Grandparents looking after P addicts' children

THURSDAY , 28 AUGUST 2003  Western Leader

A growing number of grandparents are taking custody of children whose parents are methamphetamine addicts. The scenario is widespread and bound to get worse, Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Trust national convener Diane Vivian says.

 

Mrs Vivian says the problem is twofold for desperate grandparents who are worried about their own offspring as well as their grandchildren.
"These children are traumatised," Mrs Vivian says. "One grandmother saw her two-year-old grandchild pretending to inject themself with a knitting needle.
"It's scary, but that's the reality. They act out what they have witnessed," she says.

Mrs Vivian says children exposed to methamphetamine-related behaviour may feel abandoned by their parents and suffer psychological problems, including post traumatic stress and anxiety disorders.

She says some grandparents, now in their 80s, are seeing their teenage grandchildren turn to methamphetamine, also known as P, as well.
Others are struggling to cope with domestic violence fuelled by the drug.
"Some grandmothers have been beaten up by their own daughters," Mrs Vivian says.

She says many grandparents struggle to find legal fees to apply for custody to keep youngsters safe. "A lot of them had gone into retirement mode and downsized their home and all of a sudden they have three children," she says.

 

Mrs Vivian established the trust four years ago and there are now 34 support groups nationwide. "I think the grandparents who do this are absolutely amazing," she says. Trust committee member Dominique Young says taking responsibility for grandchildren is a big step. "If you take custody of your grandchildren you have to rearrange your whole life," the west Aucklander says.

Ms Young, who is also a member of the P Users Family and Friends support group, says grandparents are aware the bond with their own children may never be restored. "You really are forgoing your relationship with your child for the relationship with, and safety of, your grandchildren. "The children are at risk because the parent is thinking of meeting their own needs. The needs of the children are going to become exceedingly secondary," Ms Young says. "When you have someone addicted to such a highly addictive drug you are in it for the long haul," she says.  

 

 By MELANIE GLOVER

Information, phone: 480-6530 or see www.raisinggrandchildren.org.nz.