Hi! My name is Amarah. Kids are important to me, and they’re important to Jesus, too.

Jesus said in Matthew 25:40 (KJV), “Whatever you’ve done unto the least of these (kids), you’ve done it unto me.”

“Kids like me” are kids and adults of all ages whose parents are, or were, drug addicts, and alcoholics; kids who have suffered, or who are suffering, abuse and neglect on multiple levels; and kids who are victims of bullying.

Hey, kids like me, I know-and-love some grandparents who are raising their 5-year old grandson. Yes, he is a ‘kid like me’ and he needs a bunk bed. Can anyone reading this please help them with a bunk bed? Mattresses/boxsprings/bedding would be great, too! Please, call (719) 588-7221 and let me know ASAP!

Also, I was walking past Adams State University last week when a college-age young man stepped in front of me, backpack-and-all. But, something just looked “off” and then I saw it. His jeans were pulled down, cupped around his rear-end. How embarrassing! And it was cold outside! I guess he was proud of his black underpants. Good grief! I thought I was going to vomit! Historically, it is said that “sagging pants” originated in jail/prison - inmates would purposely sag their pants as a sign they were available to other inmates for sex. Good grief!

On a brighter note, we have a message from a special friend, Mary Lambert (I love Miss Mary - five-years ago, she was my baby sister’s teacher here in Alamosa):

Moms Who Are Drug-Free and Healthy Babies in the San Luis Valley
Every child in the San Luis Valley should be born healthy and should have the best start in life.  But sadly, there are pregnant women addicted to opioids and other substances which harm the baby, for life, before it is even born. If the mother doesn’t get treatment, the baby will be born with drugs in its system and will go through excruciating withdrawal-pain. Some may point accusing fingers at pregnant women who take drugs but such a judgmental approach only makes the problem worse. Addicted, pregnant women often feel too ashamed to get the treatment they need. Embarrassment holds them back from sobriety, something virtually every one of them wants to achieve for their baby.

The good news is that the San Luis Valley Behavioral Health Group, Valley Wide Health Systems, Inc., San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center and the San Luis Valley Neonatal Task Force united to connect pregnant women who struggle with substance abuse to clinics, doctors and nurses who can help them manage their addiction so they can become drug-free, and stay off drugs.  

We are happy to tell you that grant funding was received for this endeavor from The Colorado Health Foundation. As part of the Foundation’s Connecting Communities and Care Grant, the hope is to ensure that every pregnant mother struggling with addiction receives treatment throughout her pregnancy thereby effecting a significant decline in the number of babies born with drugs in their system. All of us - doctors, nurses, family members, neighbors, and friends - can help. Addiction is an ongoing, relapsing-disease that changes/alters the brain of users, and causes them to compulsively seek the drug(s) they crave. Addiction is hard to combat but a compassionate, individual treatment approach includes the woman’s family and guides her through treatment, supports her during recovery, and helps her maintain sobriety for herself and her child.

Not only does medical research show that a treatment-approach-with-dignity for women who are addicted to substances, works, but real-life families have proven this.

Help us increase the number of drug-free moms and healthy babies in our community - make it safe for pregnant women who are addicts to get help. Please listen to struggling moms without judgment, offer them kind support and connect them to our project so they can get the treatment they need to get clean. Please call Mary Lambert at (710) 587-6965 for more information.

Thank you Miss Mary, and thank you for reading my column. Write to me at Amarah’s “Kids Like Me” P.O. Box 354, Alamosa, CO 81101. If you know a kid like me, or parent, who wants a Bible, please, contact me. I’ll make sure he/she gets a Bible, “…and all the earth may know there is a God…” (1 Samuel 17:46, KJV).
Amarah’s “Kids Like Me” offers non-denominational World Bible School (WBS) Bible Correspondence Courses (free/postage paid) in English/Spanish to all kids (ages 8-12), and their parents/grandparents/family, too! Teens/adults take the WBS Master Series Courses so if you would like the WBS Courses, send your name/age/address and I’ll get you started ASAP! I hope to hear from you soon!

My goal is to help kids like me, and I want to help their parents, too. Until next time, remember, Jesus Loves You, and JESUS IS LORD!