When I told him I managed a large recovery program that assisted homeless addicts and alcoholics with their recovery he told me he wanted to speak with me privately once we finished our business. So once we completed the paperwork he and I had a private conversation. Of course I already had a sense of what he wanted to talk about - that likely someone in his family had a drug or alcohol problem.
And I was right. He told me that a family member had been in and out of jails and hospitals because of drug arrests and a few overdoses. He was afraid this person might die of an overdose. He didn't know what to do to help her change.
Of course I did what I normally do, which was to offer to help this person into recovery. I gave him my contact information and told him to have her call when she was ready to get clean. He was very grateful.
Years ago it used to take me by surprise when things like this would happen. But now that I'm familiar with government statistics about the number of addicts in our population I'm never surprised. According to the Federal Government 15% of the population in our country has a problem with either alcohol, drugs, or both. Fentanyl alone took more lives in the past year than all other causes combined.
When I look at these numbers, I'm never surprised when I encounter people in the business world and other segments of the community who need our help. And we readily give it to them.
No comments:
Post a Comment