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Locals start group aimed to drug problems in Bancroft

The group Families Against Drugs was originally started as a support group of sorts for families concerned with the drug problems in the area, but three meetings in, the group has grown to be more than just a support group.

“It’s part of a big problem in our area,” Wilma Brethour says. She is one of the people that helped start the group with F.A.D. holding their first meeting just over two weeks ago. She explains more people showed up for the second and third meetings and brought forward more ideas about what could be done in the community to work towards solving the problem.

Brethour says they’re specifically hoping to work with youth. She says it’s important to get them involved with the community before they get to the age where they’re introduced to drugs. “We need to do this before we lose more youth to drugs,” she bluntly puts it. “They all have somebody who loves them.”

One of the ideas floated during a meeting was starting a neighbourhood watch program. Brethour says she is going to reach out to the Bancroft OPP to see if it’s viable in the area. She says she wants to see what assists they will be able to offer – if any. “People are interested in doing it because they want their streets back and kids safe,” she says. Two other ideas involved starting an Al-Anon group and a Narcotics Anonymous group. Both programs would give more support to people with addiction issues. “We used to have it in the community for 12 years,” Brethour says of a potential Narcotics Anonymous group.

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“People don’t feel safe,” she says. Brethour says one meeting attendee spoke about how she lives next to a drug house. She said it’s a difficult situation because she isn’t sure what she can do to protect herself.

“We need to take care of everybody,” Brethour says. “It’s not acceptable to have homeless people.”

The next meeting is being held on Tuesday at 6 PM at Riverside Park. Brethour says you can call her at 613-334-7724 for more information, or reach out to her through Facebook.

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