Letter from an addict

Shelly  6:11am Oct 21

Hi My name is Shelly
I am just the MOM...I thought maybe I would give you a different view on the
Life of an addict..MY VIEW....
I was 15 when I had my first and only child,not yet an adult,but back then
You couldn't have told me that..
Single and living in a shack with an alcoholic father,but I was HAPPY .I was
Happy because I had no supervision,,
What a life huh?Partying my days and nights
Away with no recollections the next morning,not caring that I now had
A child to tend to,because ,why should I worry,I had my dad.Even though my
Dad was a drunk,he always seemed to
Be there for us,and now,, for this child of mine.With dads help ,I was able
To continue the way I wanted to LIVE...
Mescaline,Acid,Mushrooms,Thc,and the occasional
MR.RUSH.I wasn't out there stealing and hurting people,going through
Medicine cabinets, in and out of jail,, I MY FRIEND
WAS HAVING FUN!!!! I cared about nothing but where the next hit of acid
Was coming from,
Because I wanted to LAUGH..I never bothered to find out what this stuff was
Why would I...I knew it was fun,and fun we had,yes we did..
This continued from 13 to 25,and of course we cant forget the booze...I was
Drinking in bars at 14..Back then it was like nobody cared.
We were making memories...Where was my son?HMMMMMM,I am sure my dad was
Taking care of him in between beers.
My son moved on when I was 27,He decided that he wanted to live with his dad
I moved around so much ,I could understand why
He wanted stability..Pretty hard to make friends when mom
Is so f........ up she doesn't know you exist,(although there was all of the
Fun times we had)..So here I was
Alone at 27 finally,nobody but ME...I got a job,and a 1 bedroom apartment
(WHICH I STILL MISS BY THE WAY)
And I met people,One of them introduced me to cocaine,That first time ,
Ohhhh I still remember that first time.Within minutes I was wanting more..
I don't know how long I kept it at the simple little 1/2 gram,but I kept it
That way for maybe ohh a few weeks..then it wasn't enough..I wanted more
It called my name.And I got it,I graduated to 8 balls.
Now how was I going to pay for this?I know Ill sell it,I would sell 3 keep a
1/2 ,,yes this was working for me ,,and I could now feed my addiction.Never
Caring that things just werent right in my world.I was super human,,stay up
All night doing lines,and going to work the next day..Easy life,When it got
To hard to stay awake,I would just do more lines.I could handle this way of
Living.it was the best ,or so I thought...it just wasn't enough I needed
More,and then more on top of that.
I came home to visit my dad and told him what I was doing ,he asked me to
Stop..
But I couldn't,it called my name every waking moment,it called to me...It
Took me about 2 years to really realize I was hooked..I needed to get out of
This mess I was in,So I ran back home ,way UP north,to where I knew I was
Safe,I have been clean now for 22 years.that is just a little bit about my
F........... up life,
In the meantime,I didn't even stop to think about what my son was doing.It
Was years before I really knew the truth about how bad it really was for him
I never believed my son would get into way more than I ever could have
Dreamed of.I first heard about the cocaine he was shooting,when he was 27,of
Course I didn't want to believe this.I am just now finding out that he was
Shooting starter fluid along with the cocaine.my god,how bad is it out
There?when did he graduate to the thing that I never could have imagined
HEROIN???I watched as he lost everything,a job ,a car ,a home,and most of
All his life,no he didn't die,but he may as well have been dead..He was
Scrambling,working hard to find that next hit.When did it all get this bad?
And why couldn't I fix it?I wanted my son back.over the years I have done a
Lot of stupid things,turning him in ,making his life hell,but I didn't know
The answers,I only know for the next 10 years,I enabled my son to keep going
.I thought I was helping him to get better,but in fact ,I was making things
worse for him.In the past 2 years,i have taken a step back,and I am working
on me.I am allowing my son to work on himself.Even if he relapses,this is
his choice,not mine..I cant live under the constant stress anymore.I am
living the few years left here for ME.taking care of ME.I guess I really
wanted you all to know what goes on in a moms head and heart,when they are
watching their child spin out of control..It hurts ,,there are days I would
have rather been dead.I cant go backwards,,I must move on,with or without
him in my life.as a mom ,of an addict,I have lost grandchildren that I will
never know..how fair is that to me?I didn't ask for this.so ,why should I
have to suffer?I want you all to imagine ,for one minute,,what if this was
Your child??how would you feel? I want to help save my son,but I cant..this
isnt fair..
When did life become all about drugs..when did family become unimportant
well,I wish
you all the best of luck in your sobriety.I pray for each and everyone of
you to make your life count.
Thanks for being here,and thank you Silver,for everything that you do for so
many...

The Rockers In Recovery  "Back From Hell Tour"    1ST Leg RIR All Star Band Schedule :  January - February 2013 Sponsored by

Rockers In Recovery "Back From Hell Tour" Friday January 25, 2013 8PM-12AM - Rockers In Recovery All Star Band- "Hurricane Relief Benefit Concert" Sponsored by American Addiction Centers  Venue: The Cutting Room,44 East 32nd Street New York, NY 10010  (212) 691-1900  Featuring: The Rockers In Recovery All Star Band and Special Guests RIR All Star Band - Richie Supa (Aerosmith and Richie Sambora),Ricky Byrd(Joan Jett and the Blackhearts),Kasim Sulton(Todd Rundgren and Blue Oyster Cult),Mark Stein(Vanilla Fudge), Liberty Devitto(Billy Joel) , Christine Ohlman (Saturday Night Live Band) Tickets Go On Sale December 5th, 2012 100% of Ticket and RIR Merchandise Sales Donated To Victims of Sandy $50.00 General Admission $150.00 VIP Meet and Greet Friday February 15th 2013 8PM-11PM - Rockers In Recovery All Star Band- "The Dry Dock" Fundraiser Sponsored by American Addiction Centers  Venue: Wallingford High School Auditorium, 70 Pond Hill Road Wallingford, CT 06492  203-626-5560 Featuring: Rockers In Recovery All Star Band and Special Guests RIR All Star Band - Mark Stein(Vanilla Fudge), Liberty Devitto(Billy Joel) ,Christine Ohlman(Saturday Night Live Band), Ricky Byrd(Joan Jett and the Blackhearts),Kasim Sulton(Todd Rundgren and Blue Oyster Cult), Richie Supa (Aerosmith and Richie Sambora) Tickets Go On Sale Now Call  203-626-5560 100% of Ticket Sales and Meet and Greet Donated To "The Dry Dock" $20.00 General Admission $50.00 VIP Meet and Greet Meet and Greet February 15, 2013 6PM EST: $50.00 VIP Rockers In Recovery All Star Band Meet and Greet at The Dry Dock Club 68-1/2 Quinnipiac Ave Wallingford, CT 09492 THE DRY DOCK IS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION PROVIDING A SAFE AND SOBER ENVIRONMENT TO THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE, WITH PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON THE RECOVERY COMMUNITY.

"ROCKERS IN RECOVERY UNPLUGGED" "Delightful, interesting, thought, feeling  provoking...Music " - Very Moving JOHN GIORDANO, Ph.D. (hon.), CCJS, MAC, CAP

Lets Support This One

CLPRM Scholarship Benefit Concert


Woodside Church AND Christian Life Prison and Recovery Ministries PRESENTS…
A Benefit Concert for the CLPRM Scholarship Fund

Featuring DAVE PETTIGREW

With special guest Kris Ballerini

Buy tickets NOW for this very special event!



Also Featuring Special Guest Kris Ballerini


When: Saturday, November 17, 2012 @ 7pm (Doors open at 6:30)



Where: Woodside Church, 1667 Edgewood Rd., Yardley, PA

Tickets: $25

For info and tickets order now or email: daveptix@verizon.net





What is the CLPRM Scholarship Fund?

The CLPRM Scholarship Fund helps place men and women struggling with addictions into Christ-centered recovery houses or programs, and funds the first month of treatment. It is our hope that this type of environment will gives recipients a fresh start, guides them to overcome addiction and brings them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. This scholarship is open to anyone struggling with addictions, including those recently released from prison.

To apply, click here for an application.

About Dave Pettigrew

Dave Pettigrew has become a good friend of CLPRM and a fan favorite. We’re so grateful he’s part of this exciting event.

Call him “the poet for the common man’s search for Christianity.” Dave Pettigrew proves worthy of the title through his collection of thought-provoking music for life.

His multiple releases, The Walk, Every Minute Miracles, Somebody I’m Supposed To Be, Solo Volume 1 & the Christmas EP, show that he is a consistent and lyrically wide-reaching breath of fresh air in Christian music as he pursues his ongoing ministry mission through song to bring the “rubber meets the road” realities of everyday life into focus with God.

His latest single “There Is Hope” has been played nationally on stations like KLOVE and Sirius XM’s “The Message” and was featured in over 3,000 churches across the nation for the 10th anniversary of September 11th.

Read more about Dave…

Bon Jovi Daughter Recovering After Heroin OD In NY - Philadelphia News, Weather and Sports from WTXF FOX 29

Bon Jovi Daughter Recovering After Heroin OD In NY - Philadelphia News, Weather and Sports from WTXF FOX 29

Texas Governor Wants Drug Tests for Welfare, Unemployment Applicants

By Join Together Staff | November 14, 2012 | 3 Comments | Filed in Community Related, Drugs & Legislation

Texas Governor Rick Perry this week called for drug tests for residents seeking welfare or unemployment benefits, the Associated Press reports.

Perry and Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst want to expand a bill that will come before the state legislature next year that would mandate drug testing for “high-risk” welfare applicants, and would ban them from using public funds to purchase alcohol, tobacco or lottery tickets. Perry and Dewhurst want the rules to also include those applying for unemployment benefits.

“Texas taxpayers will not subsidize or tolerate illegal drug abuse. Every dollar that goes to someone who uses it inappropriately is a dollar that can’t go to a Texan who needs it for housing, child care or medicine,” Governor Perry said in a news release. “Being on drugs makes it much harder to begin the journey to independence, which only assures individuals remain stuck in the terrible cycle of drug abuse and poverty.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas opposes the measure. Executive Director Terri Burke said in a news release, “How sad that our state’s highest elected officials have embraced this mean-spirited measure that would punish innocent children for their parents’ conduct. This proposal is a costly, ineffective, inhumane and punitive effort by state government based on stereotypes about our state’s neediest Texans.”

A Florida law that required welfare applicants to undergo drug testing was halted last year after the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida sued the state to stop it. About 2.5 percent of the 4,000 adults tested before the program was stopped tested positive for drugs. Almost 2,500 people refused to take the drug test.

Laws to Crack Down on Serving Intoxicated People in Bars Largely Ignored

By Celia Vimont | November 13, 2012 | 1 Comment | Filed in Alcohol &Government


Laws prohibiting bars and restaurants from serving intoxicated people can be an effective way to reduce alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes and violence, but the provisions in most states are poorly drafted and rarely enforced, according to two experts on alcohol policy.

James Mosher, JD, and Elizabeth Dahl, JD, of Alcohol Policy Consultations, say the enforcement of well-designed service of intoxicated persons (SIP) laws would provide significant public health and safety benefits. Mosher spoke at the recent American Public Health Association annual meeting.

Only Florida and Nevada do not have SIP laws, and Wyoming’s law applies only to drive-through sales, according to Dahl. Other states have some form of SIP law, although the specific provisions vary widely.

“Law enforcement largely ignores these laws,” Mosher notes. “One reason for this is they are usually so poorly drafted that there’s little likelihood of conviction.” A 2007 report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded that states have limited resources to enforce the laws, and the provisions of the laws tend to make collection of proof overly burdensome. The report also found that cultural norms that tolerate excessive drinking or that support the idea that bars are appropriate places for patrons to become intoxicated present a challenge for effective SIP enforcement.

New Mexico is one of the few states with an effective SIP law, Dahl says. In that state, if a patron is stopped after leaving a bar or restaurant with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .14 or higher, a rebuttable presumption is established that the patron was intoxicated when served at the establishment. The bar or restaurant can rebut the presumption with evidence that the server could not reasonably know about the patron’s intoxicated state. After three violations in one year, the establishment can lose its license. According to Dahl, New Mexico implemented a targeted program to enforce its SIP law and combined it with DUI checkpoints and dedicated DUI enforcement. As a result, the state experienced a substantial reduction in alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes.

This contrasts sharply with the laws in other states. “In many states, you can’t use the BAC of a patron to infer they became intoxicated in the bar—you need to prove that through direct observation of a witness, which makes it harder to prove,” Mosher says. “You have to send undercover officers into bars and have them sit and watch to see if a violation occurs.”

SIP laws that do not require actual knowledge of intoxication are easier to enforce, Mosher says. “Some states use a ‘reasonable person’ standard – would a reasonable person in like circumstances know that the patron was intoxicated? This constitutes the legal definition of negligence and is an appropriate approach for drafting SIP laws.” According to Mosher, SIP laws are more likely to reduce patron intoxication if the penalties focus on suspending and revoking the licenses of repeat offenders rather than relying on criminal penalties. Administrative sanctions are typically easier than criminal sanctions to impose.

The authors suggest that an effective way to reduce Driving Under the Influence (DUI) incidents is to focus on the relatively small percentage of drinking establishments that repeatedly serve intoxicated patrons. Law enforcement often knows which ones these are because of the repeated calls for service that typically occur. After every DUI arrest or crash, the offender should be asked where they were drinking as a routine part of the investigation. The data can be compiled to identify potential problem establishments. Law enforcement can meet with the owner and manager, alert them to the problem, and suggest Responsible Beverage Service programs that focus both on management policies and staff training. If problems persist, a targeted law enforcement effort can be initiated. This approach can greatly reduce the costs of SIP law enforcement and focus limited resources on the establishments most likely to be SIP law violators.