A client on parole was confronted in group about losing his job - then lying about it for a week. Rather than tell his house manager, he deceived everyone. He would leave at 7:00 a.m. for the bus stop. He’d then return in the afternoon and share with his roommates about his “rough day” at work.
His deception was discovered when one of our drivers spotted him at the library in the middle of the day. He admitted he’d quit his job a week earlier because co-workers started offering him drugs after they learned he was on parole. In addition, one of them also presented him the opportunity to sell drugs. He said the whole situation panicked him because he was afraid to return to prison.
The man’s parole officer was about to return his to prison for lying, but our manager talked him out of it. Instead, he’s being allowed to seek new employment, continue on parole, and live in relative freedom in our recovery program.
But this scenario illustrates how fear and lying gets addicts in trouble. This client later agreed he should have talked to staff immediately about what was going on. But fear held him back.
In hindsight, he realized that our staff would've supported his decision to quit. After all, our mission is to help recovering addicts rebuild their lives. And it’s tough for someone to work on recovery while in the midst of drug users and dealers.
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