Pubdate: Sun, 08 May 2005
Source: Meadow Lake Progress (CN SN)
Copyright: 2005 Meadow Lake Progress
Contact:  http://www.meadowlakeprogress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2156

HELP PARENTS HELP THEIR ADDICTED KIDS

April 2004 in Nipawin, Gary Walter was attacked on the street by 
18-year-old Wesley Harker.

Harker knocked Walter to the ground and then repeatedly punched and kicked 
his face and head. He died on the street less than a block from his home.

The young man who killed Walter said it sometimes seems like a bad dream. 
He was quoted as saying he sometimes wakes up and thinks he's in bed at his 
mother's house.

Then he looks around, and sees the bars of the prison cell.

Harker killed Walter because he was there. He is a drug addict who was high 
on cocaine and crystal meth at the time of the attack.

His addiction to crystal meth had been building over time. When Harker 
became desperate for the drug, he would scream, punch holes in his walls 
and light his mattress on fire.

His parents, Bob and Doreen Harrison, fought to get their teenage son help.

They brought him to a detox centre in Regina and Calder Centre in Saskatoon.

But social workers at both centers immediately informed Harker that he was 
under no obligation to stay. Three days later, Harker walked out.

His parents watched as he lost weight. His teeth started falling out, and 
red blister-like sores appeared all over his body.

He started stealing things. Then, in April 2004, when Harker was high, he 
stomped Gary Walter to death.

Doreen said if she had been given authority over her son, this wouldn't 
have happened.

The reason the social workers informed Harker of his rights is because they 
are legally obliged to. There was a time in Canada when the parental 
prerogative led to terrible violations of children's rights.

Teenagers could be incarcerated in mental asylums because they were 
promiscuous, had had a baby out of wedlock, or because they were in 
somebody's way.

So the laws were changed. Attitudes changed, too. Much of the dialogue 
surrounding addictions focuses on the addict's sense of responsibility, and 
investment in his or her own life.

Many recovering addicts talk about a moment when they knew the drinking had 
to stop. And that's what therapists hope for.

But a teenager's brain chemistry is volatile to begin with. Their brains 
are not finished developing, and they are much more vulnerable to addiction.

And a kid like Harker should have been helped, despite himself.

Parents must have some leverage. They have to be able to get help for their 
child. Sometimes that will mean re-hab before that moment of realisation: I 
need help.

The Saskatchewan Party has been pushing for a law that would allow parents 
to force their children into drug treatment. The government says it's 
looking at the idea.

The legislation can be written to balance the individual's right to his or 
her personal pursuits, with the collective's right to walk down the streets 
unassailed.

Had the laws existed in 2004, Walter would be alive, and Harker would not 
be dreaming of his mother's house from inside a penitentiary.

We say: look into it, and fast.
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