BREAKING FREE

Penticton Indian Band Court Worker Lloyd Lecoy Straightened His Life Out
When He Quit Drinking

Alcohol and drug abuse is being handed down from generation to generation
among First Nations people, says aboriginal filmmaker Tracey Jack.

"The war on drugs and alcohol in our communities is being lost," said the
Penticton Indian band member, who produced a half-hour film called
REZcovery that will soon air on the Aboriginal Peoples' TV Network.

This is National Addictions Awareness Week, and the band has scheduled
workshops, a play, a walk, bowling, a banquet and other activities
celebrating an addiction-free lifestyle.

A high dropout rate among First Nations students, coupled with high crime
and delinquency, indicate severe problems, said Jack. About 40 per cent of
all children in provincial ministry care are aboriginal, she said, and
about 70 per cent of First Nations people are under 30 years old.

Addictions must be addressed now, she said, before today's young people
carry the problem into another generation.

"Aboriginal youth are the highest at risk for addictions because of the
social breakdown in our communities," she said. "Our elected leaders and
politicians really need to take a serious look at addictions in their
policy-making and where funds are being allocated."

Next Saturday, the band plans a banquet to honour those members who have
confronted their addictive behaviour.

Dorothy Ward, social development officer with the Penticton Indian band,
started drinking at age 16 and quit 29 years ago. She's 62 now.

The death of her first husband in a drunk-driving accident, leaving her
with six children to raise alone, was a sobering wake-up call. Now, Ward
attends a weekly self-help group to keep her strong and focused - "to keep
myself clear and not let things pile up."

In addition to alcohol, addictive drugs are a problem on the reserve, said
Ward.

"There's a lot of people into doing cocaine - professional people on- and
off-reserve. Most of the time, people addicted to cocaine, in order to
afford it, you have to sell it."

Some steal to support their habit, she said.

Lloyd Lecoy was lucky.

His mother died in a drinking-and-driving accident when he was 12 and his
father drank heavily, but he broke the cycle of alcohol abuse in his own home.

A member of the Esquimalt band in North Vancouver, Lecoy had his own
drinking problem. But a drunk-driving charge and an encounter with a native
court worker helped turn his life around.

"I really needed a model for self-control," said Lecoy. "He was calm - a
contrast to what I was feeling - self-composed, a speaker before the judge
for me."

Though Lecoy continued to drink, the experience planted a seed.

Now a court worker himself for the Penticton Indian band, the father of six
boys quit drinking following the birth of his second child.

"I was concerned about my family. I was sure I wanted to quit," he said.

Now 40, Lecoy hasn't had a drink in 12 years.