A boy’s battle with the bottle Deana Lancaster News Reporter deana@nsnews.com JOHN thinks he was 13 when he had his first drink. fohn (not his real name) can’t really remember. It was, afier all, about six vears ago, during, his first year at his West Vancouver junior sec- ondary school. He was at a friend's house after school, bored, looking for something to do. They stole a boitle frem the household liquor cabinet. He didn’t drink much, but he liked the way it made him fecl. “Twas just kind of goof, and T thought this was kind of cool,” he says. Aweek later his friend came to his house. This time, they took his father’s rum. They mixed it with coke — about half and half. “T was wasted ... hammered when my mom came home. My parents flipped out, they weat ballistic.” He was grounded for a month, not even allowed outside after school to hang out with his triends. His parents had hoped that would be the end of it, but instead, he tried to hide his new habit. “Then I got caught smoking. | was talking to a girl near our house and my mom drove by. She stopped and unrolled the window and she was yelling at me. It was terrible. I was pretty unimpressed.” While looking through his dresser for cigarettes his mom_ found his secret stash — a bottle of booze. His parents decided outside help was needed to deal with the situation. To get their son to talk to a counsellor, they threatened to confiscate tickets to an upcoming U2 concert. “At the time | didn’t think I need- ed treatment, but I really wanted to go to that concert.” His first appointment was with a counsellor at Seaview Alcohol! and rug Programs in West Vancouver. “I was really pissed off that I was ‘there. I wouldn’t alk, [tiiought 4 don’t have a problem. What do you know?’ ” Frustrated, che counsellor referred him to Terry Bulych, the youth and family counsellor at the West Coast Alternatives Society. “She’s pretty cool. She has her head on straight — we'd just kind of chit chat. She’s good at making vou think, she’ll ask you about things you never thought about. It kind of leaves you speechless sonictimes.” But he still wasn’t ready to quit drinking. He also started using drugs. He didn’t think he had a problem, even though he was getting drunk during the week, at school, some- times by himself, as well as on the weekends. He hid it from the adults in his life but his friends were either drinking with him, or found his behavior amusing. Once he dropped acid before a math class, and his iriends laughed while he hallucinated. Then he wenr toa Grade 9 dance, where, wasted, he started a couple of tights. He was almost kicked out of the West Vancouver school district. “Ir was so stupid. J can’t even believe | did thar. “[ never, meant to hurt anvbody, . but sometimes don't think of the consequences until they happen.” He was suspended from school indefinitely, had to talk to the chair- See Sobering page 4 en RN SE en rere St oe Sunday, May 31, 1998 -- North Shore News — 3 | | NEWS photo Terry Peters A Health and Welfare Canada study found that alcohol consumption increases among people with some form of secondary schoo! education and higher household incomes. That description fits the demographics of the North Shore. Al Ne rth Shore s abuse ‘| n the ering Treatment program director says the situation is ‘critical’ Deana Lancaster News Reporter deann@nsnews.com THE North Shore has a serious drink- ing problem. According to a study, North and West Vancouver residents drink more alcohol on average than the typical Canadian. National studies reveal that the number of peo- ple drinking alcohol increased as you travel east to west across Canada; and that the average Canadian consumed 3.7 drinks per week, the average British Columbian consumed 3.8 drinks, and the average North Shore resident consumed five drinks per week, In 1991, a North Shore committee was formed following discussions about setting up a detonifica- tion centre on the North Shore, and whether or not additional substance abuse programs were needed on this side of the Burrard Inlet. ‘The commiitee’s findings were sobering. Heaith and Welfare Canada reported alcohol consumption was higher among those with some post-sccondary education and with a higher household income — a fairly typical profile of a North Shore resident. And provincial statistics showed one in three hospital cases was alcohol- and drug-related. Ac Lions Gate Hospital, as many as 23.8% of non- emergency admissions were found to have a “sig- nificant alcohol problem.” North Shore residents had to go to Vancouver for a detoxification centre, Waiting lists for local treatment programs ran as long as three months. The need was obvious. Fast forward seven years and there have been only miner improvements, The North Shore has introduced & “home detox” program and the number of treatmenr programs has grown slightly, but there is still lors to do — waiting lists for treat- ment still run up to four months tong. Alan Podsadowski is the executive director of the Wesr Coast Alternatives Society. He cailsthe situation critical. “Most North Shore residents think you only find drug and alcohol addiction on the downtown eastside. They see it there and can’t relate to it, They think “We don’t have that problem here.” ” But with an aicohol consumption rate higher than the national average, it’s clear that alechol abuse is commen on the North Shore. “We hide it well,” says Podsadowski. And, he says, it’s time to stop pretending we don’r have a problem. It’s denial in the biggest sense of the word — by an entire community. With so many of our funds and resources dedi- ALAN Podsadowski wants to start the war on substance abuse with the kids. cated to family welfare, crime, courts, accidents and health costs which can be traced back to drug and alcohol use, Podsadowski says it’s ridiculous not to do something about the problem. “A study in the U.S. found that for every dal- lar spent on drug and alcohol treatment programs, $7 was saved in crime, courts, ete.,” says Podsadowski. “To my inind then, no amount of money could be too much.” Yet on the North Shore, although approxi- mately $170 million is spent by the health region, the Ministry of Children and Families regional operating office spent just over $1 million oa drug and alcohol treatment progranis last year. Yast year, Alternatives treated approximatcly 600 people with a budget of half-a-million doliars. The society offers individual therapy, support groups and educational programs for chemically- dependent adults. In the teen program, youth and tamily counsel- lor Terry Bulych works with owo distinct groups of teens: those who struggle with alcohol and sub- stance-abusing parents; and thase who are abusing substances themselves, Bulych has worked on the North Shore for 12 years, and has built a solid reputation with a demo- graphic group that tends to be mistrusttul of the aysteny. But she is the only drug and alcohol coun- sclfor for youth in North Vancouver, and she can only do so much on her own. Alternatives also provides counselling for the very young children of substance abusers. It's here that the provincial funding runs out, but since Podsadowski believes it to be one of the most important services the centre offers, they raise money privately for the program. Alcoholism and drug addiction is believed to be the result of a combination of both genetic make- up and life experience, but children of substance abusers have a four to 10 times greater chance of developing the disease themselves, Podsadowski believes that the younger we can get to them, the better chance we have of breaking the cycle. “Look at ‘The War on Drugs.’ Let’s call for a war on rhetoric. The real battle needs to be way sooner —— we have to start with the kids. 1 mean, give us a chance to do something for God's sake.” So, Alternatives has introduced family coun- selling. When they're ready to, clients bring their children in for therapy. Mary Frost is the child and family counsellor at Alternatives. She does her best work in the “play- room” —a cozy retreat overflowing with dolls, dress-up clothes, pencil cravons, paints, paper, play-dough, dry sand, wet sand, water and an assortment of plastic creatures and characters. “The child can act out fears in the playroom. The problems are common — ifa parent is using then they are obviously not meting the child’s needs. Normal developmental fears — monsters under the bed, for example — are exacerbated by the problems in the home.” Gnee the child has expressed those fears through play, Frost says she can go down the halt to the parent's therapy session and explain what’s happening. “I've seen change here. I’ve gor children sleep- ing all through the night, and that’s a big change.” Frost says most of her joo is helping the chil- dren just be children. “Vve had four-year-ulds tum off the stove, or make sure mom’s cigarette is out. They're so busy looking out inte the environment to see if it’s sate, they can’t enjoy their childhood.” Podsadowski began his career 26 years ago, treating addictions at the other end of the spec- trum: designing treatment programs and coun- selling inmates in the Connecticut prison system. Homay have been tov late for them, “Starting it here with owo- and three-vear-olds .» it just feels right. Just knowing we're doing it, | heal myself'a little bit more every day.”