Canadian Village Fights A Children's Addiction Continued
... A few days later, a team of social workers drove to Sheshatshiu. They
enticed 23 children -- those thought to be most addicted -- one by one
into a bus with promises of pizza in Goose Bay, a town about 20 miles
away. Waving goodbye as if they were going to an amusement park, the
children were driven to Goose Bay and put into a makeshift treatment
facility hurriedly created in a military barracks.
The children did get their pizza. "After that, they say we spend one
night," said Phillip. "But I spent over a year there."
PART II
By DeNeen L. Brown
SHESHATSHIU, Newfoundland and Labrador.
Dealing With a Crisis
Staff members were quickly hired. Some were Innu living in Goose Bay.
They had a huge job on their hands -- to feed and house the children,
watch over them day and night, and somehow break their craving for
gasoline fumes. "We felt like we were inventing the wheel," Andrew
said.
The children were given new jackets, boots and pants. They played cards
and other games in the barracks. Social workers tried to create a
nurturing atmosphere to combat the common problems they found in the
children's backgrounds: exposure to chronic alcoholism and domestic
violence; sexual, physical and emotional abuse; trauma caused by
exposure to suicides; simple neglect.
As the gasoline started to wear off, the children became more active. A
man sat by the door, so some children tried to escape out the windows.
"It required a lot of manpower to make sure they stayed inside," Andrew
said. But as the children stayed away longer from the gasoline, their normal,
healthy spirits started to emerge, and workers realized they could not
keep 23 children inside forever.
Special houses...»»
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Suggested Reading
Uppers,
Downers, All Arounders
By D. Inaba
A non- judgmental, current, and highly visual,
textbook /reference book on the physical and mental effects of psychoactive
drugs.
The 500-page book covers all aspects of drug use
and abuse including current theories of addiction, neuro -chemistry,
treatment, dual diagnosis, and prevention.
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