Pubdate: Sat, 19 Mar 2016
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Copyright: 2016 The Seattle Times Company
Contact:  http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409
Authors: Richard Harwood and Judy Harwood

ADDICTION TOUCHES EVERYONE

Our family has been touched, some may say fractured, by heroin.

We have a 23-year-old grandson who is in a sober living house after 
several treatment attempts, and a granddaughter, age 20, who is in 
rehab for the fifth time. We also have a nephew, age 49, who is 
serving a 17-year sentence in federal prison for transporting heroin 
across state lines while possessing a firearm.

Their stories are more complicated than outlined above, but heroin 
has had a traumatic effect on our family and on the relationships 
between the nonaddicted family members.

An immense amount of time has been spent by all concerned dealing 
with the individuals involved and untangling and trying to fix the 
messes created by the lying and stealing involved. Trust has been 
devastated beyond hope of repair.

We think of these three loved ones constantly and wonder, "What 
happened?" and "What if?" Maybe by sharing a small part of our story, 
we can help others feel less ashamed of speaking out about their 
loved ones who are addicted. Safe-injection sites could work, but 
there have to be adequate measures for transportation to and from the sites.

We also need greatly increased community awareness and services for 
mentally ill and homeless people.

Let your voice be heard.

Support legislation and programs like LEAD (Law Enforcement Assisted 
Diversion) so we can start to diminish the heroin epidemic.

Richard and Judy Harwood, Edmonds
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom