So another fella I used to know ODd today. He is the youngest of three brothers, the oldest having croaked out from overdose a few years ago, the middle is on the run after cutting an ankle bracelet for heroin charges and now the mom whom I used to work with gets to put a second son in the dirt. Somewhere between 10 and 20 of the folks I used to run around with are feeding worms now, I quit taking actual count some time ago. I personally don't care about dead junkies, while they're smacked out, they aren't people, just shells of people, a danger to everyone around them I help the few who can be salvaged, I'm selfish in that I won't expose my family, but for example, last year I dropped off a backpack with food toiletries, cigarettes and and blanket to an old friend who was homeless and in some need, but that's as much as I can enable these guys. Is this new? Or am I just hitting an age where the sins of our past begin to catch up?
As an industry, in our scope, is there any reaching out we can do? We are in people's homes regularly, is there a link to resources we can provide? Is there any way we can be a part of the solution or are we just to isolated of an industry to do anything? I know it's a pick your battles world, nobody can help everybody, but this is madness, the destruction of so many lives and the collateral damage from one drug is astounding. Everybody, even homeless junkies are online. Granted our base tends not to be the smack addled youth, but would things like resource links on our websites, or outreach program info in our welcome packs be overstepping our bounds. I'm curious on a personal level because I have no other resource than my job.
