Prayer and Support needed ! My 18 year old stepson chose to live with his mother because she has a big house in an affluent neighborhood, complete with a pool and all the luxuries. We have a small house that is more structured - with a stay-at-home mom, etc. His mom worked, so as well as having a nicer house, he had all the freedom a kid could want. Well, he got involved in drugs and before anyone realized it, he robbed a convenience store for drug money. As soon as he was convicted, he was sent to a shock program near Buffalo [NY] he could have completed in 6 months. He dropped out the first week and instead did the next 18 months in prison. I was very concerned that he had received very little rehabilitation and sure enough a couple of months after he got out of prison, he was convicted of a parole violation and is now on his way to Willard - a well know drug rehabilitation shock program. I honestly feel that this program will change him - its difficult to rehabilitate someone who doesn't want to be rehabilitated - but I have faith that this program will make him a changed man. My concern is that if he drops out, he will have to go back to prison with no rehabilitation - and eventually the drugs will kill him. When drugs take hold at a young age (I believe he started at about 14), I think its harder to break the hold. My goal now is to support him at Willard as much as possible. I've always noticed that the baseball team with the largest cheering section, always wins the game - so I'm hoping to build a cheering section for Eric. We intend to write him every day to inspire him to hang in there and get well - and I thought it would be exhilarating for him to hear from others as well. anyone - parents, other young people, ministry, anyone who could offer a word of inspiration and support - maybe just a postcard (he would love seeing where they're from), or a short note. I know its easy to not think about these young men in prison who have made bad choices - and I do feel that they should feel the responsibility of their actions - but as a parent I also see them as the scared children in young people's bodies. Someone once told me that there is no secret to raising a successful adult - you just love them to death as children. And many parents are too wrapped up in their own lives to manage that - I honestly believe this happened in the case of Eric and probably every other young man sitting in prison. If anyone would like to offer a supportive word to Eric, he arrived at Willard last night from jail and his address is : Eric Kangas 96B1947 Willard WDTC 7116 County Road 132 PO Box 303 Willard, New York 14588 Thanks for helping me build a HUGE cheering section for Eric ! See you on the bleechers ! Connie