Pubdate: Mon, 21 Aug 2000 Source: Gary Post-Tribune, The (IN) Copyright: 2000 Post-Tribune Publishing Contact: 1065 Broadway, Gary IN 46402-2998 Fax: (219) 881-3234 Website: http://www.post-trib.com/ Author: Nicole Haymon Note: Reader-columnist Nicole Haymon of Gary is a public assistance caseworker for the Indiana Department of Family and Children. PUBLISHING ADDICTS' NAMES WILL ONLY HARM THEIR FAMILIES I read about the mayor and the police chief of Gary deciding to print the names and addresses of drug buyers arrested during a recent bust. Although I understand the reasoning behind this decision, I cannot help but feel that this isn’t the best approach to solving Gary’s drug problems. I have lived and worked with drug addiction for most of my life. So much so, that on my first day in preschool at Elka, I introduced myself by saying, “Hi, my name is Nicole Haymon, and I am a grateful recovering alcoholic.” So believe me when I say that I’m no stranger to the world of addiction or the recovery process. When I read the article, my heart went out to the families of those who had been arrested. What if my father was still drinking? What if he was one of those who was arrested? How would my child and I feel? The humiliation and embarrassment that I would suffer would be hard to bear, even as an adult. So I can only imagine how the children and grandchildren of those arrested will feel. Is it not enough that their lives are already dysfunctional? Children can be so cruel now. What type of teasing and ridicule will these children have to endure at school and in other social circles? Who is really going to be punished — the addicts who were arrested or their family and loved ones? Who will this act really hurt? How many more fights will there be on the school yards that day as children attempt to defend their parent, aunt, grandfather or brother as well as their own wounded pride? While I believe that the intentions behind this are good, the ramifications were not thoroughly thought out. We all have the common desire to make Gary a drug-free community. I simply see a different road to achieving this than by publishing the names of those who were arrested. There is help for addicts who sincerely desire to be helped. And for a handful of those arrested, this may be what it takes for them to seek it. But you cannot embarrass an addict or an alcoholic. At this stage in their addiction they have already done more humiliating things to obtain their drug of choice than having their name and address published in the newspaper. Many have sold their bodies, stolen from their families, lost their jobs, homes and loved ones. At this point in addiction, most addicts do not have much more to lose. The need for the drug is more powerful than any fear of anything they have to lose. It’s that need which drives an addict to behave the way he does. Addiction is very powerful. It is not a matter of willpower, weakness or laziness on the part of the addict. It is not a direct reflection of a person’s moral standards or their upbringing. It is a chemical disease that must be treated. Even if addicts attempt to stop using drugs, they will not usually be able to succeed on their own for any prolonged period of time without some type of help and support. As with any disease, it can only get better when you seek and follow through with treatment. The only ones who will be affected by publishing the names of those arrested are those people who are already living with the nightmare of these addicts’ behavior on an everyday basis — the addicts’ loved ones and family. Haven’t they suffered enough? Is this really the best solution? Drug abuse destroys lives in so many ways. Is this tactic really a way to stop the destruction of drug abuse, or will it simply add to the hardships and burdens from which these families are already suffering? If these names are published, I pray for the parents, spouses and children of those arrested; they will be the ones ultimately punished. They will be the ones that are hurt. - --- MAP posted-by: Don Beck