ALCOHOL

"The human costs of alcohol and substance abuse are incalculable: broken families; children who are malnourished; babies who are neglected, beaten and sometimes killed by alcohol- and crack-addicted parents; sick children wallowing in unsanitary conditions; child victims of sodomy, rape and incest; children in such agony and despair that they themselves resort to drugs and alcohol for relief. For some children it may be possible to cauterize the bleeding, but the scars of drug and alcohol-spawned parental abuse and neglect are likely to be permanent."

"Parental alcohol and drug abuse and addiction have thrown the nation's system of child welfare beyond crisis into calamity. The number of child welfare cases has more than doubled over ten years from 1.4 million in 1986 to more than 3 million in 1997. Eighty percent of the professionals surveyed in this report said that substance abuse causes or exacerbates most of the child abuse and neglect they see... It is the children who pay the exorbitant price."

"...many children who survive abuse or neglect are angry, antisocial, physically aggressive and even violent. Frequently they perform poorly in school and engage in delinquent or criminal behavior. For some, the consequences include low self-esteem, depression, hopelessness, suicide attempts and self-mutilation. They are at risk for developing their own substance abuse problems and are likely to repeat the cycle of abuse and neglect that plagued their own childhood."

 ~ Joseph Califano, Jr.; Introduction to the report "No Safe Haven," published January 11, 1999
by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University

Alcohol Education

• http://alcoholism.about.com/od/problem/a/blquiz1.htm

  Answering these 20 questions will give you an idea if your drinking patterns are safe, risky or harmful. The test is completely confidential and anonymous; your results are not recorded; and are available only to you. You will not be asked for any personal identifying information.

• http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/
  

  National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

• http://familydoctor.org/755.xml
  

  Alcohol Abuse: How to Recognize Problem Drinking

Local Alcohol Links

• http://www.recoverycentral.org/
  

  Through information, education, prevention, referral and assessment services, it is the hope of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence - Greater Kansas City to help those suffering from the disease of alcoholism and other forms of addiction.

• http://www.kc-aa.org/
  

  Welcome to the Home Page of Kansas City Area Central Office. We hope you will find something you can take away with you and use. Be it meeting information, committee meeting times and place, or just a link to other AA pages.

• http://www.mainstreamkc.com/
  

  Mainstream Kansas City is a residential treatment center located in Wyandotte County, Kansas.