Love Letter from Former Client

As I walked up to my car outside the office yesterday there was a fat letter from a former client wedged under the door handle.

The letter described the client’s experience of discovering TLC on the internet and how excited he’d been to find a place that would accept him without insurance or upfront money. However, as the letter went on, he said that he was “dismayed” to discover that as soon as he stepped on the property he was in “debt.”

Many clients have experienced this over the years. They come to TLC without money or insurance and are accepted based on their desire to change. For some reason they don’t understand that it costs money to live no matter where they go.

No one gets into the Holiday Inn or Motel 6 without a credit card or cash deposit and identification. Here at TLC we accept anyone who asks for help – even with no money or identification. There aren’t too many places in the world where a homeless addict can get help based solely on a desire to get sober; however we are one of them. But once a client is employed and getting back on his feet we expect him to pay $110 a week – and make payments toward their back balance.

The letter, which rambled on for five pages described how TLC “had lost its way” because we expected clients to be responsible and pay bills. There were also references to “slave drivers” and “money grubbers.” But if I really summed the letter up it was about a former client – yes he’d left the program – looking for someplace where he could live for free.

I used to spend a lot of time looking for that place myself. If he finds it I hope he leaves another letter telling us where it is.