it.

I hope that for you and your parents sakes, your loved one will reach this point as well. Take care.

That's a worthy objective, WorriedMom, and I wish you much success. My advice is to remain at arms length from government. Bureaucrats' ability to screw up good concepts is legendary.

Another goal I'd like to see would be the prevention of addictive personality traits before they develop. Among other strategies, this initiative would involve counseling parents of young children to permit the kids to develop a tolerance for discomfort.

They would have to break free from the current mindset that the slightest discomfort, whether physical or mental, is an emergency and must be chemically alleviated immediately.

Ed

I recently attended the funeral of my best friends son, 28 yrs old and an addict. Unfortunatly there is very little in the way of help for addicts..i watched them try to get some help for him for the last few yrs , sadly it didnt end well. Most families deal with someone who has this issue.