from the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Our own Kusqi shut down last month. It was supposed to be sober housing for women and their kids while she received outpatient treatment.
Except, guess what? Some of them drank.
Once again, drinking shits on everything.
It's not terribly uncommon: drinkers come to Nome, which overflows with booze. They bring their kids, drops them off, and party.
And then what? What to do if they show up drunk? And not just drunk, but DRUNK. What then? You have her kids. She's screaming at you, pounding on the door. The kids are up, crying.
In Nome, you have two options. One, call the police and file a complaint, and, if they aren't neck-deep with some other drunks, they might come and take her away to jail for a 24 hour Title 47 hold. Option two is to let her in.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Workaholism: the "best" addiction
Addiction to the job a matter of priority from the Anchorage Daily News.
All addiction is about escape: escaping pain.
Therapy is supposed to help you understand that pain, so you can come to terms with whatever it is that's hurting.
It's a process called "honesty," and it works wonders. I recommend it.
All addiction is about escape: escaping pain.
Therapy is supposed to help you understand that pain, so you can come to terms with whatever it is that's hurting.
It's a process called "honesty," and it works wonders. I recommend it.
Blaming others: classic addictive behavior
Articles of Faith: The unfortunate age of entitlement in America
Addicts have a sense of entitlement to: entitlement to use.
Addicts have a sense of entitlement to: entitlement to use.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Bethel violence gab fest
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Bethel violence spurs community meeting
Toward the end of the article, there's the usual discussion about the need for recreational activities to occupy youth as a means of preventing youth from doing drugs or drinking alcohol, thus preventing the trouble caused by bored, high man-children.
I ran youth programs for several years. I think youth recreation programs by themselves contribute exactly zero in preventing youth from drinking and doing drugs and committing crimes.
Tying recreation programs to crime and alcohol prevention is based on the assumption that many kids drink and do drugs primarily because they are bored. This assumtion is itself based on feedback well-meaning adults get from the youth themselves. "Why do kids drink?" we ask. "Because we're bored," say the youth.
I call B.S. At-risk youth ALWAYS say they are bored. Even when they are having fun, they're bored. Everything is boring; just ask them!
In other words, I think that kids aren't at-risk because they are bored; they are bored because they are at-risk. They are bored because there aren't enough functional adults in their lives, guiding them, protecting them, encouraging them, restricting them. Being bored isn't the cause of the problem; it is another symptom of the problem.
There are no YOUTH problems; there are only ADULT problems. If the youth are out of line, it is only because adults are failing.
Swimming pools and recreation centers will, by themselves, prevent nothing. Without a strong adult presence, kids who are going to drink and commit crimes will do so with or without pools.
Finally, the desire for pools and gyms as a means of preventing youth from drinking and committing crimes is typical of "magical thinking." It externalizes the problem; it tries to find a source of blame outside of the addict or abuser. It works like this: if pools and gyms prevent our kids from drinking, then there's nothing I can do about it, and it's not the kids' fault. I don't have to change; the kids don't have to change; we just need to build a pool and a gym, and Abracadabra, the kids will behave properly because they won't be bored.
I live in Nome, where we have a pool and a gym. They kids are still bored, some of them still drink and commit crimes.
Toward the end of the article, there's the usual discussion about the need for recreational activities to occupy youth as a means of preventing youth from doing drugs or drinking alcohol, thus preventing the trouble caused by bored, high man-children.
I ran youth programs for several years. I think youth recreation programs by themselves contribute exactly zero in preventing youth from drinking and doing drugs and committing crimes.
Tying recreation programs to crime and alcohol prevention is based on the assumption that many kids drink and do drugs primarily because they are bored. This assumtion is itself based on feedback well-meaning adults get from the youth themselves. "Why do kids drink?" we ask. "Because we're bored," say the youth.
I call B.S. At-risk youth ALWAYS say they are bored. Even when they are having fun, they're bored. Everything is boring; just ask them!
In other words, I think that kids aren't at-risk because they are bored; they are bored because they are at-risk. They are bored because there aren't enough functional adults in their lives, guiding them, protecting them, encouraging them, restricting them. Being bored isn't the cause of the problem; it is another symptom of the problem.
There are no YOUTH problems; there are only ADULT problems. If the youth are out of line, it is only because adults are failing.
Swimming pools and recreation centers will, by themselves, prevent nothing. Without a strong adult presence, kids who are going to drink and commit crimes will do so with or without pools.
Finally, the desire for pools and gyms as a means of preventing youth from drinking and committing crimes is typical of "magical thinking." It externalizes the problem; it tries to find a source of blame outside of the addict or abuser. It works like this: if pools and gyms prevent our kids from drinking, then there's nothing I can do about it, and it's not the kids' fault. I don't have to change; the kids don't have to change; we just need to build a pool and a gym, and Abracadabra, the kids will behave properly because they won't be bored.
I live in Nome, where we have a pool and a gym. They kids are still bored, some of them still drink and commit crimes.
Lansing State Journal: Recovery program’s expansion still on hold
Lansing State Journal: Recovery program’s expansion still on hold
These kind of supervised recovery programs are probably the only thing that will work, outside of incredible individual will power.
I'm not an evangelical Christian, or even a Christian, but I'd rather have a private, evangelical Christian outfit running a residential treatment center than a government agency, any day of the week.
I don't think the government should give religious groups money, either, but why not a dollar-for-dollar tax credit? So, if you owed $5000 in federal taxes, you could instead give $5000 to a religiously affiliated treatment center, and not give the federals a dime.
In fact, with technology as it is, why not create a free market of private service providers that compete with governments, with public oversight? LImit the government's involvement to oversight and law enforcement - which is what government is good at (sort of) - and get them out of the business of actually providing social services.
I think it would be cool to have competing private schools and treatment centers and clinics in a properly regulated marketplace.
Imagine: you owe $5000 in taxes. You access a list, either on-line or in print, of qualified service providers, to which you can divert up to, say, $4500 of that tax burden. The service providers can market their worth to you. Perhaps brokerages can be licensed to accept your tax dollars and distributed them for you based on your preferences.
These kind of supervised recovery programs are probably the only thing that will work, outside of incredible individual will power.
I'm not an evangelical Christian, or even a Christian, but I'd rather have a private, evangelical Christian outfit running a residential treatment center than a government agency, any day of the week.
I don't think the government should give religious groups money, either, but why not a dollar-for-dollar tax credit? So, if you owed $5000 in federal taxes, you could instead give $5000 to a religiously affiliated treatment center, and not give the federals a dime.
In fact, with technology as it is, why not create a free market of private service providers that compete with governments, with public oversight? LImit the government's involvement to oversight and law enforcement - which is what government is good at (sort of) - and get them out of the business of actually providing social services.
I think it would be cool to have competing private schools and treatment centers and clinics in a properly regulated marketplace.
Imagine: you owe $5000 in taxes. You access a list, either on-line or in print, of qualified service providers, to which you can divert up to, say, $4500 of that tax burden. The service providers can market their worth to you. Perhaps brokerages can be licensed to accept your tax dollars and distributed them for you based on your preferences.
Drinking kills again
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner-Snowmachine accident leaves Delta man dead
He had beer in his backpack, wasn't wearing a helmet, and had been kicked out of a bar at 10pm on a Wednesday for being too wasted. Yeesh.
He had beer in his backpack, wasn't wearing a helmet, and had been kicked out of a bar at 10pm on a Wednesday for being too wasted. Yeesh.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Thursday, March 01, 2007
WA routinely gambles on release of felons
State routinely gambles on release of felons
That's the thing about criminals: they're expensive. Prisons, corrections officers, it all costs money.
What bugs me so much about states and counties and cities cutting corners is that our country spends $500 billion annually on the military. $500 BILLION! PER YEAR!
I know that "defense" contractors and military bases represent a lot of darn good jobs for voters. I live in Alaska, where the majority of households have either a veteran or active duty soldier.
But still: $500 billion, but we don't have enough for treatment clinics and such? $500 billion - that's $5 trillion per decade! AND WE'RE STILL NOT SAFE?!?
Perhaps our political economy is addicted, too - addicted to the military.
And, by the way, I love our troops, and I think the armed forces of our country, and any country, are generally honorable professions. Their competence and dedication are inspiring. My own version of patriotism involveds NOT using the military to "protect" our "way of life," whatever that is. I would much rather change my "way of life" than send people I know and love off to war.
That's the thing about criminals: they're expensive. Prisons, corrections officers, it all costs money.
What bugs me so much about states and counties and cities cutting corners is that our country spends $500 billion annually on the military. $500 BILLION! PER YEAR!
I know that "defense" contractors and military bases represent a lot of darn good jobs for voters. I live in Alaska, where the majority of households have either a veteran or active duty soldier.
But still: $500 billion, but we don't have enough for treatment clinics and such? $500 billion - that's $5 trillion per decade! AND WE'RE STILL NOT SAFE?!?
Perhaps our political economy is addicted, too - addicted to the military.
And, by the way, I love our troops, and I think the armed forces of our country, and any country, are generally honorable professions. Their competence and dedication are inspiring. My own version of patriotism involveds NOT using the military to "protect" our "way of life," whatever that is. I would much rather change my "way of life" than send people I know and love off to war.
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