Drug and alcohol addiction and abuse. Recognition. Prevention. Treatment
20/20 Parenting. Recognizing and mitigating early vulnerabilities and risk factors.
Letters to Kerry
Stories of Victory, Struggle, Tragedy, & Workplace Concerns
August 19, 2006:
Letter sent to editor of the Province News: (FYI in case it is not published)
Attention: Mr. Vic Toews,
Justice Minister,
Vic Toews has said what I have been saying for years...we need to provide the tools to meet the needs of all children beginning when they are in primary school and following them through high school. Parents’ hands are tied due to the Federal Privacy Act and Age of Consent Laws. In fact, do you realize that there are laws that state parental responsibilities to the child, but there are also laws that take parental rights away and leave our children's care in the hands of the court systems? To wait until a child is entrenched in illegal activity is unfair to all stakeholders. However, as it stands today, it is a parent's only hope - to wait and watch until their child ends up in the criminal justice system for a judge to mandate what the parents have been trying to mandate for months, even years, but have been told that they do not have the right to tell their teens what to do.
I have experienced the ineffectiveness of local resources, and watched while my teenager fell through the cracks from third grade until he quit school in 9th grade. When I tried to intervene, I was appalled to find out that my rights to my own child apparently ended when he turned 14. I could not force him to stay home, or stay out of the home when things got really bad. I could not take him into any court unless it was routed by a criminal offense. I could not get information from RCMP, Medical Services or the school about his activities, almost as if they were protecting his wrong doings. I was in possession of a lot of stolen property and it took four phone calls, and a visit to my local CPO to have the RCMP pick it up from my home. The first three calls, I was told that there was nothing they could do, and they explained how hard it is to charge someone with theft or possession of stolen property. Our friends, family and neighbours watched in disbelief as we tried to wade our way through the various systems to find help for our son.
It's all pretty absurd, and you are on the right track by stating that these kids need intervention far before they land in a court room, or worse yet, dead on a street somewhere, because they have the right to destroy their bodies and minds with drug use, prostitution, and criminal activity.
Gina, a concerned Mom, BC, Canada
