Some were found by their children. Their parents. Their lovers. Their crime partners. Some looked like they'd merely fallen asleep. Others had already turned blue. Some were beginning to decompose by the time they were found, the stench of rotting flesh leading to the discovery of their bodies.
In spite of this epidemic, this pall of death that hangs over our state, the State Legislature, the City of Phoenix, and various neighborhood associations are making every effort to increase the body count.
One might think this a reckless accusation, the writing of someone who himself is under the influence of drugs.
But one need only read the latest proposed ordinances published by the City of Phoenix to understand the truth.
Every line, every word, every sentence is composed with the goal of limiting - or even stopping - the only groups that are helping addicts change their lives. And that's the recovery home operators who provide services to some of the sickest members of our society. It's a shameful document rife with thinly disguised discrimination against the weak and vulnerable in our communities.
The homes under attack provide shelter, peer counseling, jobs and other assistance to helpless - and truly disabled addicts - who have no other place to turn.
And now our government is trying to assure that - with the support of the good folks, the nice people who run neighborhood associations such as Take Action Phoenix (TAP) - that addicts will have even fewer chances of survival.
In 1998 the City of Mesa made similar discriminatory moves against recovery home operators, especially our organization. We sued them in Federal Court for five years before reaching a settlement in 2003 - an agreement that repaid some of our legal fees and allowed us to continue helping addicts change their lives.
If the City of Phoenix passes these discriminatory ordinances we promise that they'll be meeting our Fair Housing attornies in Federal Court - something I'm sure will happen.
