by Peter Twitchell
I heard someone make the statement that “alcohol does not let people get violent.” I myself would never make such a statement. I couldn’t because I believe alcohol fuels our negative emotions and we act or react in a negative manner.
I have heard and read in newspapers that people when drinking alcohol have killed others, maybe someone close to them. I don’t have a degree in psychology nor am I a psychologist but I believe alcohol can override our behavior actions whether they be good or bad. I also believe alcohol can block those inhibitions we hold dear and live by.
I counseled then worked with inmates and those in treatment in Bethel and the offenders transitioning back into their communities. I do not agree with the statement made at the Juneau Senate hearing on Monday, May 2, 2022 that victims of domestic violence can’t move to their own housing to get away from a bad and abusive environment, for instance if they own their own house.
Anyone being abused physically, emotionally, and mentally should have their own house – that’s what I believe in order to exit dangerous living environments.
The lack of housing for victims of domestic violence puts most of those victims back into their abusive environment, which could prove dangerous and unhealthy. Shelters don’t afford victims of domestic violence a permanent safe environment to live in because they are only a temporary means of getting away from abusive partners.
I also believe that offenders in domestic violence need treatment to address their hurtful life experiences and wrongs that they themselves encountered in their life‘s journey. Doing so would help to heal their own hurts and learn to forgive themselves and those who hurt them whether they are here or are now gone. This would be in order to move on in their lives and to quit hurting themselves and others such as their wife and children.
We must move on to complete healing of ourselves and not hurt anyone else close to us or around us to get the full benefits of a full and fulfilling life. We need to quit hurting ourselves and others for the rest of our lives.
I have witnessed in my own 17 years of substance-abuse counseling career the men who were constantly returning to incarceration. Once they dealt with their own demons they were able to forgive those here and gone who had harmed them physically, mentally, and emotionally. Forgiving themselves and others is a key to love One self. They say we can’t give away what we don’t have ourselves.
