DRUGS TORE HER FAMILY APART

"Taking A Stand" by James Kennedy Elementary

Grade 5 D.A.R.E graduate Ally Woodward

"I promise to say no to drugs." I make this promise to my mom, dad,
sister, family, friends and Officer Warren. I will keep my promise by
remembering the things I have been taught in D.A.R.E. and things I
have experienced through my own family.

Unfortunately my family has been through the tragedy of someone dying
because of the use of drugs. I also have an uncle that is addicted to
cocaine and marijuana.

I have heard and seen with my own eyes what drugs can do to you. My
uncle lives on the streets. He has a serious drug problem and can't
seem to beat it. This has been going on for years. It is a sad thing
to see someone, especially your own family member, destroy their own
life by throwing it all away to drugs. It not only destroyed his life
but also tore our family apart. What he doesn't understand is that he
is not only hurting himself but all the people that love him. I don't
see my uncle much, actually I have only seen him four or five times in
my life.

The time I remember the most is about three months ago. My mom, sister
and I went downtown Vancouver to go shopping one day. As we were going
down Hastings Street in Vancouver my mom pulled over and started to
cry. We didn't understand why at first, until she pointed over to a
man sitting on the sidewalk, no shirt, no shoes, sitting all alone.
That was my uncle. My mom had not seen him for many years, as she
wanted to protect my sister and I from the truth. Well, she shared
with us the truth that day, as she felt we were old enough to
understand. At that moment, I felt and saw the pain that not only my
uncle was dealing with but what it did to my mom and us. He looked
like an old man.

My mom got out of the car and spoke to him, he didn't recognize her at
first but then got up and came over to the car and spoke to us. He
knew who we were. We didn't know him! We missed out on knowing our
uncle because of the choice he made, a choice that was destroying him.
When I asked my parents if I could speak about my uncles it brought
back a lot of pain for my dad, it was his brother that lost his life
to drugs. It is my mom's brother that is now struggling with the same
fight. They agreed to let me share these stories with you, in the
hopes that it would help all of us in making the right decision when
it comes to drugs. The truth is it can happen to one of us, our our
family members. We can stop the tragedies and pain by saying NO. This
is the first and only step you have to take to stop harming yourself
and loved ones.

I will keep my promise by making good decisions and not allowing
myself to be pressured into doing anything I know is not right. I will
pick good friends to hang around with. I promise to talk to people I
trust about making the right decisions. I will also keep a good
support system by always being there for my friends and helping them
make the right decisions too.

This promise is important for me to keep because I have little cousins
that look up to me as a role model. I want to set a good example for
them, the same way my older cousins and sister are role models for me.
It is also important to keep this promise because of my future. If I
want to become successful in school and my career, drugs cannot be a
part of my life. I believe that together we can help stop addiction by
"Taking a Stand" and saying NO to drugs.