Prisoner 94101

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Wednesday, September 28th, 2016 | Tags: Havilah Stories

This section is written by Karen Reaney, one of our Havilah volunteer team with a direct experience of what it’s like for the families of those caught in the spiral of addiction.

Every drug addict is someone’s son. Every drug addict has left a broken heart behind by breaking their own lives. Prisoner 94101 is known to many in the church. He hasn’t been seen around for over 3 years, but for two and a half years he was familiar to you and part of our church family.

He was also a big part of my family. He was one of my foster sons. He was well loved by us all, but he had an unfortunate family circle. Going back to that family circle, after care, led to drug addiction. Despite my spending two years trying to get through to him about all the risks of drugs, knowing what he was facing, he jumped in with both feet. He began injecting heroin.

If you read Jim’s account above, based on conversations with a drug addict, you will learn a part of what their life is like. The drug gets priority; it has to, because they are addicted. It is not a drug where you can get up in the morning and say “I’ll just stop this today”. It controls your life, not the other way round. Imagine your teenage son phoning from a bail hostel, totally hooked on drugs, wanting money for drugs. It is a Sunday afternoon. He is in the hostel for offences relating to drugs – mostly shoplifting.

You cannot give him money for drugs because that would be just wrong. You phone all the drug agency help-lines only to find that everything is shut over a weekend. There is nothing anyone can do for him. To be accepted on a programme there is at least a three months waiting list. The boy is left with three choices: try to suffer unbearable pain; go shoplifting; borrow money. What is the most likely option? Unfortunately it is theft that is left being the only way out he can see.

A mum still loves her son. A mum knows it is the drug that is the problem and not their child. Their child has disappeared in a haze of heroin. A mum would want you
to know that she loves her son. A mum would want you to love her son. When drugs get a grip on her child, a mum would want you to know that any effort at cutting down, getting on a programme is a cause for great celebration. The mum is proud that her son is trying. Small achievements probably cause more pride than anything they could have done at school. Seeing a child get clean, and it is only a small percentage, causes the best feeling for parents; better than any work they could ever do. A mum doesn’t want to see people shun their kids or cross the street to avoid them.

Prisoner 94101 is currently in Perth Prison awaiting sentence on several charges, mainly shoplifting. Most addicts will try every route possible before moving into the
criminal route. They are not criminals by nature. Sure you have to take precautions around them for the protection of yourself and your family, but you don’t have to make it obvious either. You just don’t leave temptation in his way. Don’t give him money, your money is buying drugs, do you want that. But hey, you help meet their needs. You can give toiletries etc, just don’t buy anything that is valuable and can be sold. They will be more devastated than you if they do it, but it’s hard to believe. Again it’s not their choice to do this, it is the drug that is in control.

Over time, I’ve got to know a lot more drug addicts in Havilah too. I’ve learned more and more not to put them in boxes. They are all people. Like 94101, they are someone’s son or daughter. They couldn’t feel worse about themselves as it is, without us judging them. Boost their morale by caring and you will go much further toward helping them help themselves than you ever could by judging them. Judge them and you confirm that they are right in how badly they see themselves. I could go on and on. I love my foster son still and would like to believe that all those that cared about him before still would too.