Several years ago my small town paper asked me to do a story on the Shelby County Treatment Center, a newly opened methadone clinic. To be honest, I was quite amazed that the clinic director had an open door policy. She invited me down to see the facility without hesitation even though most of the press they had garnered so far had been either bad or just outright lies. Up to that point I personally had a poor opinion of methadone treatment, like most of the general public though, I was ignorant of the facts- especially regarding this particular treatment facility
When I walked in that day to see what really happened at the clinic, I found a very pleasant surprise.
Flash forward to the present. His and her castles and a big Scooby Doo decorate the front lawn, you can smell the popcorn from the road, endless hot dogs are coming off the grill, and a host of kids frantically search the back lot for Easter eggs each with a surprise inside. Even though the weather didn’t exactly cooperate, the face painting, pictures with the Easter bunny, and a plethora of bubbles made the children happy- no sunshine needed… and none of it would have happened if their parents weren’t in recovery. Yeah, we are talking about the same place, surprised?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hello. I have just discovered your blog and have found it to provide some hope. I am struggling with an alcohol addiction and would very much like to quit. My question for you is how did you start the process of quitting? Thank you for your help.
but I was finally successful with the help of my family, rehab, and for at least a short time AA. It turns out quitting wasn’t really my problem, it was staying quit- living without alcohol that was the real kicker.
I know that’s not much of an answer, but I would be an extremely rich man if I could offer you a foolproof solution. Good luck though!