TIME FOR A CHANGE

On July 1, Golden lost one of its young people to the consequences of
a life consumed by drugs.

Drug and alcohol addiction is a storm that rages in an environment of
one yet creates suffering in through whole communities. Inevitably,
there are those that think they can avoid the storm by taking shelter
in willful ignorance, but that's a road to nowhere.

In my time as an addiction counsellor I saw first hand how drugs and
alcohol can ruin lives and destroy families. A few years back, in a
town smaller than this one, I watched a 16-year-old go catatonic when
she took what she thought was ecstasy but turned out to be Crystal
Meth. Drug dealers sometimes blend the two to create cross-dependent clients.

But using isn't the only way to get hurt.

Incident rates of domestic assault, motor vehicle accidents,
vandalism, commercial theft, violent crime and suicide all have
direct correlation to the saturation level of drugs and alcohol in a community.

And a recent report issued by mental health workers, police and
research scientists suggests that rural and small town youth are the
fastest growing segment of drug abusers in Canada.

Like it or not, Golden is at a crossroads in how it deals with the
issue of drug and alcohol abuse in our community.

One direction goes towards admitting there's a problem, an open
discussion of causes and effects and building a strategy fro the
future. The other goes backwards; to denial and naivete.

The decisions we make now about the town's long-term drug strategy
will shape the nature of the Golden left to the next generation.

In the war on drugs, public education is the front-line. Drug
awareness programs at the high school and the recent RCMP
presentation at the Rotary-sponsored Crystal Meth Forum are a step in
the right direction. But we need to keep going.

Right now, Golden has no formal drug and alcohol education and
counselling centre. But there may be a way that we can address that
problem sooner rather than later.

Health Canada has an initiative in place for towns like Golden that
find themselves under-resourced to deal with the issue of addiction;
it's called the Drug Strategy Community Initiatives Fund (DSCIF).

The next round of proposal calls for B.C. is scheduled for autumn of
this year, with funds to be disbursed in the spring of 2007.

Any not-for-profit entity including municipal governments, police
agencies, community service organizations and educational or
religious institutions can apply for funding through the DSCIF.

Money is available for establishing public education centres, hiring
staff, collaborating with other service organizations ... everything
Golden needs.

We need the volunteer organizations that bless our town, the mayor,
council and generous patrons of our community to step up to the plate
and pursue DSCIF funding to establish and maintain a permanent Drug
Education and Counselling Centre in Golden.

It costs nothing but time.

Facing the facts about drug and alcohol addiction in a tight-knit
community is tough. It can involve raising the ire or ridicule of
people we see everyday.

But people in small towns need to look out for one anothers families.

No one here is interested in seeing another kid die.

The ability to use grief as a catalyst to create change is the
ultimate expression of human will.

If you would like to become involved in helping to establish a
permanent Drug & Alcohol Education and Counselling Centre in Golden,
send an e-mail to editor@thegoldenstar.net.