And because we take anyone who claims to want sobriety, we attract a diverse group.
You'd never see our halfway house clients in those slick ads for recovery programs on a California beach. Because most of our clients have fallen through the safety net.
In fact, 99% of our halfway house clients have nothing when they get here. No money. No insurance or car. Little clothing; some have no shoes. Many have no identification, so it's hard to put them to work.
Yet we've kept doing this for 23 years because our mission is to help recovering substance abusers rebuild their lives. And frequently clients start a new life. Yet others are ungrateful.
But I digress. Let me get back to where I started - about hard work and not boring.
Today I get to the office with plans to clear my desk and get on to pending projects. Then, bam! We're served with a lawsuit.
Now that's not unusual. Because we live in a litigious world where a successful lawsuit can put someone on Easy Street. And angry addicts sometimes express their resentments with legal action. So, we've had our share of lawsuits - though they're mostly frivolous and go nowhere..
But the lawsuit today was the first of its kind for us.
A transgender former client filed a lawsuit from prison claiming he was sexually assaulted and raped at our Roosevelt house over a period of time. And that our staff was aware of it, but did nothing. And he wants over a $100,000 in damages - not much for such a serious allegation.
So, even though this is a frivolous action, we still have to turn it over to the insurance company. Then we have to spend time getting witnesses and documents together until it goes away.
Like I said, sometimes this is hard work. And definitely not boring.
