Everyone who works at TLC is a volunteer - with a few professionals such as counselors that serve in positions that require the type of credentials they possess. Among these would be those with Master's degrees in counseling, social work or nursing degrees. And, of course, the Doctor who's our Medical Director.
But our typical client is classified as a volunteer. And doesn't even get paid, instead receiving a weekly stipend for what they do. Not only that, most of our volunteers don't spend 40 hours a week on their responsibilities. It's rare that someone needs to be at a desk for more than three or four hours.
I have a philosophy about how many hours one should work. For example, here at TLC very few volunteers spend eight hours a day or 40 hours a week performing their duties. My rule is that if a person is through with the project they should take off. It proves nothing to have someone sitting at a disk surfing the internet after they've completed a chore.
A percentage of clients come to us from jail or prison. Many of them have never had a real job and so the experience they get volunteering with us is invaluable. We have many people who come to us who don't know how to make a bed, clean their room, wash clothing, prepare themselves a meal, or to work in the real world.
Others come to us because they have no friends or family who want anything to do with them. Many in this group stay with us for years. Not only do we give them a place to learn about recovery; they also find with us a surrogate family to care for - and who cares for them. Many of them develop good friendships here and see no reason to go somewhere else and leave them behind.
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