Pubdate: Mon, 19 Nov 2001
Source: Penticton Herald (Canada)
Copyright: 2001 The Okanagan Valley Group of Newspapers
Contact:  http://www.theokanagan.net/penticton/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/664

BREAKING FREE

Penticton Indian Band Court Worker Lloyd Lecoy Straightened His Life Out 
When He Quit Drinking

Alcohol and drug abuse is being handed down from generation to generation 
among First Nations people, says aboriginal filmmaker Tracey Jack.

"The war on drugs and alcohol in our communities is being lost," said the 
Penticton Indian band member, who produced a half-hour film called 
REZcovery that will soon air on the Aboriginal Peoples' TV Network.

This is National Addictions Awareness Week, and the band has scheduled 
workshops, a play, a walk, bowling, a banquet and other activities 
celebrating an addiction-free lifestyle.

A high dropout rate among First Nations students, coupled with high crime 
and delinquency, indicate severe problems, said Jack. About 40 per cent of 
all children in provincial ministry care are aboriginal, she said, and 
about 70 per cent of First Nations people are under 30 years old.

Addictions must be addressed now, she said, before today's young people 
carry the problem into another generation.

"Aboriginal youth are the highest at risk for addictions because of the 
social breakdown in our communities," she said. "Our elected leaders and 
politicians really need to take a serious look at addictions in their 
policy-making and where funds are being allocated."

Next Saturday, the band plans a banquet to honour those members who have 
confronted their addictive behaviour.

Dorothy Ward, social development officer with the Penticton Indian band, 
started drinking at age 16 and quit 29 years ago. She's 62 now.

The death of her first husband in a drunk-driving accident, leaving her 
with six children to raise alone, was a sobering wake-up call. Now, Ward 
attends a weekly self-help group to keep her strong and focused - "to keep 
myself clear and not let things pile up."

In addition to alcohol, addictive drugs are a problem on the reserve, said 
Ward.

"There's a lot of people into doing cocaine - professional people on- and 
off-reserve. Most of the time, people addicted to cocaine, in order to 
afford it, you have to sell it."

Some steal to support their habit, she said.

Lloyd Lecoy was lucky.

His mother died in a drinking-and-driving accident when he was 12 and his 
father drank heavily, but he broke the cycle of alcohol abuse in his own home.

A member of the Esquimalt band in North Vancouver, Lecoy had his own 
drinking problem. But a drunk-driving charge and an encounter with a native 
court worker helped turn his life around.

"I really needed a model for self-control," said Lecoy. "He was calm - a 
contrast to what I was feeling - self-composed, a speaker before the judge 
for me."

Though Lecoy continued to drink, the experience planted a seed.

Now a court worker himself for the Penticton Indian band, the father of six 
boys quit drinking following the birth of his second child.

"I was concerned about my family. I was sure I wanted to quit," he said.

Now 40, Lecoy hasn't had a drink in 12 years.
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