EDITORIAL: Bernice Washington's legacy lives on
It was hard to meet Bernice Washington and not immediately feel her warmth, kindness, patience and firm resolve. Those characteristics seemed inborn but were most definitely honed during a lifetime of helping others in their struggle with drug and alcohol addiction.
"Mine is to help others," Washington said in a 2008 interview with Tuscaloosa Magazine. "I can't do it for them; I can only listen and then direct them toward the help they need."
People fighting addiction have lost a valuable resource. Washington died Sunday at the age of 83. But her legacy will live on in the people she helped learn to cope with their addictions and the people she inspired and influenced to help others.
Washington's community called on her repeatedly. She served on boards for A Woman's Place, the Tuscaloosa Housing Authority, the Bernice Hudson Washington Insight Center and worked with Alcoholics Anonymous and other organizations.
"Her amazing qualities include the ability to work with anyone in her community," Karen Thompson, executive director of Temporary Emergency Services, told Tuscaloosa Magazine. "I learned from her that if you are going to live in the community, you need to give back to the community. She doesn't just preach that message; she lives it through her works."
Washington became interested in fighting addiction when she helped her brother overcome alcoholism. She saw what the affliction could do and wanted to help others overcome it the way her brother did.
For some, it would be frustrating to fight the never-ending battle against a problem that will always be with us. But Washington never said she expected to eradicate addiction. Her unbounded optimism seemed to arise from the knowledge that she was doing all that she could while she still drew breath. The inner peace she radiated was a product of fighting the good fight day in and day out.
"If you are experiencing a negative in your life, Bernice can flip it to a positive," Thompson said.
Bernice Washington, rest in peace.