Meet a Scientologist—Sometimes, the Best Way to Help is by Saying “No”

At 16, Scientologist Lynda Allender had to make an important choice. The past 36 years have proved she chose well.

When she was 16, Lynda Allender was in love. But she was also in trouble.

The trouble came from drugs. She began with marijuana and “progressed” to cocaine. But when she started experimenting with heroin she was threatened with losing the most important thing in her life. That’s when she had to make a choice.

“I was a high school freshman, my boyfriend was a senior—we were completely in love. He wouldn’t just stand by watching me do myself in,” says Allender. “He made it brutally clear—if I didn’t stop taking drugs it was over between us.”

She decided to quit, and her boyfriend, a Scientologist, helped her through the rough spots with Scientology techniques. Allender was relieved to find how simple it was to overcome the cravings.

When she was 18, the couple moved from their hometown in the Silicon Valley to San Francisco, where they trained in the technology of Scientology religious counseling—called auditing, from Latin audire, “to hear or listen.” They audited one another and Allender eventually dealt with the issues that predisposed her to using drugs in the first place.

The couple married in 1979, and that high school romance not only survived, it is stronger than ever, weathering the many challenges of starting out young, earning a living, and raising two happy, well-adjusted (and drug-free) children.

Allender, 52, is a human resources specialist. She owns her own company that consults small businesses on California labor laws.

But her real passion in life is helping others with Scientology in much the same way her husband helped her.

“It is such a gratifying activity,” she says. “The problems people run into in their lives often seem impossible to resolve. But Scientology auditing and training make it so easy to sort things out and get things going in the right direction.”

To meet more than 200 Scientologists and hear their stories, watch the “Meet a Scientologist” videos at www.Scientology.org.

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The popular “Meet a Scientologist” profiles on the Church of Scientology International Video Channel at Scientology.org now total more than 200 broadcast-quality documentary videos featuring Scientologists from diverse locations and walks of life. The personal stories are told by Scientologists who are educators, teenagers, skydivers, a golf instructor, a hip-hop dancer, IT manager, stunt pilot, mothers, fathers, dentists, photographers, actors, musicians, fashion designers, engineers, students, business owners and more.

A digital pioneer and leader in the online religious community, in April 2008 the Church of Scientology became the first major religion to launch its own YouTube Video Channel. The Official Scientology YouTube Channel has now been viewed by millions of visitors.

^{A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.~~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion}

Church of Scientology urges community counter-attack against drugs

Scientology churches urge young and old to help save lives on United Nations International Day against Drugs Abuse and Trafficking

The Church of Scientology International is directing its churches and missions in 165 countries to join forces with the United Nations on June 26th in raising awareness on drug abuse. The International Day against Drug Abuse and Trafficking is based on U.N. General Assembly resolution 42/112 passed in 1987 to strengthen action and cooperation in eliminating drug abuse.

Scientology officials are asking members, neighbors, youth groups, officials and community organizations to first educate themselves about drugs and then pass it on. Through its community anti-drug outreach program, the Church developed pocket-sized youth friendly educational booklets on commonly abused drugs, which have been published by Foundation for a Drug-Free World since 2006. With the help of Church volunteers and community alliances, millions of the booklets have been distributed since 1995.

“Ask any drug addict and he will tell you he never planned to become addicted and if had he really understood the consequences of drug abuse, he would never have tried drugs in the first place,” said Rev. Bob Adams Vice President of the Church of Scientology International.

Community action against drug abuse is also positive gain for civic leaders struggling with dwindling budgets for drug prevention programs. Once common drug prevention services from the DEA, FBI and even law enforcement programs like DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) are being shaved and in many areas cut entirely.

Staggering figures of disease and death from drug use have been around for years, but the specific harm to individuals, families and society in terms of crime, health costs and productivity losses are harder to find. According to the the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, teens and young adults are particularly at risk, with drug use more than twice as high as that among the general population. The UNODC says that peer pressure to experiment and the fact that people taking drugs tend to be either misinformed or insufficiently aware of the health risks involved.

“Our community drug-education program has been in very heavy demand since its inception,” said Rev. Adams. “Widespread drug education is the most effective weapon in the war on drugs and doing it is saving lives.”

To obtain free drug education booklets contact your nearest Church of Scientology or write to info@drugfreeworld.org.

^{A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology.~~~L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion}