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10 POINTS FOR PARENTS TO INTERVENE WITH THEIR KIDS
Intervention does not have to be a formal confrontation
of the afflicted person by a group of people. It can be
any number of triggers that add up to move a person
along a continuum toward help-seeking and well-
ness. A conversation can be a powerful tool.
1. Parents should first talk privately with each other
to get on the same page about how they are going to
address their child. You should answer screener ques
tions to find out the extent of the problem.
2. You should find a time to hold a conversation with your
child when he or she is not high or drunk, and when they are
not extremely upset or angry.
-school, relationships with friends, relationships with parents, siblings, job, activities, etc. Ask how
things are going in each of these areas, and listen. You are holding up a mirror on their life and
letting them look at it fresh.
3. The listening step is crucial, to establish empathy and to convey that you really see and hear your
child, and are taking them in. Prompt your child to consider the link between substance use and
where their life is not matching up to his or her dreams and wishes. Our kids are generally not self-
destructive; they want to do what serves them in their lives. They don't want to be patronized, and
do want to be trusted with your expectation and full confidence that they can, and will, do the best
thing for their own hearth and their family.
9. Ask the child - in light of what he or she is concluding in this conversation about the substance
abuse effect on his or her life - to reassess the problem. Set a goal for getting well. Plan together
some concrete next steps to find information about addiction, recovery and resources, and identify
professional help that will be most suitable.

3. You should initially express love and concern for your child's safety and well-being as the basis
for the concern, whether the child acknowledges this or not
4. You should point out that while it is the child's responsibility to grow up, it is your job as parents
to make sure he or she reaches adulthood as safely as possible.
10. You and your child should understand that the conversation you just had is actually a successful
"intervention,1* a first concrete step toward interrupting the progression of the problem and get
ting well. It is a good idea to reiterate again your love and caring concern for your child. Acknowl
edge yourselves, knowing that you need and deserve strong encouragement and support and have
the power to solve this problem together.

5. You should tell your child the warning signs you've observed in his or her behavior that have
made you concerned, and use the findings of the screener to say Education and outreach are key to curbing
that this problem warrants serious attention and family support
as well as professional help, because it can get out of control and
can even be fatal. This may include negative effects of the per
meth use in the gay community
son's substance use on you, and on those surrounding. However, Crystal meth addiction has infiltrated virtually every social, economic and cul
it is extremely important to remain neutral and non-judgmental tural component of society, but it first gained popularity among gay men, in
in tone, like a news reporter. To sum up the warning signs at this the 1990s, who responded enthusiastically to its uses as a mood elevator and
step, you should state that the pursuit of substance use despite
as a powerful stimulant allowing users to dance all night, engage in marathon
adverse effects on yourself or others is actually the definition of
sex, or both.
"drug addiction." Don't press the child to agree on this assess
ment of the problem.
But beyond the pursuit of pleasure, there have been some meaningful dis
cussions as to why gay men are vulnerable to drugs such as crystal meth. At
6. You should then listen to anything and everything the child Tweaker.org, a San Francisco-based website that serves as a neutral informar
has to say in response. If he or she brings up related problems, tion resource about the drug, a blog posted by a closeted gay man offers this
they should be listened to with a promise of being addressed insight: "I think people like myself, with low self-esteem, are the easiest to get
separately. But you should reiterate that what you are address hooked... On crystal, I was able to think, my creativity soared and I was confi
ing at the moment is substance abuse, which is serious and can dent, it just felt good, then of course I took the whole package, delusions of
be at the core of other problems. grandeur and everything..."
Locally, the Gay Men's Methamphetamine Working Group (GaMMa) aims
7. Then you should follow the practice of "motivational inter
to educate gay men about crystal meth by creating a dialogue within the gay
viewing" used by clinicians, to empower your child and get them
to think about their substance use in a new way. Ask questions community through outreach and research. GaMMa also welcomes inquiries
about what the child wants his or her life to be like at this stage from those wishing to volunteer. Info: Gammaray.ca