Help

My friend Manolo is one of those sad stories often presented to us as templates of what not to do with one's life. He was born into a difficult life and had to fend for himself at an early age. He was thus exposed to the not-so-sunny side of life before he even hit puberty. He was already a candidate for substance abuse treatment by the time he was 14, and was fortunately taken in by a social worker for drug rehab before the poison he constantly pumped into his system did its worst.

He got out and remained clean for a couple of years and then took to drinking. It wasn't the occassional drink but gallons and gallons of whatever he could find. Then my friends and I met him. We couldn't at first, but as our friendship grew we subtlely suggested that he consider alcohol rehab. He eventually agreed but sadly, had a difficult time with his addiction to alcohol. He was let out after only 3 months and was sober for only half that time. He was forcibly taken back in and we never saw him after that. Manolo was a tragedy; he was a decent human being--a truly good person deep down. He just made some really bad decisions.

Having seen what substance abuse can do to people, I'm glad there are people who go out of their way to help those who desperately need it. The world doesn't need more Manolos.