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The Priesthood of Monsignor Ignatius McDermott

Inspired Programs for Alcoholism and Addiction

Monsignor Ignatius McDermott, MSW — known to a multitude of friends as “Father Mac” — grew up on Chicago’s South Side. He was ordained in the priesthood in 1936. Initially, assigned to the Maryville Academy, then a home for dependent and neglected children, he found that many of the children came from broken homes where alcohol use was the problem. In his next assignment as assistant pastor of an affluent parish, he also found neglected children of alcoholic parents.

Monsignor Ignatius McDermott

Early Devotion to Restoring Families

Years later at Catholic Charities, Father Mac’s job was to find homes for neglected and dependent children. As director of Holy Cross Mission, his office overlooked the old Chicago police jail and drunk tank. Befriending the men inside, he wondered why no better solution had been found to help them battle alcoholism — and reunite their families.

Working toward a solution, Father Mac founded the Addiction Counseling Education Services (ACES) of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago. ACES provided counseling to alcoholics and other substance abusers with no other means for help. In the Chicago school system, he developed an alcohol education curriculum and fostered Alternatives to Expulsion to help teachers salvage addicted teenagers who were willing to give up drinking and drugs and resume their studies. This program worked so well that the State of Illinois incorporated it into its educational practices.

Father Mac next founded the Central States Institute of Addictions in 1963 to “educate the educators.” This not-for-profit organization provides education and training to teachers, counselors, and social workers on addiction and dependency. In his duties as a priest, Father Mac sought to address so-called “social drinking” and focus attention on the risks of such socializing — especially combining social drinking at events like weddings with the drive home afterwards.

Growing Judicial Support

The Alcohol Safety Education Program (ASEP) began in 1971, when Father Mac developed a series of lectures for driving-under-the-influence (DUI) offenders. It emphasized the effects of alcohol on the body and brain and the safety issues of excessive use before driving. Funding this initiative himself, Father won encouragement from jurists in the Cook County Circuit Court. A 1974 grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation’s division of traffic safety enabled ASEP to expand programs to the six Cook County Circuit Court districts. In an unprecedented 1976 decision, the Circuit Court authorized a $100 charge to be paid by the DUI offender, resulting in the ASEP program becoming self-supported. The program’s process of assessing levels of impairment of DUI offenders helped to define the standards for DUI programs established statewide in 1986.

Education is the Key to Prevention

By this time, Father Mac had also co-founded Intervention Instruction, Inc., with Sister Patricia Kilbane, establishing DUI services for Cook County first-offenders. Intervention also maintains a public service DUI prevention website at www.whatsdrivingyou.org, a first-of-its-kind site that has been live since 1998.

Legislative Support for Prevention and Education

Father Mac’s lifelong concern for the homeless inebriate and for families split by alcoholism has been met with matching public attitudes. In 1975, the Illinois General Assembly agreed to decriminalize public inebriation. That breakthrough led to his creating the Chicago Clergy Association for the Homeless Person, and the founding of Haymarket House (now Haymarket Center) and Cee’s Manor. Initially a detox center for male alcoholics, Haymarket soon added facilities for women, especially drug-using women, many of whom were pregnant.

With legislation pending to take the expected cocaine babies into state custody, Father Mac scored a triple victory: First, Haymarket won state funding for the Maternal Addiction Center, which treated women through delivery. Second, a post-partum program was added with Haymarket/Maryville. Third, the Sangamon House and Athey Hall recovery homes opened to provide shelter and more time for recovering moms. Moms now had a chance to improve parenting skills for both newborns and older children, as well as access to supplementary education, job training, and apprenticeships to prepare for a return to independent living.

The programs that Father Mac initiated during his priesthood have been recognized as trail-blazing solutions for the many ways alcohol and other drug addictions damage lives. Through his indefatigable efforts, Father Mac has raised more than 25 million dollars for his beloved communities in need.

When you no longer burn with love, others will die of the cold.”
~ St. Vincent De Paul

International Contributions to Prevention

Other nations struggle with these same problems, and Father Mac has led U.S. activists to the International Council on Alcohol and Addictions (ICAA) since the 1960s. This international forum boasts a worldwide membership seeking “prevention and relief of harm resulting from the use of alcohol and other drugs” for the last 90 years.

For more than 40 years, the ICAA has sponsored institutes on “the prevention and treatment of dependencies.” Thanks to scholarly papers presented to organizations like the World Health Organization and the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem, Father Mac’s legacy continues to grow worldwide through the ongoing contributions of his dedicated followers.

Father Mac died at 95 of natural causes on December 31, 2004, having continued his involvement with Haymarket Center until his death. With seven decades of service in the priesthood, Father Mac’s favorite saying from St. Vincent De Paul continues to inspire us all: “When you no longer burn with love, others will die of the cold.”

DUI Classes Online

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WHAT DUI CLASS ONLINE STUDENTS SAY

Hope it will educate more people.

female student, age 36

I will never drink & drive again!

male student, age 33

This course should be REQUIRED for getting a permit to drive. Thank you for your help. I will live longer & happier as a sober father.

male student, age 42

Long & very good program.

male student, age 52

This class was very informative & helpful. It gave great insight on how I was thinking & how to avoid another DUI by not giving into peer pressure.

female student, age 31

Very educational and enlightening.

male student, age 48

This program is an excellent alternative to taking the classes in a group.

male student, age 43

It would have been nice if they had something to this effect in drivers ed when I was younger.

male student, age 29

The course was put together very nicely; informative & concise.

male student, age 27

I'm glad I was able to complete this DUI course online because it was easier than having to rearrange my work schedule to attend classes in person.

male student, age 43

All in all, I did like the course.

male student, age 26

I will never drink and drive again!

male student, age 33

It was very helpful to me. Thank you very much.

male student, age 22

This is great, because I live in Tennessee & they don't offer a 10-hour DUI class here.

male student, age 27

Your program was very helpful in identifying the effects that alcohol can have on someone who not only drinks but decides to get behind the wheel after drinking.

male student, age 30

Lesson learned.

male student, age 48

I actually learned quite a bit. It's a great way to learn about the affects of alcohol on a person & their family. The interactiveness & Q&A sections are really key in making the person evaluate their life & their involvement in alcohol.

male student

The whole DUI experience has been, yes miserable, but enlightening. I have a better understanding about who I am when I'm around alcohol & what it does to me & my body. Thanks.

male student,age 30

I actually learned quite a bit & retained that knowledge. Good format & interesting examples. I now educate others on the risks of drinking with true facts.

male student, age 30

I really learned a lot intellectually but more importantly, steps to help me separate drinking & driving. I found the course to be very informative & interesting. I have passed interesting info on to friends.

female student, age 63

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"Treatments for drug addiction during pregnancy are safe for both the mother and the baby, doctors say. Methadone and buprenorphine, for example, can reduce cravings and help users carry a pregnancy full term, without long-lasting effects on the baby.

"But shame and stigma...stop many pregnant women from seeking help."

#helpfordependency #addictionresearch #substanceabusedisorder #drugtreatment #pregnancyaddiction
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Change laws that criminalize drug use during pregnancy, doctors urge

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Overdoses are a leading cause of preventable death among pregnant and postpartum women, yet fears of child abuse laws stop them from seeking help.
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