This happened a few weeks ago when a client was pouting for a bit because another client had “snitched” to management about a rule he’d broken.
“If he’d done that in prison, I’d of kicked his ass,” he said. “No one tells on me.” But because we discharge clients for violence or direct threats of violence it went no further.
TLC has rules – as does society in general – that run counter to the so-called prison code or the code of the streets.
One rule is that if a client knows another client is doing wrong, like stealing or using drugs, he must report it to management. If he doesn’t, he’s deemed to be as guilty as the perpetrator. And is subject to discharge or other consequences.
While some might feel this to be unfair, it helps us keep the program clean.
A tenet of recovery is that we change the old behaviors that were associated with using. We discover that stealing and dealing drugs are no longer a career choice. We don’t go through our roommates’ belongings while they sleep. We don’t even use their shampoo or toothpaste, because it’s not ours. And we don’t expect them to protect us when we're using or breaking the rules.
At TLC we don’t try to convince clients that it’s a good idea to get clean and sober. We assume they have that idea or they wouldn't come to our door.
And, oddly enough, we don’t care if they want to get high or drunk or do things their way. They just need to do it elsewhere. Our mission is to help those who are serious about change to get on the path to recovery.
And sometimes change requires clients to give up prison values - or street values - and rejoin the human race.
