1. Educating for Careers in Ever-changing Job Market
   By Tom Trzos - St. Vincent de Paul Village
2. Residents Regain Sobriety, Health and New Life
   By Martha Lepore
3. St. Vincent’s Wins Award for Innovative Therapeutic Childcare Program
4. TAS Team Alters Delivery of Client Services
   By Michael Palagonia
5. A ‘Light’ for ALL
   By Michael Wall - Director of Planned Giving

Residents Regain Sobriety, Health and New Life
By Martha Lepore

Recovery Services at St. Vincent de Paul Village helps residents with chemical dependencies overcome them and lead productive lives. They attend both addiction education classes and addiction process groups twice a week and attend three Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meetings a week at the Village.

Those who complete the program are honored at ceremonies attended by Father Joe, family, friends and staff. Members of the June 2004 graduating class wrote the following accounts of their recoveries.                                   

There’s a Real Future for Me

My story starts back 38 years ago when I became a drug addict. Hard core. Didn’t finish junior high, didn’t do high school, spent those precious years doing Juvenile Hall.

Entered motherhood at 17 and by the time I was 27 I was raising my four children and trying to be the best mother I could be and still maintain my drug use. I had no idea how to live life without drugs and refused to even try. The thought of it scared me.

Two years ago I became homeless for the first time in my life. I moved in with my son and tried to find work. Nobody would hire me – at my age, with no work history and with  a criminal record. All the odds were against me.

At this point, my son Mike had enough of my drug use and told me it was about time I got some help and learn to stand on my own two feet or he was out of my life because it was so painful for him to watch me slowly dying.

I agreed to go to a 10-day Volunteers of America detox program. In June 2003 I found out about St. Vincent de Paul Village. When I got here I was still using and was put into a chemical-dependency class. As I learned about what drugs had done to me and the reasons why I used drugs to begin with, I realized it was time to find out who Linda really was and give sobriety a chance.

It’s been one hell of a ride. For the first time in my life I have a freedom I’ve never felt. My kids are so proud of me and that’s the best feeling in the world. I’m going to school to get my GED.

The program at St. Vincent’s was totally set up for people like me. Everything I need to become a productive person is at my fingertips. I’m so grateful. For the first time in my life I feel there’s a real future for me.

Linda M.

Norm Kleyh was Linda’s recovery services counselor.

I Have Never Felt So Good

I found chemical-dependency class very interesting. The movies I watched and the literature I read (or that was read to me), were very interesting. I had no idea how dangerous and serious my addiction had become.

If Narcotics Anonymous, the 12 Steps, the 12 Traditions and chemical-dependency class had not been in my life, I would still be on that long road to destruction.

I know my sobriety means more to me than anything else now. Without it I would not be able to function as a normal person. I thank my high power, God, as I know him, for showing me the right path to follow. I have never felt so good in many, many years. For once I can say I love myself and am proud to say I have been given a second chance.

Thank you, St. Vincent’s,

Anthony Z.

Joe Meza was Anthony’s recovery services counselor.

I Learned There’s Help If You Need It

In chemical-dependency classes I learned how different drugs affect the brain and the body and what happens to me after prolonged use.

I learned the criteria for being an addict, and although I didn’t meet those criteria, I did fit the criteria of drug abuse.

I learned about the triggers that can cause you to start a binge and how certain people or places can also cause you to want to use.

I learned that there’s help if you need it and that it takes focus and will power not to fall into the cycle of relapse.

I hope to use the knowledge I’ve gained at St. Vincent’s to keep from ever fitting the criteria of an addict and to use the techniques I’ve learned from the class to keep from using drugs again.

Bill B.

Joe Meza was Bill’s recovery services counselor.

I Can Work Without Depending on Drugs

I believe I learned a great deal from the chemical-dependency (CD) class. The past five months have really made me think about the style of life I’ve been living and I’ve come to the conclusion that drugs and alcohol have no place or future for me.

When I first started the CD class, Mr. Meza was speaking on the subject of how drugs destroy the brain, liver, and other parts of the body, which for some reason really started to make me think of what I was doing to myself.

I’ve spent about 28 of the past 34 years on drugs. This class will help me from now on to stay free from drugs. I now feel that I can concentrate on getting on with my life. I can go to work and do other daily activities without depending on drugs to make it through.

I look forward to spending the rest of my life being sober. Thanks to Father Joe’s Villages, I’m now on the right track to being a positive-minded, can-do individual.

Thank you,

Robert E. S.

Joe Meza was Robert’s recovery services counselor.