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ADDICTION TOUCHES EVERYONE

Our family has been touched, some may say fractured, by heroin.

We have a 23-year-old grandson who is in a sober living house after several treatment attempts, and a granddaughter, age 20, who is in rehab for the fifth time.  We also have a nephew, age 49, who is serving a 17-year sentence in federal prison for transporting heroin across state lines while possessing a firearm.

Their stories are more complicated than outlined above, but heroin has had a traumatic effect on our family and on the relationships between the nonaddicted family members.

An immense amount of time has been spent by all concerned dealing with the individuals involved and untangling and trying to fix the messes created by the lying and stealing involved.  Trust has been devastated beyond hope of repair.

We think of these three loved ones constantly and wonder, "What happened?" and "What if?" Maybe by sharing a small part of our story, we can help others feel less ashamed of speaking out about their loved ones who are addicted.  Safe-injection sites could work, but there have to be adequate measures for transportation to and from the sites.

We also need greatly increased community awareness and services for mentally ill and homeless people.

Let your voice be heard.

Support legislation and programs like LEAD ( Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion ) so we can start to diminish the heroin epidemic.

Richard and Judy Harwood, Edmonds