“The plague is there, and it insinuates itself, subtly, into the lives of many. But mutual help can do a lot, and the sharing of experiences can do a lot, which, however, not everyone is willing to tell and share with those who, at first , is a stranger. Because becoming aware of the problem is no less difficult than overcoming it.”
But there is a way out, also thanks to organizations that tackle the problem of alcoholism by helping and helping themselves. An evening of awareness-raising, very successful given the influx of public, took place a few days ago at the Pierangelo Bertoli Auditorium, promoted by the Al-Anon Family Groups and Alcoholics Anonymous, two associations that fight against compulsive drinking, against the damage that this pathology causes to those who are victims of it but also to those who are close to the victim of this pathology, as a family member, relative, friend or perhaps acquaintance. The two associations work in autonomous synergy at their offices, located on the same landing of the building in Piazza Risorgimento 52, adjacent to the gym of the ‘Ricci’ stadium: they meet, share experiences, help each other, overcome unimaginable difficulties because, says the city representative of the ‘Al-Anon Family Groups’ section, “we are talking about difficult passages, both for us family members and for those who fall into the vortex: crossing the thresholds of our offices is not easy, but it guarantees that help that cannot be found elsewhere”.
In compliance with the requested anonymity, it seemed right and proper to give an account of the meritorious activity of these two associations, present in the area for decades now, capable of intercepting widespread problems (Alateen, for example, is an offshoot of Al-Anon, involving family members and adolescent friends of alcoholics) evolving together with the problems themselves, who meet at their offices every Tuesday at 8.30 pm (Al-Anon Family Members) and, at the same time on Tuesdays and Fridays (Alcoholics Anonymous) to share experiences, going further. “The comparison and mutual exchange of experiences that arise from mutual help become levers on which to rebuild oneself”, explain the coordinators of the two groups, working in an area that is anything but simple, but determined to demonstrate that leaving the tunnel you can. “Even when – says one of the participants in the meetings – it seems impossible. The leap that must be made is to realize that when you drink you are losing everything. It is not easy, because you always think that ‘I will stop when I want’ and until you give in to evidence and you don’t deal with what is happening to you, you remain a prisoner, and things get worse and worse in the family, as at work, as in relationships”. To re-emerge and return to yourself, you need time and patience, and you need that determination that grows by reflecting yourself in the other, in recognizing what you experience and what you suffer and make those close to you suffer, in exchanging experiences, in telling stories about yourself. that what we thought couldn’t happen happened. And yet it happened. Discomfort, anxiety, loneliness, fear and shame: we must go beyond this, and to go beyond this we need strength and will, we need the idea – why not – that there is a way out, just take it even if it leads to which one you pass seems very narrow. This is what groups are for, who lead those who need them along these paths. This is what these entities are for which the Municipality, for decades, has offered the support it can, that is, a headquarters.
The rest is done by the toll-free number which you can contact in case of need (800087897 ‘Families Al-Anon’, 800 411 406 Alcoholics Anonymous, which also respond to 3334208029 – provincial – and 0536881089 controlled by the Sassuolo group) and the members, volunteers and activists, self-financing and ensuring, if necessary, with their own donations, support for existing programs that restore lives to those who no longer live them as such. And we like to think that the location of the offices is not accidental: we are, as mentioned, in Piazza Risorgimento. The name promises something and, we hope, delivers just as much.
