Ask Sam

My name is Sam too :) but im a girl and im 12. Im really scared and hope you can help. My parents use drugs. I know this because ive seen the drugs. They dont use them in front of my or my older brother but it scares me - a lot. I know they wont hurt me but i worry about it. What im more scared about is them dying. When i say parents i mean my step dad and mum. I dont see my dad but he definitely used to take drugs and probably still does. I havent seen him in years so even if my mum does die and i have to live with him it'll be like living with a total stranger. I dont know what to do and I eventually decided to come on this. My brother has only told one person and hes known since he was about six. I guess im lucky in that sense that I only realized about a year ago and not practically all my life. My brother told me to tell someone that I can trust but I dont know who to tell. I have a big family but I know some of them use drugs too so I dont know who I can trust. Will I go into care ? Who should I tell ? Please help me - I cant take much more. The only thing that gets me through are my best friends - especially A and G, writing about it in poetry and stories (i love writing) and music - especially this little kid on youtube. He writes songs and raps about having hope, never giving up and dreaming big. for example heres  a bit from one of his songs 'Dream until your dreams have you flying like a fighter jet' I know you get loads of letters but I hope no Im BEGGING that you answer this! Thanks a lot.

Sad And Helpless

Hello there

Thanks for your letter. It can be really scary knowing people you care about are hurting themselves in this way. People who take drugs can sometimes find it very hard to stop and can sometimes really be struggling with difficult feelings themselves. Have you ever talked to your mum or stepdad about how you feel? Sometimes adults think they can keep things from their children, sometimes not realising that children and young people are cleverer than they give them credit for!

You did the right thing to talk to your big brother about this, and I think he has given you some really good advice. People you can trust could be a teacher, a school counsellor, a school nurse, a youth worker or even your GP. Talking to them and getting help wouldn't necessarily mean that you would have to go into care. Social Services work very hard to try to keep families together because they know that most of the time that is the best thing for everyone in the family. They would only put people in care if they felt that they would be in danger if they stayed at home. When parents use drugs it doesn't always mean they are bad parents - it can just mean that they need help to stop using drugs and help to deal with whatever is making them take drugs. Social Services can work with parents around this and be around to make sure that you are still taken care of properly and that you are safe.

It's okay to need some time to think about all of this and it's okay if you need to talk about this a bit more. You are more than welcome to come and talk to a ChildLine counsellor online through 1-2-1 chat or you can call free on 0800 1111. 

Take care

Sam