For the past several months, the daily economic news has been grim. We hear about more job losses, foreclosures, home sales down, food prices soar, the stock market goes up and down. These are extraordinarily difficult times for everyone, and in some way everyone is affected by the situation. The never-ending stress taps into your energy and saps your strength; it tests your faith and leaves you confused. Families without the added stressors of alcohol or drugs will pull together; they will make some sacrifices as they grumble and complain, but in the end these families will more than likely survive the current economy.   

What about the alcoholic? More importantly, what about the children living with an alcoholic? Research has confirmed that alcoholics lack coping skills. When faced with problems, the alcoholic will turn to the bottle. Most of us have seen the destructive dysfunction that results from alcohol or drug abuse. What happens when the alcoholic faces a job loss or pay cut, or loses the important health insurance? These situations exceed the “normal” stress of life and will most likely find the alcoholic turning to the bottle more often and in larger quantities.  

The National Runaway Switchboard has reported that there has been an alarming increase in calls over the past year. The callers have been increasingly younger. These victims have reported abuse and neglect with alcohol a common denominator in many cases. With the increased stress from the economy, there has been an increase in alcohol and drug abuse. With increased alcohol and drug abuse, we have seen more violent outbursts. The sad result has been child abuse and neglect. Unfortunately, the weak economy has also reduced the funding for shelters and self-help organizations.  

As we all know, eventually there will be more jobs and stocks will go up. We can all go eat lobster and see a movie. The economy will bounce back and up! In the interim, we need to ask ourselves a question: what about the children living in alcoholic homes during these tough times? Will their self-esteem ever be restored? What are the permanent lasting affects on these future leaders? We all need to be aware of the far reaching affects of a “bad” economy. Recent research indicated that children of alcoholics not only risk becoming an alcoholic but are more likely to abuse drugs.  

We must pay attention to friends and family members that may need some extra help, and possibly intervention, during this tough time. Teachers, church leaders and adults that come in contact with children, stay watchful and pay attention to children that may be living in an alcoholic home. The turmoil in an alcoholic home can create guilt, shame and confusion for the children. These children try desperately to keep this ugly family secret, yet more than anything they need a trusted adult that will listen to them. Encouragement and support will begin their journey on the road to recovery.  

We are all in this together, and we need to help each other. If we turn our backs on these children in need, the economy will recover but a huge segment of our society will not.  

Question by sheashea09: If the purpose of prison is rehabilitation what should a program look like?
3rd part of final
What can you do in this rehab program, what are the rules.

Best answer:

Answer by INSOMNIAC IS FREE AT LAST
Here is one you can take some ideas from.~
A government-backed program that seeks to rehabilitate Iowa prison inmates by converting them to fundamentalist Christianity violates the U.S. Constitution, Americans United for Separation of Church and State charged in a pair of federal lawsuits filed today.

Americans United is challenging state promotion of the InnerChange Freedom Initiative, a program run by Charles Colson’s Prison Fellowship. In the lawsuits, AU charges that InnerChange constitutes a merger of government with religion. The program indoctrinates participants in religion, discriminates in hiring staff on religious grounds and gives inmates special privileges if they enroll.

The InnerChange program is currently in operation in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota and Texas, and a similar program is under consideration for use in the federal prison system as well. President George W. Bush and other advocates of “faith-based” social services have praised InnerChange as a model program.

But Americans United insists the arrangement is deeply flawed.

“This program is one of the most egregious violations of church-state separation I’ve ever seen,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. “It literally merges religion and government.

“It is unconscionable for the government to give preferential treatment to prisoners based solely on their willingness to undergo religious conversion and indoctrination,” said Lynn. “Officials should use public funds to help rehabilitate all prison inmates, not just those who are willing to convert to fundamentalist Christianity.”

Continued Lynn, “Sadly, President Bush sees nothing wrong with an arrangement like this and indeed wants to spread it across all social services, affecting all Americans. It’s a dangerous agenda that must be stopped.”

Americans United filed suit on behalf of Jerry D. Ashburn, an inmate at Newton Correctional Facility in Newton, Iowa, who objects to the program’s religious tenets. A separate suit was filed on behalf of family and friends of Newton inmates who also object to the sectarian emphasis of the program.

Both lawsuits assert that InnerChange is based entirely on fundamentalist Christianity. InnerChange materials describe the program as “a revolutionary, Christ-centered, values-based pre-release program supporting prison inmates through their spiritual and moral transformation” and says it is “explicitly Christ-centered.”

In addition, InnerChange openly discriminates in hiring staff on religious grounds, despite its support from public funds. All employees must be Christians who are willing to sign a statement of faith that reflects fundamentalist Christian dogma.

InnerChange staff do not hesitate to discuss the group’s sectarian goals. Jack Cowley, national director of operations for InnerChange, told The Non-Profit Times in 2002 that the program seeks to convert inmates to fundamentalism. “From the state’s point of view, the mission is to reduce recidivism,” Cowley said. “From a ministry point of view, our mission is to save souls for Christ.”

The lawsuits also note that inmates in the InnerChange program receive much better treatment than inmates in the general population. InnerChange participants, for example, have keys to their cells and have access to private bathrooms. They are allowed to make free telephone calls to family members and are given access to big-screen televisions, computers and art supplies. These benefits are not extended to general-population inmates.

Newton officials fund InnerChange in part by charging general-population inmates and their family members exorbitant rates for telephone calls. The profits are then used to pay for 40 to 50 percent of InnerChange’s costs. Housing for the program is also completely subsidized with public funds.

This unusual funding mechanism means that all inmates and their family members and friends who wish to communicate by telephone are forced to support InnerChange. Americans United expects other plaintiffs to join the cases as they get under way. AU attorneys urged Newton inmates (or those who pay into the phone fund on their behalf) to contact AU. Persons who are interested in counseling prison inmates in Iowa and are qualified to do so, but do not meet InnerChange’s religious criteria for employment, also may be eligible to join the case.

“These cases have substantial implications for President Bush’s faith-based initiative,” said Ayesha Khan, Americans United’s legal director. “The president says it’s okay to use public dollars for religious discrimination, and we say it’s not. These cases will be among the first to determine how far the government can go in funding religious programs.”

In addition to AU’s Khan, other attorneys involved in the lawsuits include AU Litigation Counsel Alex Luchenitser and local counsel Dean Stowers, a constitutional lawyer with the Des Moines law firm of Rosenberg, Stowers & Morse.

The cas

Give your answer to this question below!

For the past several months, the daily economic news has been grim. We hear about more job losses, foreclosures, home sales down, food prices soar, the stock market goes up and down. These are extraordinarily difficult times for everyone, and in some way everyone is affected by the situation. The never-ending stress taps into your energy and saps your strength; it tests your faith and leaves you confused. Families without the added stressors of alcohol or drugs will pull together; they will make some sacrifices as they grumble and complain, but in the end these families will more than likely survive the current economy.   

What about the alcoholic? More importantly, what about the children living with an alcoholic? Research has confirmed that alcoholics lack coping skills. When faced with problems, the alcoholic will turn to the bottle. Most of us have seen the destructive dysfunction that results from alcohol or drug abuse. What happens when the alcoholic faces a job loss or pay cut, or loses the important health insurance? These situations exceed the “normal” stress of life and will most likely find the alcoholic turning to the bottle more often and in larger quantities.  

The National Runaway Switchboard has reported that there has been an alarming increase in calls over the past year. The callers have been increasingly younger. These victims have reported abuse and neglect with alcohol a common denominator in many cases. With the increased stress from the economy, there has been an increase in alcohol and drug abuse. With increased alcohol and drug abuse, we have seen more violent outbursts. The sad result has been child abuse and neglect. Unfortunately, the weak economy has also reduced the funding for shelters and self-help organizations.  

As we all know, eventually there will be more jobs and stocks will go up. We can all go eat lobster and see a movie. The economy will bounce back and up! In the interim, we need to ask ourselves a question: what about the children living in alcoholic homes during these tough times? Will their self-esteem ever be restored? What are the permanent lasting affects on these future leaders? We all need to be aware of the far reaching affects of a “bad” economy. Recent research indicated that children of alcoholics not only risk becoming an alcoholic but are more likely to abuse drugs.  

We must pay attention to friends and family members that may need some extra help, and possibly intervention, during this tough time. Teachers, church leaders and adults that come in contact with children, stay watchful and pay attention to children that may be living in an alcoholic home. The turmoil in an alcoholic home can create guilt, shame and confusion for the children. These children try desperately to keep this ugly family secret, yet more than anything they need a trusted adult that will listen to them. Encouragement and support will begin their journey on the road to recovery.  

We are all in this together, and we need to help each other. If we turn our backs on these children in need, the economy will recover but a huge segment of our society will not.  

There are reasons that are too many to mention here, but substance abuse relapse can be avoided if addressed properly.Substance abuse relapse is something that many families have to endure over and over again. This is not intentional that the addict wants to happen, but it happens for a number of reasons:

1. The addict did not get the right treatment

2. Treatment was not personalized

3. The addict did not get involved with a follow up program

4. The addict only underwent a thirty day rehabilitation process

5. The addict returned to old friends

6. The addict returned to old habits

7. The addict was not committed totally to treatment

8. The addict did not receive support from important family members, which could be a parent or a child

9. The addict did not take the treatment seriously

10. The addict did not learn and adapt to the tools and resources provided while in the treatment center.

There are other reasons that are too many to mention here, but substance abuse relapse is something that can be avoided if all of the above reasons are addressed properly. If the addict had to go through an outpatient treatment program, then it is likely that this could also cause relapse because the addict will have structure within the program, but outside of the program, there is no way that they can be supervised. This is difficult for all involved; the addict, the therapist and family members. Outpatient treatment allows the addict to go on with some type of normal life and keep their jobs and be with their families. However, it has its disadvantages because the addict who is recovering is able to still be around the same friends that influenced them. Of course, drug addiction treatment is a choice and the therapist can tell the addict not to hang around these people, but cannot force them to do so. In fact, the therapist is not aware of the addict’s external activities unless it is mentioned during therapy.

Family members who are afraid of substance abuse relapse should lend a hand in ensuring that their loved one does not cling to those that are a bad influence to them during their treatment process. Those addicts who have gone through numerous treatment programs and returned to their old destructive habits will find that it is like a revolving door and family members get tired of the same old story and want to move on and forget about everything. However, family members cannot do this or they will be contributors of a destroyed life. They should probably think about an aggressive intervention that will either allow the individual to accept rehabilitation or reject it.

In the rehab center, the addict needs to stick close to other residents who are doing well. They can both support each other and motivate each other to keep focused so that they can experience full recovery. All it takes is encouragement to stay on the course that has been set by the therapist for the addict. It calls for willpower and the strength of God in order to make it to complete recovery.