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•
6/9
2000
104
RUTHAN BRODSKY
Special to the Jewish News
T
here are no research studies
on Jewish alcoholics,
Jewish drug addicts, or
other kinds of chemical
dependency in the Jewish population.
More interestingly, no studies are
planned.
But it is absurd to think there are
no Jewish alcoholics or chemically
dependent persons. Jewish Family
Service knows better. Many of the
cases they deal with are related to sub-
stance abuse and addictive behaviors.
Indeed, the need is strong enough
that JFS has agreed to help support a
new chapter of JAGS (Jewish
Alcoholics, Chemically Dependent
Persons & Significant Others).
Samuel (not his real name) knows
better too. His son is a heroin addict
in recovery.
Samuel's story is painful. His first
wife was an alcoholic. They were
divorced when their two children
were young; the children stayed with
their mother, who died 10 years after
the divorce. Samuel is convinced that
alcohol was a contributing factor.
"My son completed high school
but dropped out his first year at the
University of Michigan," Samuel says.
"He told me he was a heroin addict.
He wanted help.
"We sent him to the Hanley-
Hazeldon Treatment Center in West
Palm Beach, one of the finest pro-
grams in the nation. He completed
the detoxification program, the treat-
ment, and lived in a half-way house.
He lived with us for a year and
enrolled again at the University of
Michigan.
"He attended AA (Alcoholics
Anonymous) meetings but said he
was uncomfortable because of the
religious overtones. He stopped going
to AA meetings. That should have
been a signal for me.
"He relapsed. He was gone for
three days on a heroin binge, came
home and once more asked for help.
Again he went through a detox pro-
gram, this time at the Talbott
or a long time, Alcoholics Anonymous was the
only game in town. However, in 1979, Jewish
Alcoholics, Chemically Dependent Persons &
Significant Others (JACS) was founded by a dozen peo
ple in New York, and has grown to help and support
thousands in 33 cities throughout the country. The
Detroit chapter was created last month.
Through JAGS, recovering Jews and their families
reconnect with their Jewish roots, and explore their own
"step" program through the ideals of the Ten
Commandments. Here are some facts about JACS:
• Today more than 200 recovering Jews from every
form of Judaism, including the unaffiliated, attend
each semi-annual national JACS retreat, where they
make personal connections with other Jews and with
spiritual resources within Judaism. "They left the poli-
tics outside and conducted four different services:
Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and one for Jews
who do not attend services," said a local JACS mem-
ber who attended a JACS spiritual retreat in the
Catskills.
• Utilizing only volunteers, JACS has supplied speakers
pi
Recovery Center in Atlanta. That was
in December. He's been home for a
short time, plans to live at home, and
wants to earn a graduate degree in
psychology.
"He needs a support program to
learn how to manage his disease and I
need a support program to heal
myself "
Samuel spends part of his winters
in Florida. He joined Al-Anon, a sup-
port group of relatives and friends of
alcoholics. It was there that Samuel
learned about JAGS.
"I attended the AA meetings, but
something was missing and there
were religious overtones," explains
Samuel. "It was personal, but I did-
n't want to sit in a church basement
and I didn't want to recite the
Lord's prayer.
"The first JAGS meeting I attend-
ed, I felt right at home. Here I was,
sitting with 12 other Jews who knew
how I felt. I was connected.
Addiction is a family disease. It gave
me serenity to stand up and hold
hands at the end of the meeting recit-
.
to 400 Jewish day schools, synagogues and other Jewish
institutions nationwide.
• Nationally, JACS groups receive support from various
segments of the organized Jewish community. In Detroit,
Jewish Family Service has that role. JFS provides a meet
ing place and other support services to the fledgling
group. "We support the group 100 percent," said Sandy
Hyman, director of Children, Adult and Family Services
at JFS.
• JACS has inspired the formation of more than 50 inde-
pendent, mutual support and community education
groups of Jews in recovery all over the U.S., as well as in
Israel and other countries.
• Unlike AA, JACS allows family members to attend
meetings to allow them to participate in the recovery
process.
JACS has an established national Web site at
www.jacsweb.com and a local hotline, (248) 559-1500,
ext. 107, for any questions or concerns. The group prides
itself on anonymity, as the participant says: "What you
hear in here, and who you see in here, stays in here."
— Leslie Zack, student intern