Paul Bax
Paul Bax, substance abuse coordinator at Wyndham Lawn Home for Children, uses his experience as a counselor for Niagara Falls police officers in his current work with youth. A police officer for 28 years in Niagara Falls, Paul saw a need to help officers with mental health and addiction problems. In the 1980s, volumes were being written on post-traumatic stress syndrome for war veterans, but little attention was being paid to police officers who had been involved in shootings, serious car crashes and other horrific events.
"I saw more deaths on the streets of Niagara Falls than I did in the Army," he said, yet police officers were left on their own. Paul is a Vietnam era veteran.
That’s why Paul was instrumental in creating the department’s Employee Assistance Program, which offers counseling to members of the department. For officers with addictions, Bax later organized the Law Enforcement Recovery Program at Clearview Outpatient Clinic, a division of Mount St. Mary’s Hospital in Lewiston. He retired from the police force at age 53.
"I had all this education and certification and thought, ‘What am I going to do with it?’" Paul said. He holds associate’s and bachelor’s degrees in criminal justice, holds a master’s in counseling and education, and is credentialed as an alcohol and substance abuse counselor.
He decided to come to Wyndham Lawn, a program of New Directions Youth and Family Services, where he counsels teens who have problems with alcohol or substance abuse. He has found that teens’ substance abuse issues are different than adults’. For example, teens often start using alcohol or other drugs because of peer pressure, not to get high initially. Youth are also more open than adults, he said.
"Kids will tell you more one-on-one than adults will," Bax said. "They’re not afraid to open up. I’ve become a better listener since I’m working with kids."
When he shows a video to a group of teens, he doesn’t insist on silence. The youth like to talk and show off for their friends, but they keep one eye on the video and may remark, "Oh, I did that." That remark can start a great conversation. Teens glorify drugs more than adults do, and Bax feels that professional athletes are poor role models. Lawrence Taylor of the New York Giants, for example, got only a slap on the wrist for substance abuse incidents because he was a good linebacker, Bax contends.
"I believe these professional teams could stop substance abuse any time," Bax said. "They choose not to."
He takes this strong stand "after 28 years of seeing what substance abuse had done to people and families," he said. He was part of a team that investigated traffic accidents, and every fatality he investigated was alcohol or drug related, he said.
"Don’t drink and drive," he advises.
Paul’s position as substance abuse coordinator is a collaboration between New Directions and the Northpointe Council, Inc., formerly known as the Alcoholism Council. He said he likes working at New Directions.
"I like the people here," he said. "They’re very dedicated. They’re trying to make a difference in people’s lives. And the kids keep me young. I enjoy them."
Family: Married for 40 years to Sandie Bax and has two children
Pet: Lhaso Apso named Missy
Favorite sport: Baseball
Hobbies:Restoring cars. He is now working on a GT convertible and enjoys cars from 1965 and 1966. He also enjoys yardwork and mows his lawn in a checkerboard pattern to look like Yankee Stadium.
May 2007
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