At one time TLC had the worst reputation of any recovery program in Arizona.
While it was a reputation that wasn't deserved, it was nonetheless the reputation that it had to live with. Among the things that former clients complained about was that they had to get up early in the morning and go to work. They had to go to 90 meetings in 90 days during their first three months in the program. They had to pay a service fee that was quite reasonable; in fact in the early days it was only $85 a week and included housing and three meals a day.
One of the things that clients didn't like about it is that the buildings were old and needed a lot of maintenance, attention that they received and are still getting today. In fact, TLC's 50 some houses are constantly being maintained on a rotating basis. The roofing and remodeling crew is continually going through the properties, putting in new showers, repainting rooms, replacing bed frames and mattresses, and working on the landscaping. When a program has over 500 clients, there's a lot of wear and tear on the property and it continually needs to be maintained and refurbished.
TLC accepts a lot of parolees and clients coming from jail who are sent there by the state, or probation officers. When a prisoner goes up for release they must have an address to give their prison case manager. And that's where we come in because we accept anyone as long as they're willing to follow our guidelines. And these guidelines are very simple. They must work and pay for housing, keep their quarters clean, attend outside 12-step meetings and educational groups inside the house.
In other words, they must do their best to live within the norms of society and be a positive influence in the community as much as they possibly can. Now I can understand why we get a bad reputation because a lot of people do not like to be directed in any part of their life. They don't like to be told what to do. The reason they ended up in prison is because they were risk takers and rebels and criminals – along with being drug addicts, or alcoholics or both. It is probably unrealistic to expect every person who comes through the door to easily adapt to a life of discipline, self-care, and growth into a law-abiding citizen.
But one of the things about TLC that differs from other programs is that our program was designed - and has been managed - by addicts and alcoholics since the beginning. The core rules were written by a small group of addicts and alcoholics who had a serious desire to stay sober. They were people who were tired of walking the big yard burning up their days telling war stories about drug deals they were in, crimes they'd committed outside, and what big shots they were.
The only people who wanted to come out of prison and come to TLC were those who were serious about wanting to stay sober. In fact, people who have been sent back to prison because they couldn't adapt at TLC would warn people that they shouldn't be paroled here – only unless they were serious about staying sober. People who are not serious about staying clean and sober don't belong in TLC. There are plenty of small halfway houses around town where where a resident can do pretty much as he pleases as long as long as he pays his rent.
Today we have a much better reputation. We have several small businesses, including a treatment program, an air conditioning company, a labor group, a roofing and remodeling company, convenience stores, and other businesses that help support TLC's mission. We are State licensed contractors. In 30 years we've had almost 3/4 of a million clients come through the program; though not all of them are sober we've had a large impact on many people's lives and will continue to do so in spite of any naysayers.
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