Editor:
Re: Varying levels of discomfort, Sept. 14 letters.
Before I retired, I was an addiction counsellor in a facility that had one requirement.
You had to be a recovering alcoholic or addict to work there.
So, obviously, I knew the lows.
Before there was addiction centres and half-way houses, there were two free organizations: Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. That is where my recovery started.
We didn’t care if you came in wearing rags. We cared that you were there. Plus it is free.
I picked myself up from the gates of hell and worked hard. I took two jobs that, at the time, I felt were beneath me. I also had a child to support.
There are jobs out there. Maybe not the jobs you want. I washed dishes in a restaurant. A far cry from my fancy banking job.
My son and I lived in an one-room bachelor apartment. Slowly, I filled it with furniture and moved to a bigger place.
Without the support of AA, I would not have been able to do it.
When I was counselling, a lady came in. Her name was Jane. I immediately recognized her from the restaurant I had worked in. She was a great waitress earning good tips.
After 90 days, Jane was ready to go back into the working field. I recommended she go back to her old boss and get a job.
“Oh no,” she said. “I make more money panhandling, plus I get welfare.”
I asked her how much she made panhandling. Averaged $200 a day, and more if it was raining. She dressed the part.
From that day on, I never gave out money or food.
It is called bringing their bottom up.
C. Eden, Surrey
