Psyched Out

So I have two neighbors who for different reasons invoke a social work reaction outside of my job.

One is, as far as I can judge with a practiced eye, involved in substance abuse of unknown breadth. He came to our door at 3 AM recently and told a spectacular, rambling and obvious lie in order to get beer money. He certainly has issues with alcohol, and let's just say his parties draw a crowd that is kinda questionable. Last summer someone at one of his parties shat a gun at someone else right outside our house. No, actually he shOt a gun, but the typo gave me such a vivid and hilarious mental image that I decided to share. Anyhow, we have not been accustomed to gunfire in our neighborhood and don't want to become accustomed to it.


The other has been struggling with debilitating muscle atrophy for over a year and has recently been diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gherig Disease), which I would not wish on my worst enemy, let alone my lovable and kind neighbor. Through the past year she has gradually lost strength and function, but she has never asked for help. When I found out, I spent a whole day scouring the internet for resources she could use and passed them on immediately. She is self employed and has no insurance, and the only drug to treat ALS is $1000 a month. I looked for patient assistance programs, but found none. ALS is an "orphan" disease and the medication is therefore expensive because few people need it.

The point is that I get impatient and dismissive with neighbor #1, but I'm willing to spend half my weekend helping neighbor #2. I genuinely believe that substance abuse is a medically treatable and blameless condition, which causes much suffering for users and their families. I treat people with substance abuse all the time at work. Yet in my personal life I am biased, it appears. I'm more willing to help the sick neighbor I like better. I wonder if this off the clock double standard is a luxury that I should even permit myself. I have always prided myself in being able to separate home from work, to give myself the mental rest that helps me face the work week. Why am I now making an exception?