Alas, poor Fred! I knew him, fellow SCN readers: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy: before these tragic circumstances befell the now lost soul:

Addict: a person who is addicted to an activity, habit, or substance: a drug

addict (verb used with object); to cause to become physiologically or psychologically dependent on an addictive substance, as alcohol or a narcotic; to habituate or abandon (oneself) to something compulsively or obsessively.

Video game addiction, also called video game overuse, is a form of psychological addiction composed of a compulsive use of computer and video games. Sometimes the addiction will manifest itself as part of excessive Internet use.

Most notable are massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), and related to Internet addiction disorder. Instances have been reported in which users play compulsively, isolating themselves from social contact and focusing almost entirely on in-game achievements rather than life events.

WebMD: At an addiction treatment center in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, teenagers and adults begin detox by admitting they are powerless over their addiction. But these addicts aren’t hooked on drugs or alcohol. They are going cold turkey to break their dependence on video games.

Every form of addiction is bad, no matter whether the narcotic be alcohol, morphine or multiplayer online role-playing games. Carl Jung

First he abandons his loyal readers, spending less and less time on SCN as feeding his addiction requires more and more time. Then it begins to affect his work as he becomes one of those undependable employees he recently decried in SCN.

Before long his poor roommate has to throw him out in favour of a roommate who works and can pay his share of the rent and the poor guy becomes one of the homeless, a member of that underclass that has graced the pages of SCN. The upper crust of that underclass as, like a turtle, he carries his home around with him as he drives from location to location to meet his needs.

Unfortunately it is his addiction that dictates his needs so instead of concentrating on employment and the path out of homelessness he focuses on finding internet connections to allow him to feed his habit.

Before long the car is gone as his focus tightens more and more on finding sources to satisfy his cravings, his addiction.

Living on the streets, hygiene challenged, soup kitchens for food – still his addiction drives him, consumes him, destroys him.

We loyal SCN readers need to stage an intervention to force Fred to confront his addiction, to encourage him to seek help in getting into recovery from his addiction.

STOP! THINK Fred: recall the sad state of those further along the path of addiction whose addictions had led them to homelessness and life on the streets. Reach within; find the strength to find help and recovery.

Addiction is a stone cold bitch whether to drugs, to work or to role playing games. Do not listen to the sweet siren song promising you Kingship of fantasy lands, lest ye continue down the path that leads to despair and utter hopelessness.

Take personal responsibility for you life and addiction, save yourself and find Wellness and Recovery. You have the strength Fred.

_____________________________________________________

post scriptum:

While written tongue-in-cheek there is a disturbing truth in what I wrote. Nobody says to themselves “I think I will become and addict” or “I think I will become homeless”. Addiction, mind altering substances, gambling, online gaming or work, is an all too easy downward slide whatever your starting point.

It is a sweet siren song luring you on until it is to late when it reveals its true nature as a stone cold bitch.

Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the shadow. Aesop

Fred’s original article that inspired this can be found at: http://www.somethingcool.ca/editor281.htm

The young woman was sitting there obviously in a great deal of distress, profound pain and in need of help.

The distress and pain were so pronounced that it evoked an act of kindness out of an acquaintance of mine. The only adequate description of seeing this act is “it boggled my mind”. He also stated that something needed to be done.

Her behaviour/situation was brought to the attention of those who should be helping her … and resulted in excuses as to why they weren’t helping.

Leaving the realm of excuses I found the young woman huddled with arms wrapped around herself under a tree. Mr. L, a homeless gentleman residing in his vehicle, was standing there regarding her.

I approached her quietly and spoke with her gently and after a few minutes she uncurled and stood up. With quiet words Mr. L and I walked with her to his vehicle and drove her to MSA Hospital.

Escorting her into emergency we supported and advocated for her through the admissions process. The psychiatric evaluation nurse and the woman doctor on duty were excellent, but the process, for someone in her shape, was far too long and complicated.

We spent 3 hours helping and sitting with her before she was in the care of a nurse. In fact it took so long Mr. L and myself were beginning to worry that perhaps the delay was due to the psychiatric evaluation nurse searching for butterfly nets and straight jackets for the pair of us. We had to stay with her in order that she could stay and get the help needed.

How many others are left suffering great distress and profound pain?

Getting help should not depend on random chance putting someone in need in the path of two strangers who are willing to spend the hours and effort needed to get them help.

This is not the first time I have experienced politicians, government, agencies, organizations or people delivering a litany of excuses for their failure to act to help those in dire need.

It is so normal a behaviour I can remember how surprising and above all helpful it was when, at a Communitas program I was a client of, I was told that something needed was not part of the program – but let us figure out how to get it done – and it did get done.

The issues, the problems that are part of addressing homelessness, mental illness, addiction and poverty are complex and lack nice neat easy solutions. Nobody can guarantee success in addressing these issues.

I can guarantee failure as long as it is acceptable to come up with excuses for why something is not being done. Benjamin Franklin pointed out that “He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”

As Mr. L. and I demonstrated you can accomplish something or make excuses. To quote Stephen Dooley, Jr. “A man who wants to do something will find a way; a man who doesn’t will find an excuse.”

It is time we stop making excuses, stop accepting excuses and find ways to do what needs be done.

I had a coffee in one hand and a fresh baked cookie in the other when a homeless friend stuffed a folded sheet of paper in my shirt pocket with a cryptic comment about retirement homes.

Emptying my pockets later at my habitation I found and unfolded the sheet, which turned out to be a page of ready-to-assemble wood storage and recreational building kits from a home improvement store.

Some were pretty spiffy looking and given the cost of housing these days, extremely attractive in price. Which may well explain the warning “before finalizing your purchase, always check with your local building code official for any requirements”.

With my friend currently residing in a tent under a bridge, I can certainly understand the buildings attraction for him. Spacious 8 X 10 foot floor space – with a floor yet – space to stand up, luxurious accommodation compared to his tent.

He raises an interesting point, or is that an interesting idea, to ponder.

We have hundreds of homeless currently on the streets of our cities, with more people becoming homeless as time passes. We have no housing, make that no housing affordable to the homeless and creating the needed affordable housing will take years once (or if?) we ever begin to address the growing need for housing people can afford.

We have decommissioned schools surrounded by open playing fields. What about putting up a community, a “subdivision” as it were, of ready-to-assemble kit buildings? The school building would provide washrooms, bathing facilities and lockers for safe storage of belongings.

The classrooms and offices would provide space that could be used for a wide variety of purposes by a wide variety of organizations and government agencies.

I acknowledge there would be problems, but I point out that our current situation is full of a growing number of problems.

It is an interesting idea, hearkening back to the soup lines and shanty towns that sprung up in city parks in the Great Depression.

I know many will not find this an interesting idea or think it has any value or should be considered. They can easily remove it from consideration by advancing good, practical, workable ideas.

Without practical, workable ideas we are going to fall back to soup lines and shanty towns in our parks and open spaces even though one would have thought we would have come up with better ideas and ways of addressing poverty and housing in the seventy years since then.