It may not look very impressive from the outside, but center of a wide-range of problem-oriented activities. The with a little help, the Middle Way House could become a house is located at 321 E. Cottage Grove near Grant St. Sunday Herald-Cimes TARGET / “az” SECTION IV —PAGE 33 SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1970.Hy RIC MANNING Jimmy is a Y7-year-old high school junior. He makes good grades, has a lot of friends, plays football and wants some day to be & lawyer. ‘But tonight nane of these things matter. ‘dimmy is far avqay in another world, He is tripping on LSD. For the first vow hours everything is, beautiful, the roam, the "people, the way things seem to be glazed over with a film of tiny patterns. | fut as night becamnes early morning, Jim- iy’s feelings begin to change. He begins to wonder how long his fantasy will lest Perhaps he feels he’ never come down. But more importan#ly, his mind becomes ‘racked with questions Are the people around him really his friends dr are they laughing at ‘him bebind his back? What is he doing with Tis life? Does he really know who he is? His mind works faster and faster, the ques- Herald-Times staff writer Ric Man- ning has been observing as well as work ing with the Middle Way House almost since its conception last summer, The following is his view of the house and its purposes. It has no quotes because the house has no leaders. The story is an in- terview with an idea. tions pound on his brain but the answers just don't come. He becomes afraid — of his friends, of his future, of his mind. ‘Jimmy is on the verge of losing his grasp ‘on reality, on his self-concept. He's ready to freak out. Jimmy is having the same problem as ‘thousands of young people like him across the country who every year experiment with ‘mind alfering drugs. He's in trouble, he can't hhandie it and there’s no place to turn for help. ‘the goes to his parents, they will probably Problem Service scold him for taking the drug and become ‘very emotional, In his over sensitive state, Jimmy knows he could not keep himself together in that kind of situation, ‘The police are out of the question. Jimmy ‘would rather tempt insanity than get arrested ‘or spend a night in jail. ‘The hospital is one possibilty. But they ‘would take his name and his parents would find out, And the sterile walls and lights might push him even further to ‘As drug use becomes more widespread, ‘more and more people are beginning to view the problem as more than a problem of parent and child and seeing it instead as a ‘community problem which calls for com- ‘munity action, Drug use is not confined to just the campus, or the high school or even the young. It crosses social and economic boundries and ‘encompasses all the facets of the community.During Wait For Calls Emergency Atmosphere Exists By RIC MANNING Wr Stat Writer ‘A night at the Middle Way House is somewhere between a quiet gathering of friends and a hospital emergency room. ‘There are elements of both. ‘Most of the time was spent siting on the floor around a couple of candles talking to ‘anyone who wanders in. The conversation subjects included drugs, women's liberation, ‘marriage, and a little bit of politics. ‘The atmosphere is warm and friendly and relaxed, But an uneasy apprehension every time the phone rings tells you that trouble ‘may be on the other end ofthe tine. ‘The counselors on duty all night have the responsibility of helping anyone who comes through the door looking for help. They have hhad some training, but mostly they have the desire to help. And the capacity to understand ids with drug problems, ‘They can help a tripper who! comes to the house or they ean send a stand-by counselor ‘to meet a bad tripper if he requests one. Here's the way the evening went: $ pm. — Two people tripping on LSD are already at the house talking to the evening ‘counselor. You wouldn't know they were trip- Hing if you looked at them, They are both on ‘sod trips and they just dropped into talk, 9:90 pam. — A girl who is a resident assis- tant in a dormitory comes by to ask about the ccaunseling service and the duty counselor tells her not to cal for a counselor unless the ‘ripper knows he is Hee also invites her to join in the “rap” session in the next oon. ‘The girl is “straight” to most of the people in the room but she isn't uncomfortable — and; she isn't shut out of the conversation. 10: pm. — The Kerosene stove has almost ‘ran out’ of fuel_and the temperature is expected to dip below freezing during the nigh. The donation cup is empty so the duty counselor makes his own “donation” and buys five gallons of Kerosene. 11-48i p.m, — A girl calls. She is lonely and needs friendly ear to talk to. She tells the counselor that she has contemplated suicide Dut. after talking for about 10 minutes, she feels better and hangs up. 12:05 a.m. — A young man on the other end ‘of the phone asks, “What do you do for an ‘overdose of barbiturates?” “t's more like we're giving out first aid in= ‘When there is a serious case, however, the ‘counselor does not hesitate to get the tripper to a doctor, They don't try to take on si uations they are not qualified to handle, :10 am, — A girl in an TU dorm calls “sust to talk.” She has taken a couple of diet pills to help her study at the livrary. Her Toommates are gone and again a friendly voice and an understanding ear is all that's needed to help keep her from getting really ‘depressed. After a few minutes she promises to-go to sleep and hangs up. ‘am. — A young man calls from a _ gir's.dorm where he is spending the night. Speeding on diet pills and everyone is ‘and there’s no one to talk {o, He's not formation than medical advice,” the” in trouble, he just needs an early-morning comer tls rien. "Some of : ‘rot recognize ar everdnse i they ae and Some would flip out on an aspirin.” ‘The Middle Way House counseling service 4s sort of a halfway point for people who Would not seek medical help because of fear of the law, It's also for people who den't need psychiatric eare as much as they need an un- derstanding friend. friend. “© Not a very exciting night. No ‘overdoses. But these are the ‘that make up the backbone of the outs, no of nights ‘who have seemingly small, insignificant. wor- ries, It means just being human and having ‘human understanding and help.It is also a problem which is rapidly con- fronting the community's, and society's, problem-solving institutions. Legal institutions have proven that they cannot stop drug use, nor can they treat a ‘drug user as anything other than a criminal. ‘And the law is the last place a troubled drug user would turn for help. Medical facilities also feel Inadequate to help, There are too many bad trippers for each to receive individual counseling and ‘even more who won't come to the facility at all By necessity, the only way the Student Health Center can treat a person on a bad trip is to tranqullize him into sleep. ‘Timmy's questions about his friends and his identity are questions that all young people must deal with as part of growing up. The drug merely made the questions seem more crucial and more pressing. ‘A tranquilizer at the heighth of Jimmy's confusion would not help him deal with these problems, it would merely truncate the ex: perience and leave all of the loose ends un- tied, ready to pop up at a later time. ‘Many psychologists who have worked with problems of this sort have agreed that an ef- fective way of dealing with the problem dividual counseling, not arrestor hospitalization. This is where a new type of community response to solving a community problem is needed: And the Middle Way House is a very ‘idealistic experiment in meeting this need. ‘The people working with the house hope that it can become a center for a wide range of problem orientated projects. ‘They emphasize that the house is not just for drug users, or just for university people ‘or just for young people, The house is what ‘the community, makes it. It is for everyone Philosophy and goal is people helping other people deal with their problems. ‘There is only one strict rule so far established — no drugs on the premises. ‘The house has. become everyone's project. It has received help from a large group of people and organizations, ‘Those who have contributed their time and services include Michael- Connelly, Bette Huston, Bob Ladner, Dr. John Miler, Dr. Frederick Coons, Richard Sheridan, Ed O'Hara, Dr. John Joyner, Rey. Farley Snell, Eberle's Hardware, Black Limber Co., the United Ministries and many, many more, ‘The house is at 321 E, Cottage Grove near H a A a Ls x £ E bi Grant Street. When the owner had decided to tear it down to make way for an apartment hhouse, its guts (electric wiring and poumb- ng) were torn out. Consequently, it has been an almost impossible job to put the house into usable shape, ‘The house opened early last month on $50 and a lot of hard work and desire. It is now over $900 in debt for work that had to be done even though a lot of labor and materials were donated. ‘The house still does not have any heating. A space heater helps but any counsellor who has spent the night there will testify that the house fs less than comfortable. ‘While drug counseling is not the only reason {for the house's existence, it is the most crucial problem to be tackled. ‘A counseling program is already underway with counselors on duty all night, every night at the house. Two stand-by counselors are alsp available to be sent out to meet a bad {ripper if he calls the house and requests one. ‘Most of the counselors have used drugs before and many of them have stopped using “I don't need drugs anymore,” said one ‘counselor, “I get high on people.” Many of them also have professional training in the psychology, sociology or ‘counseling fields. drug but by the impurities that are often ed to the drug to increase the hall ‘power of the drug. Strychnine, a deadly poison, isa many drug manufacturers, ‘merchants often unwittingly pass ‘drugs on to their customers. ‘ ‘Abad trip on LSD or Me result ‘in no more than an unpleasant experience for the tripper. A bad, trip on stryctnine can easily be fatal. ‘A program at-the Middle Way House is aimed at ‘this hazard, It includes an analysis of at come into Blooming ton to check for the and geting the information fo the metehant and the peopl ‘who may takethe drugs») at the house are trying t rug edu sm. They hope to make available tp. schools anc organizations’ a list of knowledgeable speakers and resource people. They also hop to compile a library of drug education films. ‘These programs are by no means the ex tent of the activities that could be centere around the house. ‘The Middle Way House is not an institution ‘or an organization, Ii the articulation ofthe philosophy that human problems need human Tesponses and that» a community can ef {ectively respond fo its own problems. ‘The house is an attempt to rekindle the ides that man has a responsibility to his fellow man. We too often have entrusted tha responsibility to. éold institutions, organiza tions or bureaucracies while we devote ow energy to our own personal gain. AAs one person at the house put it, “It we don’t take care of our problems, then some institution or machine will”