CRIME AND ADDICTION

By -
It's no secret that crime is rising at an alarming rate in communities all across the nation.
What you may not know, is that the disease of addiction is a major contributing factor.
The addict suffers from a deadly compulsion locked inside their brain which too often leads them into a life of crime to feed their addiction. Many local criminal justice agencies are now collaborating with substance abuse agencies and calling for stronger efforts to identify the substance abuser as a means of protecting the innocent.

The already overburdened prison system is exploding with untreated addicts. When they are released without the benefit of proven treatment methods, that fuels the growing recidivism rate among repeat offenders. Seventy percent of all murders and forty five percent of other violent crimes like assault and rape are alcohol and or drug related.

April is alcohol awareness month and prevention groups nationwide have been promoting the prevention of underage drinking. Alcohol is a drug and underage drinking can lead to the abuse of illegal drugs, to addiction and to a life of crime to support their illegal drug habit.

Remember, addiction is a cunning, baffling and powerful disease, that begins with a chemical change in the brain which triggers a compulsive and uncontrollable desire to drink or drug, regardless of the negative consequences. Twelve step programs, substance abuse groups and intensive outpatient programs are proven treatment methods that help the addict rebuild a healthy, productive drug or alcohol free life.

Recovery is not just possible, it is probable when we make healthy, educated choices!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SUBLIME AUDACITY!

By -
Image
I have all the signs and symptoms of something I just learned about today...Sublime Audacity. That's right...I have the audacity to believe-that anything is possible-anything at all-with God. In fact, I believe that there is one cure for all the world's ills...and that cure rests with -and in God. In a world of material wealth, individual desires and carefully orchestrated managed care...When people search the world over for the answers that never come, the healings that rarely happen and the hope that always gets dashed by the next person...I believe that there is only one steady stream of consciousness that always gets it right...and that is God. I've personally experienced it time and again and every time I look elsewhere or seek some other solution, I always come crawling back to the staying power of my higher power...Because let's face it...Once we have the audacity to tell anyone-anyone at all that God is responsible for all the good in our lives or the Love that ...
Read more

OUR LADY OF JOY, HANCEVILLE ALABAMA

By -
Image
High atop a hill in Hanceville Alabama, broken hearts are being healed and hope is being restored. Our Lady of Joyful Hope is a community of young men who are finding new freedom through a life of authentic truth. Once lost in the darkness of addiction they are now living in the light of Christ who is transforming them from the inside out...And their families, if they are open and willing, are being transformed right alongside them. Recently, I spent three days with this community, listening to the young men, their parents and to the foundress, Mother Elvira, who flew in from Italy for the anointing of the new community house and the celebration that followed. Mother Elvira's life story is on par with Mother Teresa. She is an Italian nun who heard the call from God to snatch souls from Satan by delivering young men and women from the demonic grip of addiction. She gave up everything familiar, walked straight into the wilderness and wound up becoming a living legacy for desperate fa...
Read more

CONFESSIONS OF FATHER JOE BENSON

By -
As we sat in silence, meditating...I nudged my friend Terri, "What do we have to complain about?!" I whispered. There he hung, pain stricken, vulnerable in his nakedness, sharp thorns cutting into his head, pleading eyes fixed on the heavens. What I thought, on God's green earth, do I have to complain about?! That's probably why they do it...place the life like crucifix dead center-above the altar, just above the Blessed Sacrament, right where you can't miss it...just to remind us-things could be worse, but they're destined to get better-if we keep our eyes focused-on the solution. Another friend-likes to remind me-he's not on the cross anymore...So why do we keep him there? Every one's got an opinion, but to tell you the truth, I need to be reminded of the sacrifice...and every painful moment in between. Puts my problems in perspective...helps me see clearly...gives me strength to proceed. We went to first Friday adoration in the upper ninth ward.....
Read more