Drug and alcohol addiction and abuse. Recognition. Prevention. Treatment

20/20 Parenting. Recognizing and mitigating early vulnerabilities and risk factors.

Alcohol

Stigma and shame of alcoholism remain

By Paula Carlson, newspaper reporter

Reprinted courtesy of The Surrey Leader, a Black Press newspaper, to introduce you to a greater understanding of the perils of alcohol addiction.

It is the late 1960s, and the family of four in the green and white house on the corner is the only one not on "The Block."

The Block is a close-knit Kitsilano [BC] community of single-family homes with moms who stay home, dads who mow the lawns on weekends and the kind of camaraderie that arises when herds of neighbour kids pile into one another's rec rooms on a regular basis. (these are the golden days when youngsters tear outside in the morning to meet up for box hockey, kick-the-can, baseball and "club" meetings, not to return until dusk, sustained only by periodic raids on friends' fridges).

The two kids, a boy and a girl, in the house kitty-corner to The Block are a part of the pack, yet they are not; the location of their house an apt metaphor for the subtle ostracism that occurs.

Theirs is the home where the lights stay on late into night - sometimes all night; where angry voices pierce the thick summer air through open windows; where a planned Halloween party is called off after the mother needs help to the bedroom to lie down.

"Drunks;" is the word said in whispers, and condescending glances from their friends' parents set the boy and girl apart as damaged and dangerous, something to be culled from the herd.

Today, it is disappointing to learn how little has changed.

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