SERIES ADDICTION: WOMAN STARTS NAR-ANON CHAPTER PART I

LONG BEACH - Three-day series

The Sun Herald today is starting a three-day series that looks at
efforts to curb drug abuse.

Today: A Long Beach woman has started what is believed to be the first
chapter of Nar-Anon in the state.

Monday: Officials involved with drug court in Harrison County say they
like the results they are seeing.

Tuesday: New anti-drug billboards will soon be going up in South
Mississippi.

If you want to go

Nar-Anon, a support group for friends and relatives of drug abusers,
holds weekly meetings in Long Beach.

Where: Church of Christ, 200 N. Cleveland Ave.

When: Tuesdays from 6 to 7 p.m.

Details: 897-2553.

Warning signs

Nar-Anon suggests that a "yes" answer to four or more of these
questions is a warning sign of drug abuse:

. Do you find yourself making excuses, lying or covering up for your
child, spouse, relative or friend?

. Do you have reason not to trust your child, spouse, relative or friend?

. Is it becoming difficult for you to believe his or her explanations?

. Do you lie awake worrying about your child, spouse, relative or friend?

. Is your child missing school without your knowledge?

. Is your spouse missing work and are the bills piling up?

. Are your savings mysteriously disappearing?

. Are the unanswered questions causing hostility and undermining your
marriage?

. Are you asking yourself "what's wrong?" and "is it my fault?"

. Are your suspicions turning you into a detective and are you afraid
of what you might find?

. Are normal family disagreements becoming hostile and violent?

. Are you canceling your social functions with vague excuses?

. Are you becoming increasingly reluctant to invite friends to your home?

. Is concern for your spouse, child or friend causing you headaches, a
knotty stomach and extreme anxiety?

. Is your spouse/child easily irritated by minute matters? Does your
whole life seem a nightmare?

. Are you unable to discuss the situation with friends or relatives
because of embarrassment?

. Are your attempts at control frustrating?

. Do you over-compensate and try not to make waves?

. Do you keep trying to make things better and nothing helps?

. Are the lifestyles and friends of the child/spouse changing? Do you
ever think they may be using drugs?

By the numbers

Long Beach had the highest per capita death rate by drug overdose in
Harrison County in 2003, a Sun Herald analysis shows. Related numbers:

37: The number of fatal drug overdoses in Harrison County in 2003,
compared to 46 in 2002. Of last year's drug-related deaths, 30 were
unintentional.

88: The number of drug arrests by Long Beach police in 2003, compared
to 80 in 2002.

22: The number of drug arrests in Long Beach in January since police
formed a narcotics task force. Of those arrests, four were at schools
and eight involved youths age 13 to 17.

- - HARRISON COUNTY CORONER, LONG BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT

How do you cope with losing a child to a fatal drug overdose?

The best advice, according to Donna Cuevas of Gulfport, is to stop the
drug abuse before it reaches that point.

She realizes it's too late for her son, Brian Cuevas. The 21-year-old
Long Beach resident died March 1, 2001, after mixing methadone with
alcohol at a Mardi Gras party in a New Orleans hotel.

Cuevas said it makes her more determined to do whatever she can to
prevent it from happening to anyone else. She's fighting back by
starting what is believed to be the first chapter of Nar-Anon in the
state. Narcotics Anonymous, an unrelated support group for drug
abusers, has more than a dozen chapters across South
Mississippi.

"I know my son didn't intend to die," Cuevas said, "but his death
won't be in vain if I can help save even one life."

The Nar-Anon group she has started in Long Beach is similar to the
12-step program that Al-Anon offers to families and friends of
alcoholics. Nar-Anon recognizes drug abuse as an illness, she said,
and its mission is to replace despair with hope and to motivate
relatives and friends to encourage their loved one to seek help.

The group is drawing praise from community leaders who organized the
Long Beach Substance Abuse Task Force last year, when the city had the
highest per capita death rate from drugs in Harrison County.

"With Nar-Anon, the Police Department's new drug task force and
efforts to put these issues before the public, I really think we're
starting to make a difference," said Fred Walker, chairman of the
community task force.

Cuevas heard about Nar-Anon from a friend and contacted its
headquarters in California to see how she could start a chapter. She
found a meeting place and distributed fliers to school district
officials, churches and drug treatment centers. Five people attended
the first meeting. Twelve went the second week, she said.

"Parents and grandparents who have been to Al-Anon have told me
Nar-Anon is easier for them to relate to because their loved one's
drug of choice is a drug, not alcohol.

"Drug abuse is a horrible place for kids to be in," Cuevas said, "and
it's a horrible experience for those who love them. I feel the need to
help parents and others understand what they can do to help. We can
share our problems, improve the family attitude and regain the
confidence needed to face the situation before it's too late."

"Even though I don't have Brian any more," she said, "it's helping me
to deal with his death. I'm beginning to heal. I can't do enough to
keep kids off drugs."

Cuevas said she hopes to open a central office in Long Beach to help
launch other Nar-Anon groups in South Mississippi.

"I'd like to have a dedicated phone line that anyone can call, even if
they just need to talk," she said.