Research Case

When I first walked into the meeting I did not really know what to expect because it was my first time ever being part of something like this in person. I have experienced by observing people or reading and researching about addiction but never anything this personal. It was eye opening to experience this element of connection between people just looking for some help. I walked into the recreational center doors of a local church and walked into a room just pass the kitchen were they prepare the meals on wheels food. I entered a room with a desk and a nearby circle of chairs about six by number. The chairs were filled all but one, the one empty was the chair that was reserved for me. The lead counselor who also is the pastor of the church welcomed me in. After I introduced myself I opened my ears to listen to the participants.

There five attendees at the meeting, three female and two males, they were all local and all knew each other from some time in their lives around the neighborhood of North side. They grew up on the same streets and went through some of the same trials and tribulations in regards with drugs and drug abuse. Five people scattered in age looking for help with their problems were sitting in the circle waiting for the opening words from the counselor. Most of their problems consisted of being dependent on cocaine, marijuana, and painkillers. It pains me to see people with these dependency problems because you can see they are almost locked in a cage so to speak. They all talked about how they love the feeling they have when they are using. They are their own prison and they can’t contemplate life without their substance, it is what keeps them going they say. I saw how their everyday lives consisted of looking for the drug, finding the means to attain it, and then their final goal, using the drug. The particular attendees I witnessed all know they had a problem and another thing they have in common is they all can’t explain why they can’t begin to shake the habits.

After attending the meeting and taking time to acknowledge all that took place. I thought about questions I would like to ask the attendees if I was the counselor in charge or the leader of the meeting. In order to reach them effectively you need to have questions that will hit hard to home and make them really think about their situations. But I also believe the last few questions on the list should be positive so that is how I tried to correlate the questionnaire I devised for the attendees. I believe it is only when they reach reality and have a good mindset is the way they can begin their journey into a sober lifestyle without substances.

The question I would start off with goes straight to the point I figured since they were so open about it that I would ask them to list the drugs that they have in the past or currently abuse? The question is important because it will help me gage and understand what kind of