It's best to approach this strictly from the vantage
point of a liability.  One cannot save an alcoholic or
any other addict until they are ready to do so.  What
you believe may be a wake up call is just as apt to be
an excuse/motivation to have another drink--it's like
telling an overweight person, "You look like hell, you
need to lose weight."  That's a surefire prescription
for a candy bar or twelve.

It's conceivable that terminating this volunteer may
actually be doing more harm to the collective:
without the opportunity to volunteer, she has more
empty time on her hands to drink and possibly drive.

Please don't view letting her go as a noble act.  It's
a responsible one.

However, before you approach her, you have to be
prepared to do a couple of things:

o  You need to make sure you have a clearly written,
well published, zero-tolerance policy concerning any
form of drugs and/or alcohol in the museum.

o  It wouldn't hurt to zip it by an employment law
attorney first.

o  You must apply it fairly and consistently across
the board--that means BOTH employees and volunteers.

What you determine to be alcohol could be a medical
issue.  First, "one glass" is oft prescribed by
physicians for health reasons.

Secondly, the odor you smell may be alcohol, but it's
conceivable it could be a combination of other issues.
 The body's ability to metabolize things is not
consistent from one person to the next.

If you have ruled out all other factors and are
nondiscriminatory in the handling of this matter, it
needs to be swift, smooth, and without further
discussion among staff and volunteers.

Alcoholism is a disease.  Though often misconstrued as
such, it's not just a weakness of character. As one
would handle all other matters of health, one's
medical status should not be the subject of discussion
among peers and coworkers.




--- Jenny Rebecca Martin <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
> On the one hand, I can understand the feeling of
> one's hands being tied by
> small size, small-town politics, and what have you.
>
> On the other, however, I find it hard to believe
> that if more than one
> person is aware of the problem, nothing can be done.
>  The motivating factors
> that have been named -- whether one acts in the name
> of liability or common
> compassion -- far outweigh the reasons to simply let
> it lie.  For both the
> museum's sake and the woman's in question, not to
> mention the number of
> lives that could potentially be saved were she to
> cause an accident or
> something of the such, something needs to be done.
> A number of people have
> provided excellent points on this.
>
> I don't mean to sound overly critical or naive, but
> sometimes the right or
> best thing isn't the popular or politically correct
> thing to do.  Good
> luck --
>
> The opinions the author expresses are strictly her
> own and not that of her
> employer's.
>
>
><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
> Jenny Rebecca Martin, Collections Manager
> The Morris Museum                      Phone:
> 973.971.3712
> 6 Normandy Heights Road                Fax:
> 973.538.0154
> Morristown, NJ 07960                   Email
> [log in to unmask]


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