Bacon Street

Cares About What Matters . . .

Testimonial by Erin

Hello, my name is Erin. I am 18 years old. I am a college student and a soon to be published
illustrator for a children’s book. I am also a drug addict and alcoholic in recovery.
I come from a loving and supportive middle class family. I have an older sister who is married
and who got through her teen years without incident. My parents are still married to each other.
So it would seem from the outside that I had a normal and happy life. But that is far from the truth.

Unbeknownst to my family I was living a double life.
My friends had changed over the years and finally consisted of only those who used drugs or dealt drugs.
Things in school got bad. My grades went down, my attitude began to get me in trouble with teachers
and the principal. I became secretive and isolated. I came home and went to my room. I stopped
talking to my family. I only thought about when and where I would use drugs again.
I began sneaking out at night to meet my drug using friends or to buy drugs.
My behavior got more and more dangerous.

After years of using drugs and alcohol I stopped caring about my future or even about my family.
I didn’t see how my drug use was affecting them. My family tried to get help for me but I was so
resistant and belligerent they began to feel helpless and hopeless.
They were afraid I would end up dead.

Finally, my parents began attending a parent support group at Bacon Street.
There they met other parents who were or had been in the same place they were now.
These parents gave support to my parents and most of all they gave them hope. With the help of the
Bacon Street counselors and the courts I was enrolled in the Intensive Outpatient Program
at Bacon Street. This program was different because it included families. Families attended all
sessions. My parents were given support to find the courage to change things at home. Suddenly my
parents were in my business. They made it almost impossible for me to use in secrecy.
Bacon Street gave them the support they needed to confront me and hold me accountable for my
drug use. Initially my behavior got worse as I tried to get back the control I had lost.
But much to my surprise Bacon Street had prepared my parents for this. They held their ground.
Suddenly there were rules and consequences that my parents were consistently enforcing.
My drug screening at Bacon Street told the true story of my drug use and
I could no longer lie about it.

I went from angrily denying any drug use to helpless surrender to the fact that I was not strong
enough to quit and therefore I told my parents I would not quit. Then something happened that saved
my life. With the help of the parent support group, the IOP, and the Bacon Street counselors my
parents got the courage to have me arrested and I was put in detention. My manipulation didn’t
stop there. I used every trick I could to convince my parents that they were wrong to allow me
to be locked up even though my behavior warranted it. While I was in detention and without my
drugs my head began to clear. It became possible for me to be accurately diagnosed with a
chemical imbalance that could be managed with medical care. I was transferred to a psychiatric
hospital where the doctors could begin to treat me. With the continued support of the medical staff,
the Bacon Street counselors and the parent support group my family and I began to get better.

Now, after over two years of working with Bacon Street I am in recovery and so is my family.
We laugh again and we share our feelings. Although my recovery is one-day-at-a-time, we no longer
live in constant fear. My family continues to attend the Bacon Street parent support group and we
all continue to attend the Bacon Street Recovery group. We learned that the drug issues were just
the icing on the cake of issues to be addressed. As I face life without drugs and alcohol my family
and I work on the issues of growing up that had been put on hold.
I learn how to face my life drug free and my parents learn how to maintain the serenity
they fought so hard to get.

Bacon Street and those who went through this nightmare with me have called me a success story.
I am proud of my success and I value what I have accomplished.
I would not have been able to do this without the help of my parents and the help we all
received from Bacon Street.

(Erin's story is also featured on the 2004 United Way of Greater Williamsburg Campaign Brochure.)

Bacon Street is a United Way partner agency.

Erin pictured with her parents along with Cindy Palmez and Joey Kayanan from Bacon Street


Erin with her mum and dad

Did you know that a donation to United Way of Greater Williamsburg of just $3 a week provides for one families participation in a six-week Parent Education Program.

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