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drank, the worse her problems be–
carne.
She began to take a long, search–
ing look at herself. She then turned
to the only help she knew - Alco–
holics Anonymous.
A Growing Epidemic
Lisa's drinking problem began
when she was only 15. Most people
today have never heard of teen-age
alcoholics. Many parents, when con–
fronted with a teen-age son or
daughter who is making his or her
life a "he!J" because of alcohol
PLAIN TRUTH April 1973
abuse, simply can't believe it is pos–
sible. Young people themselves also
have a hard time facing up to the
facts.
Contrary to common assump–
tions, you don't have to be middle–
aged or elderly to become an alco–
holic. Alcoholism strikes men and
women of
any
age. More and more
high school teen-agers and young
people
in
their twenties are finding
themselves slaves to alcohol, unable
to cope with or face life without it.
All you have to do is talk with
professionals working in the field of
Milce Hendrickson - Ploin Trvth
alcoholic rehabilitation. One of
these is Mrs. Jean Vandervoort ,
di–
rector of the Pasadena Council of
Alcoholism in California. Mrs. Van–
dervoort and her colleagues are
dealing with the problem ofjuvenile
alcoholism on a daily basis. Many
young people, she said. abuse both
alcohol and strong drugs sucb as
barbiturates, amphetamines or her–
oin. When one drug is not available,
they easily switch to whatever they
can get. And, she added, the "drug
of choice" increasingly seems to be
alcohol, because it is usually easier
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