minding one's own business, or saving lives?

When someone passes away in a small town, everyone notices. It doesn't matter if that person was on their death bed, or hadn't been seen in a while - everyone feels the loss. That's part of being in a small community. The numbers are so small that even a drop by one makes an impact.

We recently lost a young man to a drug overdose in our town, and it came as no surprise to some of his friends. On one hand, I was shocked that this individual's problems with drugs was well known. After all, if his friends knew of the problem, couldn't they have tried to present this tragedy? Maybe. Maybe not. Unfortunately, another one of the problems of being in a small town is that certain subjects are still taboo. Although you hear often of small town people who always want to be in your business, that isn't always the case. Certain subjects are ignored - alcoholics, drug abuse, even some cases of domestic abuse. It is truly a shame, as those affected by these problems aren't very likely to find help if some of their neighbors don't get involved.

Being in a small town, we don't have drug rehabs or organized intervention groups. Trying to see a psychologist or therapist doesn't usually happen either, since those services usually cost lots of money. Although there are national organizations that can sometimes help, many of them can only be located with the help of the internet, and the internet is still a luxury for many small town residents.

Although I had never met the individual who died, his death has seriously affected some of those around me. It's sad and unexpected, but it also serves as an eye-opener that in some cases it is better to be a nosy neighbor and intervene than to mind one's own business. Someone's life may depend on it.