Old woman resisting

Years ago, my lifelong Conservative father-in-law was holding his grandson when he said supervised consumption sites “just enable drug use.” I replied, “That's a dumb comment to make while holding your grandson. He might not be alive if one hadn't saved my life and connected me to recovery.” You should have seen his face when I said that. 😳 “Whoops. I didn't think that through.” So I arranged a tour. He met the nurses, saw the care, the detox upstairs, and the connections to recovery. He walked in believing these places enabled addiction, he walked out understanding they save lives. Today, he's one of their biggest supporters. Not because he abandoned his Conservative values, but because he realized compassion, dignity and keeping people alive were never at odds with them. He didn't just change his opinion. He became an advocate for the very people he'd once dismissed.