No More Shame

Today I spoke with a Catholic priest who in the course of his work encounters women who have a problem with alcohol. I wanted to enlist his help in spreading the word that there is a place to go if you are a woman who "habla español," who thinks that she may have a drinking problem. He told me that the number of women who need help is great and that he'll do all that he can because he knows that women are afraid to seek help "because of the shame." He and I share a frustration in knowing that these women are hard to reach. The hopelessness and shame that these women feel in admitting that there is a problem with alcohol is so great that many die without ever knowing that there is a solution to their alcoholism. At times, they are protected by well-intentioned family members, who have no idea what can be done or where they can go. Or they are told that they will be ostracized if they go "outside" the family to seek help.