Once again, excellent advice Indigo!
I wish I could have you as my mentor for  those terrible confusing days of
museum administrations!

KG

----- Original Message -----
From: "Indigo Nights" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, February 10, 2004 3:34 PM
Subject: Re: drunk volunteer


> 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]
>
>
> =====
> Indigo Nights
> [log in to unmask]
>
> Looking for a Job?  Try Got Links?, Your One-Stop Portal
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>
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