Your view: Praising Liberty

Dear Editor,

About two months ago I was on the local transit. I was getting off where I work at the House of Liberty. As I was getting off the bus someone asked me, "What's this place?"

I said it is a home for gentlemen who have been in treatment for substance abuse and are now in recovery.

He said, "Oh, they can't handle their liquor."

I said words to the effect of, "Listen here Buddy! These men are here trying to improve their status in life." I was angry because I strongly dislike it when people try to push people down when they are trying to improve their lives.

It is time society woke up and realized that there is not stigma in getting help for a realized problem. I admire these men and am for them 100 percent. The shame lies in the fact then when people know they need help and don't get it. The greater shame is when folks who are getting help are being put down by people who don't know anything about the subject.

In every level of society people are looked down upon because they have gotten into a problem. The government sometimes does not want to provide funs for these people to get the help they need. What they don't realize is that if one person is rehabilitated and his/her family is delivered from the ravages of addiction it is worth more than all the money that could be spent.

At the House of Liberty these men are given faith based support. They come to realize that without God they can not do it on their own.

It is sad to say that even some churches look down on these people and do not want them in their congregations. Jesus came to deliver folks, not push them down further. In Luke 19:10, He said, "I come to seek and to save that which was the lost." He also came to help the discouraged.

I wish that when I was a child that there had been a place like The House of Liberty so that my dad could have gotten the help he needed. He did accept Jesus as his Savior but he could have used help to give him a jump start on his new life. With God's help, he did stop drinking but there is nothing like faith based help to guide one in a right direction.

Please instead of looking down on these folks, get educated about the subject of addiction and learn what can be done for them. There is, I believe, not one of us touched by addiction in some way. Maybe someone in our family or a friend who needs help can get the help they need. Don't discourage them, but help them get the help they need. But for the grace of God go we there.

One way you help is to become a member of Missouri Recovery Network. The address is as follows: Missouri Recovery Network, 428 E. Capitol, 2nd Floor, Jefferson City, Mo. 65101, Phone (573) 635-6669 or 877-669-2280.

Also you can join coalition against under-aged drinking. The information is as follows: Southeast Missouri Drug Free Coalition, Mission Missouri, P.O. Box 1858, Sikeston, Mo. 63801, Phone (573) 481-0505.

If you would like to help educate people against stigmas these are two sources in which you can become involved. The memberships are free.

Thank you for reading this and hopefully you will become involved to help rather than hinder folks wanting to live a better life.

Mickie Jean Ormsby

Sikeston