A parent wonders how her child is going to make it in our program. It's not that she has concerns about the quality of the program.
She's worried more about the community we're in. She's heard there are drugs in the area. She asks if there's a way to keep them away from her child.
And my answer to her is no. That there's no way to keep drugs away from anyone. We live in a society where drugs are prevalent. In most metropolitan areas one can find drugs quite easily. And the same is true here in Mesa, a city of about half a million.
For an addict the issue is never the availability of drugs. The issue instead is the desire to stay in recovery, to save their life.
As someone who's been in recovery for nearly 24 years I still have opportunities to use drugs or alcohol. My choice is to not ruin my life, so I don't use anything. If I work a program, go to meetings, and have a sponsor, my odds of staying clean are high.
I learned a long time ago that it's not about drugs or alcohol. It's all about what's going on with me.
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