My neighbour is an alcoholic.
I have witnessed him drunk many times & kind of shrugged, he's not my husband so not my problem. He has two daughters close to my sons age & they like to play together & get on very well. I should also add, his wife seems lovely.
My son started swimming lessons this week & it turns out my neighbours girls go to the same swim school at the same time, though in different classes. The girls dad was there & wanted to sit with me to chat. He reeked of beer. He could barely string sentences together & was talking nonsense. He picked the girls up in this state & was driving them home in this state. Honestly, I was horrified! I began to think of all the times i've witnessed him drunk & I suspect he drives around drunk regularly, often with his kids in the car & often in school zones with lots of children around. His wife has to know he's doing this.
I don't know what to do. I am not close with these people, so i can't just call out the behaviour without causing a lot of drama that ultimately affects the kids. I'm also a single mum, I do not want friction with my neighbours. But if he were to have an accident & hurt his girls, or anyone else, I know how devistated I would feel.
So what would you do?
I should also say I will now never allow my son in the car with this man & I also don't let my son go to their house unless his wife is there too.
9 Replies
I’d ring the cops and child protective services. He needs to be reported before he kills his kids or someone else.
The cops and cps don’t tell who made the report. It literally could have been anyone he’s been in contact with, from the swim centre receptionist, to the instructor or another parent. Report.
Call the cops and maybe see if they can be there at the swimming pool carpark when the next lesson lets out?
Make a report to police, include every single detail you can even if it seems insignificant.
It's a sheer miracle that this guy hasn't killed himself, his kids, an innocent bystander or another road user yet.
His drunken shenanigans might not be your problem but now you've noticed that he's actually a danger to the public and his child, you do kind of have a responsibility to act on that.
Call the police. Not 000 (unless hes vehind the wheel) but call local police station and give his location, car, address and they'll pick him up.
Please contact the police if you ever have this happen again. My ex is an alcoholic and the only way to keep him off the road and protect my children is if others report it when it happens if I’m not around
This was my ex husband 6 years ago. I rang the police and gave them his car rego. They added it to their database and an alert went off if one of their cars passed him and they could stop him for a random breath test. They caught him twice using this method and he was over the limit both times.
My brother in law is an alcoholic. He is never allowed to drive my son anywhere and doesn’t drive his children anywhere in the afternoon. It’s a rule he has with myself and his wife for the safety of the children. If I ever saw or heard of him doing otherwise I would report him 100% and you should for your neighbor also. Only answer I can see for you.
Call the police if you see him drunk and he’s driving. No point calling every time he gets in the car unless you know he’s drunk.
Ring local police station and explain to them ASAP. The girls lives are at risk and they will keep it anonymous. Protect these kids and everyone else on the road