"I know how much the insurance company paid for my stay here," he said angrily. "You guys are paid way too much money."
As I listened to his diatribe I found it interesting that a guy who came to us homeless had gained such financial acumen in less than a year of sobriety. But I guess there are miracles in recovery.
Over the past 23 years it's been quite common for clients who know little or nothing about business and finance decide that TLC is "all about the money." And it happens on every level of our program, from the halfway houses clear up to the treatment program.
A client will start having difficulties with recovery or external issues and it somehow evolves into an attack on TLC. While it never works in any practical manner, it may serve as a way for them to vent.
The conversation seldom goes far when I ask what their life is worth. Because the time and money that clients spend at TLC is an investment in their future. An investment in their living a clean and sober life. An investment in them even having a future.
Sometimes I ask how much they paid for their last house? Or their last car? Or their last vacation? Yet none of these are nearly as important as the most precious gift that God could give: a life. Yet clients – sober for the first time in their lives – suddenly question the worth of what they’ve learned simply because they fear the future.
Sometimes it becomes irritating enough to write a short blog about. And then we return to focusing our attention on clients who still have gratitude.
