Addiction’s Sting Still Haunts Family

With job losses, wage cuts and home foreclosures running rampant in metro Detroit, lots of people are at their wits end. Oftentimes, they turn to substance abuse -- drugs and alcohol -- to numb the pain. We all know that's not the answer, but one Milan family wants to remind you addiction can be very painful.

"We're a normal, middle class family. Go to church. Very much love each other, and it happened to us," said Barbara Smith. "It can happen to anybody."

Addiction was the weapon that killed 23-year-old Brent Legault. He graduated from Milan High School with honors and had three scholarships to college. However, Legault's addiction to drugs and alcohol called him -- plagued him -- to take the wrong path.

"He started using when he was 13. He bought a bag of pot from somebody at school, and he just (started) running with it," Barbara Smith said.

The drugs got harder and the alcohol abuse grew more intense. "He used every single day until his death," said Barbara Smith.

Legault's downward spiral led to crime, homelessness and his death on December 4, 2005. He was found in a snow covered parking lot and had passed away in his car.

"Is what any grandparent or parent worries, that it will end their life and it did," said Mary Lou Linke, Brent Legault's grandmother.

"We did everything and offered every tool available to us that we knew that was out there," said Tim Smith, Legault's stepfather.

They tried their best to save Legault and for them that is what hurts the most. "It's not just the person that uses that hurts, it's the entire family," Barbara Smith said.

For this family, it's three generations of pain. Legault's parents, grandparents and his siblings -- his sister who still can't say his name without crying -- are all still suffering today. However, helping others is helping them heal. They are all very active in recovery groups to get the word out about addiction.

"I don't want my son's death to be in vain, and he didn't make a difference while he was here, but I'm going to make sure that his life makes a difference while I'm here," said Barbara Smith.

Organizations such as NCADD celebrate recovery every day, and the Michigan chapter is seeing that their services are needed now more than ever. "Especially with the economy... people are just so down now and they turn to alcohol and anything that will change their mood," said NCADD Clinical Director Linda Woodward.

"We offer an avenue for them to come to receive treatment. To let them know that they can live without the substance that has been plagued in communities and in our neighborhoods," said NCADD Prevention Director James Boyce.

It's then that you learn you're not alone and there is no blame or shame.

"Everybody at one time or another, they need some type of help. Addiction is no different," Woodward said.

"People are seeking this help and people are getting better. Recovery does work and it's working because of places like NCADD and other organizations around the city of Detroit," Boyce said. "People are now reclaiming their lives back."

September is National Recovery Month and every year on Belle Isle is the National Celebrate Recovery Walk and Rally. People from all over Michigan and beyond meet to encourage others to stay on recovery road, and if you want help, not only is there help but hope.

The Ninth Annual Celebrate Recovery Walk and Rally is Saturday, September 12 at 10:00 a.m. on Belle Isle. It promises to be inspirational, entertaining and, of course, a lot of fun.