I've known my dad's cousin for my whole life, he lives just across town, and he's always been pretty on top of things. Life's thrown some bad things his way, but he's always seemed to deal with it. About a month ago we found out he'd been drinking a lot (like, up to 20 beers per day), and he and his wife separated because of it. He went to the doctor, got some medicine, and was sober for about 3 weeks. His wife is still living with her parents though, their son is with her, and his two daughters from a previous marriage are living with their mother, so he's been alone in his house for a while now. He's started drinking again, and almost killed himself last week. He says it wasn't his intention, but his ex-wife went to check on him (because he is the father of her children, and she wants to be sure he's ok) and found him drunk, with a knife, bleeding profusely from his wrists. He went to the hospital and got cleaned up, then spent the night in jail to sober up (why jail and not in the hospital under observation I don't know). My dad was always his idol as a kid, and right now he's sort of taken him under his wing to make sure he's getting help and staying under control. He stayed at our house the last two nights, (he goes home in the morning for a few hours to get a shower and change, and we pick him up a few hours later), we've been keeping him occupied and forcing him to eat. We're letting him drink (because if you stop something like that cold turkey, you get sick), but he's limited to 7 beers per day (my parents are counting). My dad took him to the doctor today, got a prescription for some medication, and when he refused to go to an outpatient rehab center, he got the number of a psychiatrist and my dad made sure he made an appointment. He says he wants to change, but he's so depressed that he doesn't seem to be sure if it's even possible.







He's so different from the way he used to be. Normally, he and my dad are joking and laughing, but while he's been here he's been quiet, withdrawn, he actually walked into our house with his head down, his shoulders sort of hunched, and his arms folded tight across his chest, and he's actually been taking his beer into the bathroom and drinking in there, because I think he's embarrassed that he needs to drink so much.







I may be seeing a lot more of him these days, until his wife moves back in or until my dad thinks he's stable enough to live alone, and I guess I'm just not sure what to do. I don't know him too well, I mean he's only five years younger than my dad and I've never spent too much time with him. I know he won't be coming to me for advice, but I still want to make sure that this house is a supportive environment while he's staying with us. I've never dealt with this before though, what am I supposed to do? Is there much of anything I can do, should I leave this to my parents?