PARENTS FACE ORDEAL OF SON'S ADDICTION, MENTAL ILLNESS

By John and Joanne Cameron

Middleton

(An open letter to the community)

We are the parents of a 23-year-old diagnosed with a serious mental health
problem. We have been involved with both the New Hampshire judicial and
mental health systems since he was 14 years old.

Unfortunately, he has learned to deal with this debilitating illness
through self-medication with street drugs. His physical and mental health
have gradually become even more complicated with this drug addiction.
Treatment has become a revolving door of short-term evaluations and
long-term jail sentences. Neither system is working.

We offer the following example for public scrutiny as just one of our many
exasperating attempts to secure proper services for our family with the
hope of raising awareness to the dangers inherent within the present
institutional framework:

We recently brought our son to a local hospital for crisis intervention. He
had attempted suicide with lacerations to his wrist. He acknowledged an
addiction to heroin. Strafford Guidance Center was called for an
assessment. We were hoping to involuntarily commit him to a secure
treatment facility.

After a four-hour wait, Strafford Guidance evaluated him and informed us
that he did not meet the legal criteria for commitment. They released him
to our custody with a prescription for Klonapin, an addictive narcotic that
is known on the streets as an enhancement for a heroin "high."
Incidentally, this is the same drug that he was issued during his
internment in New Hampshire and Maine county jails for previous drug
convictions.

It is not our wish to disparage any specific mental health or correctional
facility. We couldn't have survived without their services. We understand
that the limitations that we are burdened with as parents also regulate
their own ability to properly serve this population. As a society, we need
to question the current remedy offered. Clearly, the system is invested in
offering medication and little support before they bounce him back to us.
We have no alternative but to watch helplessly as he inevitably ricochets
back to them.

This has been our life for the past 10 years. All attempts for help have
repeatedly failed. He has been returned to us after each incarceration and
unsuccessful drug rehab program without any authoritative powers as
parents. Our parental responsibility and concern will never diminish, but
our authority is legally bound. Once a child reaches the age of 18, all
decision-making is placed in the hands of that individual. When this
responsibility is securely fastened to someone who is ill and unable to
recognize his own needs, the needs of the community also become affected.

Our son is being held as a suspect for alleged involvement in the Brooks
Pharmacy robbery this past weekend. We do not know of his guilt or
innocence in this crime. We are sure that the potential for something like
this to happen exists within our family and many others. Whether or not the
perpetrator is from our home or not, we are truly sorry that this problem
has crossed the boundaries of any home and into yours. To the employees of
this pharmacy, we regret that your safety was threatened and will be
forever grateful that there were no physical injuries.

Legislators need to closely examine our current laws. The rights of one
individual have been given priority over the rights of a community. There
is a very fine line between individual liberty as guaranteed in the
Constitution and the expectation of safety within a community. When one
threatens the other, it is time for action. The future of our communities
depends on it.

Do the crime, do the time is indeed necessary for all of our protection.
But there are plenty of opportunities for intervention before individual
escalation into more violent and dangerous criminal activities. It is sheer
desperation and inadequate treatment that propels these individuals into
further outrageous behavior. Surely our son has repeatedly demonstrated an
urgent plea for help. Keeping the status quo only promises a hopeless
outlook for our family and the countless others caught up in this endless
cycle of failed systems. Please consider our unified plea now.