Children of addiction need Globe Santa’s help
For 67 years Globe Santa, a program of the Boston Globe Foundation, has provided gifts to children in need at holiday time. Please consider giving by phone, mail or online at globesanta.org.
The young mother’s letter to Globe Santa is from her children’s point of view, though they are only 2 and 4 years old.
“This year may be the first year we will spend the holidays without our dad,” she wrote. “He was our source of income but has relapsed on drugs after being ‘sober’ for 10 years.
“We don’t want much,” the letter said. “We would prefer to have our dad.”
A grandmother’s letter to Globe Santa tells of taking in her 5-year-old granddaughter, because she was no longer safe in her home.
“She came to me in January of this year,” she said. “She had been living with her parents who suffer from mental health issues and drug abuse.
“When she arrived, she was a scared and nervous little girl. She is now in kindergarten. She loves school and has friends and is not afraid anymore.”
The grandmother is 65, employed full time. Still, “I struggle some months with the bills,” she said.
So, she is asking Globe Santa for help. “I just want her first Christmas with me to be perfect.”
There’s a saying that “addiction doesn’t discriminate,” meaning it can happen to anyone, irrespective of socio-economic status.
But the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age determine the likelihood of recovery. Poverty, limited education, unemployment, homelessness are all risk factors.
And children are at risk in countless ways — vulnerable to parental abuse and neglect, domestic violence, emotional instability, financial insecurity. They are more likely to develop behavioral problems, anxiety, depression, to have low selfworth, and to become addicted themselves.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been in a tougher position than I am this year,” a single mother of three started her letter to Globe Santa.
“My ex (the father of my older kids) is in drug treatment,” she said.
“I am no longer getting child support due to this.
The kids are suffering emotionally.”
Her car is in the shop, awaiting repairs she can’t afford because without a car she can’t always get to work. “So, my income is suffering. I am behind on all my bills.”
And the holidays are here. “I am very anxious about Christmas,” she said.
She can’t bear to disappoint her children. “All I want is to give them everything they deserve.”
For 67 years, Globe Santa, a program of the Boston Globe Foundation, has eased parents’ holiday anxieties by providing gifts for their children, and sometimes warm clothing. Globe Santa’s donors have made it possible.
“I am the lucky ‘gigi’ to three beautiful kids, ages 9, 8 and almost 1,” a grandmother told Globe Santa. “A year ago, we found out their parents (my daughter and her husband) were actively using drugs. My husband and I, both retired and disabled, were able to gain guardianship of all three.”
On their income, they’re able to provide “a stable healthy home,” cover the basics, but no extras.
“The older girls have never received much for Christmas,” she said. “They have worked so hard to catch up in school, and with therapy every week. They deserve it!”
Just as addiction can tear a family apart, recovery can reunite and heal.
“First off, let me thank you for the kindness you have showed to my family and many others in the past,” a mother of three began her letter to Globe Santa.
She told of her decision, for the sake of her two teenagers and her baby, to cut ties with her family.
“They are struggling with addiction. I struggled with addiction myself for 8 years, but this past March I celebrated 5 YEARS CLEAN AND SOBER!”
Her goal is to return to school, to become a peer addiction specialist, “to help other addicts get their lives on track.”
With the addition of the newest family member, who is 1, she said, “This year is tight. Any gift for her, educational or playful, would be very much appreciated.
“Thank you,” she said, “For all you do for children.”
‘She came to me in January of this year. She had been living with her parents who suffer from mental health issues and drug abuse.’ GRANDMOTHER, on behalf of 5-year-old granddaughter