In the News

Group aims to put stop to drunk drivers
By Chelsey Romain
The Daily Press
June 6, 2010

The loss of a few has helped save the lives of thousands.

But years after a group of mothers decided to put up a fight against impaired driving, volunteers across the country continue to spread their message.

The Timmins chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Canada continues to do its part every year with the annual Strides for Change Walk.

The goal is to reduce, if not eliminate, the loss of life caused by drunk drivers.

"We do have a lot of families today who are still participating who have lost a family member as a result of impaired driving," said media liaison Tony Chilton. "It's very important to have this organization here to offer victim support."

The 40 or so participants of this year's walk, which took place at Gillies Lake Saturday morning, either collected pledges or made a donation to MADD Canada to support the programs and services offered by the organization. The services include court-accompaniment for victims' families. The money also goes to the Red Ribbon Campaign in which drivers pledge to always drive sober, Campaign 911 which encourages people to report drunk drivers to police, as well as towards producing pamphlets and other items used to help spread the message.

"We don't really have a set goal," he said. "Whatever we can raise is what we appreciate from the public in helping out our program here in the city."

While getting the message out there is important, those who have experienced the loss of the loved one at the hands of an impaired driver know all too well the importance of the services MADD Canada offers.

Richard and Lucie Lambert-Belanger have been participating in MADD events since their son Justin was killed in a head-on vehicular collision in 2001. The driver of the other vehicle was impaired at the time.

Richard said MADD Canada has done a tremendous amount of work lobbying to change the laws to protect victims from impaired driving. Over the years, his entire family has had the opportunity to attend and participate in the organization's annual conference.

"This local chapter -- their efforts locally -- are equally as important as it is on a national level," Richard said. "I think it's important for us, given the fact that we are victims, to support their initiatives.

"This chapter has been extremely generous in supporting our family over the past several years."

Lucie said while those who lose a family member often feel powerless in the fight against impaired driving, it's important to reach out to the community and do whatever they can, no matter how small.

"To feel you have this support and then you can give back by coming to this type of activity, it's a small thing you can do to send that message," she said. "The more we get that message out, if even one person changes their behaviour every time we get that message out, it's a good thing."

While the rate of impaired-driving-related deaths in Canada hasn't changed dramatically in the last 10 years, Lucie said people can't give up on the cause.

She said being involved can helps with the grieving process.

"It's important to be surrounded by people who have a little bit of an idea of what you've been through," Lucie said. "These volunteers with MADD Canada are absolutely incredible and the workshops they have for people like us, it really helps.

"If you reach out and participate, it helps your healing process."

While the number of participants was a little lower than what was expected for this year, Chilton said they are much higher than last year, when it the temperature was 3 C and it snowed.

It is most important for those out there who have been affected by impaired driving to know there is a place for them to go to look for support, Chilton said.

"I think it's important for them to be coming out because they see the people from the community that help an organization that assists them in their process of grieving and anything afterward," he said. "A lot of the people who have lost family members are members of our board as well."