Addicts helping Addicts

A man detoxifying from alcohol called from the hospital to inquire about our facilities and services.  He mentioned he was also calling another facility that had been recommended to him by hospital staff. He said if he didn't call back he probably had decided on the other facility. When I didn't hear from him I figured he went to the other place.

However, he called a few days later and said the sober living program the hospital referred him to wasn’t for him. He said there were four beds to a room and no manager on site.  There were no meeting requirements or any onsite counseling.

Since I never beat up the competition I said nothing about his experience at the other facility. And I welcomed him to check out our program. Before he hung up, though, he said he had something to tell me about the referral he'd received from the hospital. He said the staff  told him shouldn't go to TLC because it was a "rip-off." And he gave the names of the staff members who had told him that.

While I never waste time correcting people who know little about our programs it still piques my interest as to how people arrive at the conclusion that TLC is a "rip-off." After all, how do you rip someone off in a program that charges $110 a week?

It might be a rip-off if we didn't provide the services we offer. At TLC one gets three so-so meals a day. A job service is available. Peer counseling is a strong part of the program, as is Big Book study and relapse prevention. I'm not sure how you rip someone off when a motel runs at about $45 a day – no meals or anything extra.

We don’t represent ourselves as anything other than what we are. We’re a program for those without money, without insurance, who have no place to go. And we do this without money from government programs or other sources.

What we really are is addicts helping addicts.