Dear Dennis:

Sussex County is plagued with heroine addictions! There really is no help available to the addicts or parents. We're losing our kids!

I tried a family/parent Anon group which was one hour away, but that didn't work for me. It felt more like a hopeless group. WE NEED B.I.L.Y. IN SUSSEX COUNTY, NEW JERSEY! — Suzanne

Hi Suzanne:

I am so sorry that there is no support for you in your community. I know that we have several Because I Love You locations in New Jersey, but I am in California and not that familiar with the locations of our groups that would be close to you. I hear all the time that the Anon meetings are just a place to unload war stories without any plans or suggested solutions, such as we do in B.I.L.Y. You mustn't give up even though you may give in many times.

Heroin is becoming a problem across the nation. The price has dropped and pot is even being laced with it. I wish we were in a position to open groups in every community. Unfortunately, since we are a free program and run by volunteers, we receive no funding or grants. This makes it impossible for us to travel and train other groups. We then must rely on a core group of parents who make a commitment to open and run one of our support groups. That is how most of our out-of-state groups have started. Many don't stay open too long because getting parents to want to stay with any program as a volunteer is a real battle. It is so sad because we are losing our youth every day to drugs and gang violence. I can't understand how parents don't understand that this all begins in the home, and they must get back in control. I tell parents every night that if they want their children to change, then the first to change must be the parents. Something they are doing is not working. I wish I could have been more helpful. Check our website under Reference Library for some helpful articles. Good luck. — Dennis