Upcoming Addiction Awareness Event in Muscowpetung

Last edited by nannamom on Sun 14 Nov 2010, 12:44 pm; edited 1 time in total

Addiction awareness will be the topic of discussion on the Muscowpetung Saulteaux First Nation beginning on Sunday.

Muscowpetung is hosting its first Addiction Awareness Week on reserve. The event coincides with National Aboriginal Addictions Awareness Week, which runs from Sunday until Saturday.

The initiative was started by Angeline Anaquod, a National Native Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program (NNADAP) worker, for the First Nation. She's looking forward to bringing guest speakers to the reserve and making the community more aware of the help available for people looking to get sober.

"It's getting the message out there and getting the awareness out there," said Anaquod. "It's also a way to bring my community members together. Throughout that whole week we're hoping to have people come through the door and come in and listen to the personal stories of the speakers I've invited."

She hopes such stories may help those from her community, who are suffering with their own addictions, seek out the help they need.

"That's the strongest message that I'm bringing in -- that there is hope," said Anaquod.

The week is to kick off with a traditional feast on Sunday.

Anaquod said the week's events are open to anyone who wishes to attend. She has sent invitations out to surrounding communities because the point of the week is to raise awareness.

"I think there are people out there who don't know there is help and there are a lot of resources out there that people could utilize," said Anaquod. "Having a support system in place is important in any community."

Anaquod said she's been living away from her community for the past 30 years and when she received her certificate in addictions counselling she wanted to go back to her reserve.

"I really love my work," she said. "I love my job. I love helping people."

She believes everyone will benefit from the week.

Anaquod said it took about a month to get everything organized, which she was able to do with the assistance of the rest of the Muscowpetung health centre staff.

On Monday, the Sobriety Walk for Our Families is to take place at 11 a.m., beginning and ending at the health centre. The rest of the events are scheduled to take place at the health centre in the evening so that everyone can attend.

Anaquod said the week is to conclude with what she's calling a gratitude night that's to take place at the Muscowpetung Education Centre, where people from the community will be honoured.
Read more: http://www.leaderpost.com/Addiction+awareness+event/3823216/story.html#ixzz15BbB2atu

If any of our members have any upcoming events they would like to highlight, please let me know. I would be more than happy to help put the information out there. We need to raise awarenss about Addiction, & Recovery.
Too often people think they have to go through this disease alone. But that is so not true. There are people who care. And raising awareness is just one way of helping.
~Nannamom

Addiction impacts the whole family

"My son and I had to totally rebuild our relationship," Jansen said.

She admits there was a time when "I didn't like him. I didn't want him around me."
Jansen has had a long, arduous and painful journey to get back to having a loving and trusting relationship with Bryan.
She will share her story on Wednesday as guest speaker during a breakfast meeting hosted by the Chatham- Kent Drug Awareness Council at Aristo's banquet room in Chatham.

You can hear the love in Rose Jansen's voice while talking to her youngest son on the telephone.
As she laughs and jokes with Bryan, 22, during a brief conversation, it's hard to imagine not long ago she refused to take his calls and often hung up on him, due to her frustration and anger over his addiction to oxycontin.
"My son and I had to totally rebuild our relationship," Jansen said.

She admits there was a time when "I didn't like him. I didn't want him around me."
Jansen has had a long, arduous and painful journey to get back to having a loving and trusting relationship with Bryan.
She will share her story on Wednesday as guest speaker during a breakfast meeting hosted by the Chatham- Kent Drug Awareness Council at Aristo's banquet room in Chatham.
Jansen knew something wasn't right with Bryan, but "couldn't put a finger on what was wrong," she told The Chatham Daily News. She had her suspicions something untoward was going on, but never found any drug paraphernalia in his bedroom.
Shortly after the Thanksgiving weekend in 2008, Jansen's suspicions were confirmed when Bryan, then 19, reached the point of desperation to ask for help in dealing with his addiction to the powerful painkiller.
Although Jansen now knew what the problem was, she couldn't do much to stop the downward spiral her son descended into, which included stealing from her and being charged for robbing a pharmacy outside the area.
Getting Bryan into a treatment program was also a learning experience.

"We were very disillusioned at first when we found out they can't keep him there," Jansen said of the first time she and her husband took their son to the Brentwood addiction facility in Windsor.
He walked out two nights after starting the program.
He finished the program when he returned a second time, but later refused to go into a follow-up detox program. He ended up detoxing while in jail.
Jansen knows addiction is a disease, but she said, "it's really hard to watch your kid go through this. It takes a toll on you."

But she came to the hard realization it was Bryan's battle to fight and all she could do was be there to try to support him.
"They have to fall flat on their face . . . and then you have to pick them up," she said.

Ironically, while there were services available for Bryan to deal with his addiction, Jansen realized there wasn't much help for parents. She wanted someone to talk to for advice on how to handle situations. She went to the occasional Al-Anon meetings, which helped, but she wanted something more focused on parents dealing with their kids who are addicted to drugs. She is hoping to help form that kind of support group locally with the local drug awareness council.

Having a child who is an addict "changes your life forever," Jansen said, adding it is not like a cold that will go away.
She said her son will have to deal with his addiction for the rest of his life.
However, Jansen has found hope after talking with people who have experienced the same situation. She also knows there are a lot of other parents experiencing the same problem, which is why she believes this kind of support group is needed.

"If parents don't start saying, 'I survived this,' then the addiction wins," Jansen said.
Source:
"The Chatham Daily News"
Click here to read the article

After reading this news article, it reminds me that we as addicts are not the only ones who suffer from this horrible disease. Our families suffer along with us. It is important to remember that no one has to be alone. There is help out there for each and everyone of us. From our own selves to our friends and families.
Nobody asks to become an addict, and no family ever wants to experience the heartache that addiction brings along with it. We can all make a difference if only we can reach out to those who need us the most. Sometimes all it takes is a hug, or someone to listen.

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