This website was created to bring awareness to a growing epidemic of drug and alcohol abuse in America. Most people have a family member or know someone that has been severely and negatively effected due to drugs and alcohol. My daughter, Jennifer M. Reynolds was one of those people – she died January 15, 2009 at the age of 29. She fought drug addiction for 13 years and in the end couldn’t beat it. Most people can’t beat it by their own willpower. I fought on her behalf and tried to intervene and save her life using the current laws. But these laws failed because they are flawed. That is why I am introducing The Jennifer Act. It is a way for the family or loved one to intervene and rescue someone from addiction. I am advocating The Jennifer Act legislation in 2 states: INDIANA and FLORIDA, but would love to spread this movement to other states as well.
The current law Floridians have in place is The Marchman Act, which does little more than keep the addicted person for 72 hours to do a drug assessment and then they are released back out on the streets. As we all know, 72 hours cannot free someone from the bonds of addiction. Also it can cost up to $400.00 (in Pinellas County) to file a Marchman Act on someone, depending on the county. Many people cannot afford to pay this fee, especially for such a short-lived result like only 72 hours off the streets.
I took the foundation of The Marchman Act and rebuilt it stronger, which resulted in my outline for The Jennifer Act. My revisions and critiques are based on what I have seen first hand with my daughter. These are changes that might give someone a chance – a chance at life – a chance to mend broken bonds with their family – a chance to finally beat their addiction. Addiction is so overwhelming, most of the time it cannot be beaten without serious intervention. Help me support this bill and together we can save lives. Contact your Senators and Representatives to bring this proposition in front of the legislature. An addict has 2 possible paths: jail or the cemetery. Lets pass a law that can give them another option. The option of life.
Sincerely,
Sharon Blair (author of thejenniferact.com)
This is a picture of Jennifer.
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http://www.stlyrics.com/songs/k/kathytroccoli7453/golightyourworld270692.html
Jennifer has been gone 6 months. We miss her laugh and her voice and her smile. We hold on to cherished memories of our family times together. We put Jen’s headstone on her grave Friday July 17th. It is beautiful but so hard to see it. Jen, rest in peace beloved daughter, mother and sister, we miss you~Mom
I WAS DRIVING IN CLEARWATER THIS MORNING WHEN I NOTICED THE “thejenniferact.com” LETTERING ON THE BACK WINDOW OF A VAN. NOT KNOWING WHAT THAT WAS, I LOOKED IT UP. I’M GLAD I DID. I’M WITH YOU ON THIS. IN MY CASE IT’S A GRANDDAUGHTER WHO’S BEEN ADDICTED TO DRUGS AND ALCOHOL SINCE SHE WAS 14. SHE’S NOW 22. IT HAS COST HER A CHILD AND US A GREAT GRANDCHILD. BUT WE HAVE TRIED EVERYTHING WE KNOW OF TO GET HER INTO SOME PROGRAM. THERE ARE 30 DAY DRYING OUT PROGRAMS BUT THEY COST 12,000 TO 15,000 DOLLARS FOR THE PROGRAM. WE DON’T HAVE THAT KIND OF MONEY. WE’VE GONE INTO DEBT OURSELVES TO TRY AND HELP BUT ANYTHING WE DO IS ONLY A TEMPORARY FIX. OUR GRANDDAUGHTER IS A HIGH SCHOOL DROP OUT AS WELL. NO JOB, NO MONEY AND A VERY YOUNG MIND IS A BAD COMBINATION. LET US KNOW WHAT WE CAN DO TO HELP AND IF YOU KNOW OF ANY OTHER PLACES TO TRY TO GET HER HELP. I KNOW HELP IS ONLY IF SHE WANTS IT BUT WE WILL TRY ANYTHING. THANK YOU AND I AM TRUE SO SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS. RICK KOFOED
Dear Mr. Kofoed,
I am so sorry to her of your grand daughter’s addiciton and the loss of your great grandchild. This is quite a burden for the family, I know. I have had these exact instances in my own life and this is incredibly painful to endure. Please have your grand daughter call me and I will see where she is in her addiction. If she is ready to get help, I will be glad to give her some names and phone numbers of places I reccomend for drug treatment. My number is: 727-542-5071
Sincerely,
Sharon
Dear Sharon,
I was online, trying to find a way to get my sister some much needed rehab before she loses everything. She lives in Indiana and definately does not have the money for any expensive rehab. Please let me know what I can do to help this law get passed. My husband is also dealing with an addiction to alcohol and is currently serving time for indirectly related charges. I looked into Marchman acting him, but he has already been through a 3 day detox center and it did not help. I really wish he could get into Bridges of America, but that has to be court ordered. Please let me know of any other programs that you know of that are free.
Sincerely,
Helena
Hello, my kids father has an addiction to drugs and although we do not live together it puts alot of undue stress on my whole family..ive tried to cover for him for years so that my kids dont find out but as time goes by the addiction is becoming worse and its becoming to hard to bare…he wants help i think..he says he does. and i want to help but do not have the kind of money that it takes to get someone help. Please…Please if anyone knows something i can do or numbers i can call please let me know.
Thank You,
Brenda
Dear Brenda:
Hello. I will do my best to connect you with help for your kids father. What state do you live in? I know your pain and frustration of having a loved one addicted. It is a battle that can be won but it takes professionals and treatment. If you are in Florida, I can give you some contacts there. Thank you, Sharon
yes i am in florida..st.petersburg
thank you
Dear Brenda: Call me. 727-542-5071 -I will see what I can do to help you. Thank you, Sharon
daer Brenda: Please email me your address: sharonBlair3@gmail.com
I will send you some postcards that you can mail out in support of The Jennifer Act. Thank you for wanting to help and support The Jennifer Act.
Sharon Blair
I read about the Jennifer act in the HT this morning. I am so sorry for your loss. I wanted to see a picture of Jennifer and I came upon this site. I am about the same age as Jennifer and had the same problem. My addiction started after high school. I spiraled downward fast. I tried the 10 day detox and it didn’t work. After the ten days I was out and felt terrible and I tried but I gave in. I was back out and around the same people.
My mother use to say the same thing. “Dead or in jail that’s your choices”. She said she never felt so helpless. I was an adult and there was nothing she could do. One day I had enough, I called my mother and said come get me I wanna come home. No Methadone or Suboxen I just quit cold turkey. It was horrible. I didn’t feel right for 6 months. I didn’t think straight and feel good for almost a year. To be honest if I had known what I was in for I doubt I would have done it. I would have probably gone with suicide. My mother had lost a child (brother) in a tragic accident just a few years prior. I couldn’t let my addiction let her lose another child. I know you quit for yourself first but that was always in the back of my mind.
as I started feeling better I did some research and found that addicts who don’t have some type of after care following detox are more likely to relapse, the numbers are very high. I signed up at Centerstone. My mother wasn’t happy. She told me that most of those people wouldn’t make it and I will just get involved with a different bad crowd. My first visit I was in the lobby and realized these people were mostly here because the court made them. They didn’t want to get better. They were discussing Oxys and everything else. I didn’t go back and I cut off all contacts with people who were in that life style. So far it has worked. It has been two years.
I have not read the Jennifer act yet but I will. I don’t know what the perfect way to rehab someone is.?Like you said in a previous post “lets see where he is at in his addiction” A person has got to really want it. People don’t realize that addicts dream of getting off dope. People think they just want to get high and that’s it. They try to quit many many times.
I know not everyone has family to support them but in cases like Jennifers and mine we did. I would like to see you to be able as a parent send them to rehab followed by court ordered house arrest for at least 6 months.
I’m just yapping along sorry.
Again I’m really sorry for your loss. Patrick
We lived in northern Indiana and just heard of the Jennifer Act. bill that is trying to be passed this month. Our 31 year old son has been a drug addict for 16 years. He has taken everything from meth to pills, and many comdbinations. Right now, he is scrambling to find anyone who will give him shelter. He has burned so many bridges, and won’t work. He goes back and forth between his dad and I, and we have tried many things to help him, all to no avail. I am the biggest enabler, and I have been practicing detachment and not letting him use if he is with me. But the thought of him on the street in the cold is so hard.
Please let me know who I can contact to show my support for passage of this bill in Indiana. I would like to be kept current with is’t progress, too.
I am so sorry for your loss, and I pray we don’t end up in the same situation you have been left in. Thank you for doing this.
Michele Rathke
240 anging Rd. Apt. 21
Kendallville, IN 46755
260-564-0026
mrathke54@gmail.com
In addition to supporting Sharon’s efforts, we must ALL educate our legislators and the health care industry with the need to better educate themselves, and the public, re: the DISEASE of addiction, the need for appropriate, accessible and affordable treatment (that can include the whole family holistically), and the ridiculous fact that most health insurance covers but a fraction of the cost. Meanwhile, the cost in human life, shattered lives, failed medical treatment and full jails is unacceptable. And it (the dysfunction) continues to be passed on to subsequent generations, with ugly transformations becoming more prominent by the day (school drop outs, VDs, robbery to support the habits, killings, ruined families, financial fiascos, divorce, innocents killed on the roadways, work accidents and lost productivity). We could pay fpor everyone’s rehab and still come out ahead. As is, only the attorneys win (and I daresay, they’d be pleased to get less work from this gig – bless the good ones for the help they offer).
Addicts do need some skin in the game, and they need their higher power, surrendering to that power. But the current joke of a system does not give them the slightest chance. Be heard!
Dear Ms. McCampbell,
Thank you for taking the time to write to me and most importantly to support The Jennifer Act bill draft for Indiana.I appreciate your voice and support. I am asking each person who writes to me, to please call Indian State Senator Vi Simpson and let their voices be heard in support of The Jennifer Act and why.If anyone in your community would like to help and share their support, please pass this email on to them.
My daughter, Jennifer struggled for 13 years with addiction. I begged and pleaded with Judges and law enforcement for court ordered drug treatment to intervene for her life. I told them she would die without help. The addicted want to be free of the stronghold of addiction, they just need help in getting there. Recovery is possible and we can do more to help them. To watch them die, like I did, was un-acceptable.
Now my daughter has died, and I have made this my advocacy and my mission to see this bill come to pass so people and their families have at least a fighting chance.
God bless you for caring and for sharing your support.
Indiana Senator Vi Simpson’s phone number is: 317-232-9427
Thank you, Sincerely yours, Sharon Blair 3577 W. Cockrell Rd. Bloomington, IN. 47403
http://www.TheJenniferAct.com
Sharon Blair http://www.TheJenniferAct.com New Email Address Effective 1/1/2010 – sharonblair3@gmail.com
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I have linked the Jennifer Act..
The war will be won with education
Peace
Thank you so much for linking The Jennifer Act to your website. God bless you and your family. Sharon Blair
Do you have anything setup for this via Twitter or Facebook? In addition to WP, would be a way to spread the word. I didn’t see a “share link” on your site to either of these.
I work with social media, and am the webmaster for IAIC (http://www.recoveryindiana.org). If there is something I can do to help set something up for you, let me know.
Twitter: @IAICRecovery
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/IAIC.fb
Email: news@recoveryindiana.org
Yes- I do have this set up with facebook. Go to FB @ “The Jennifer Act”. Thank you for your help. Sharon
My son is in a psych ward at this time.. I am trying to get conservatorship. He will die if he is put back on the streets. He is disabled and on disability.
Can you direct me on how to get a petition to have a law like yours and casey’s law KY?
I am going to see my congressman and am going to the town hall mtg in a week please hurry!
Thank you
It’s truly a great and helpful piece of information. I am glad that you just shared this helpful info with us. Please stay us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.
My husband of 22 years, coming this Dec 23rd, had relapsed after 4 years of sobriety.
He moved out on October 25 th.I have known my husband for 24 years.I am so heartbroken and we have nothing to help him with here. He has to threaten his life or someone elses and then be only held for 72 hours.If I inquire alot of places quote “he has to ask for help himself”. Never mind I may have to file for a divorce, I never…wanted. Just to get money because he isnt in his right mind with the crazy stuff he’s done. Is there any help out there I dont know about? I live in Virginia!!!!
Thanks,
Rose