There's a picnic today at Red Mountain Park in Mesa to celebrate TLC's 20th anniversary. There will be food, games, award presentations and speakers. Although TLC incorporated January 9, 1992, the anniversary is celebrated March 15, the day the first client knocked on the door. But the celebration was put off until today because of last weekend’s bad weather.
While some give me credit for the founding and success of TLC, the reality is that hundreds of recovering people helped bring the organization to where it is today. Many factors came into play.
The idea to start TLC came during the year I was in halfway house in Mesa, Arizona recovering from a heroin and alcohol addiction. My thinking was to start TLC as a sort of avocation, while working an outside job to support myself. I thought it would be a good way to stay in touch with my recovery while helping others. However, a flood of addicts and alcoholics kept showing up. Finally the pressure became so great I quit my outside job to work full time for TLC.
The early years were spent simply responding to the constant influx of addicts. In the first two years TLC went from five beds to 300 beds. It was an ongoing job to find property and space for everyone. By the end of the 1990s we had nearly 1100 beds and had expanded to Nevada and New Mexico.
While it's important for people to have a leader to look to for guidance and direction the reality is that TLC would not be where it is today without the hundreds of addicts who volunteered their time and energy.
God willing we’ll continue helping addicts and alcoholics rebuild their lives for twenty more years…
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