A Crisis Brought Opportunity For Drug Treatment

As an addiction therapist, families often come to me worrying about their loved one and how to handle crisis situations. Everything is urgent when someone is using, and it is a life and death situation. My client called one day, his loved one was living in his car, and worked a delivery job for his drug money. The car had broken down, and he was now made homeless and jobless. They received an urgent call to tow the car and have it repaired, and pay for a hotel while the car was being fixed. The family was planning on fixing the car for him, so that he would not lose his employment or his place to sleep and were seeking a hotel room for him to stay in.

Contrary to common logic, we decided not to repair the car, which in turn also cut off his drug funding. He was told that we would pick him up and take him to treatment instead, and he refused. He continued to sleep in the car without the ability to move it.  Within a matter of days, he began to detox and became increasingly uncomfortable. It wasn’t long before he was willing to enter treatment. While there, he received counseling, group therapy and a discharge plan that was coordinated by me, with the treatment center. Following his discharge, he followed suggestions on sober living for a year, and he started a new job.

Sobriety coaching along the way made the difference in his continued new life. He has been clean for over five years now. Crisis can sometimes create opportunity, and one simple decision can make that difference.