Taking the First Step
From Bronx Community Solutions Case Manager Monica Garcia:
It was 4:30 p.m. on a Friday afternoon when I received a phone call from the Intake Office. An Intake Specialist called me to say that a client had been screened and was in need of drug treatment services. We were talking about a case that involved decades of crack cocaine and alcohol abuse. Often when someone is ready to go into treatment, there is at least one underpinning reason to not go into immediate treatment: to say goodbye to family, eat a hot meal, to get a haircut...the list never ends. This case seemed to be no different: the client wanted to go home, take a hot shower and change clothes before entering treatment. It was late in the day on Friday, I was skeptical, but I told the client that he had two options: to walk downstairs in the Clinic and I would arrange for immediate pick-up by a treatment center or wait until Monday morning to make arrangements for treatment at that time. The client, not surprisingly, chose the latter option and I expected that he would somehow find himself once again lost in addiction’s vice grip.
The weekend passed, and by Monday morning I had forgotten all about Friday’s events. I was therefore shocked when on Monday morning at 9:15 a.m. I sat and spoke with a gentleman that I would come to find out was the same client I had spoken with over the phone the Friday before. He had returned and in doing so taken step one of what would become a long road to recovery. That day was a long day and required many hours of work - individual counseling and phone calls to various treatment centers and family members - before the client was eventually picked up and admitted to a treatment center upstate. As I walked the client out to the van for pick-up he thanked me profusely and upon getting into the vehicle turns to thank me and gives me a look that reads: “Thank you for a day’s worth of investment into my future.” No words are exchanged, the door closes and the van pulls off. I reflect: the road to recovery is a life long journey, and while I will not be there every step of the way, at least for one fleeting moment, I was able to extend a hand.
It was 4:30 p.m. on a Friday afternoon when I received a phone call from the Intake Office. An Intake Specialist called me to say that a client had been screened and was in need of drug treatment services. We were talking about a case that involved decades of crack cocaine and alcohol abuse. Often when someone is ready to go into treatment, there is at least one underpinning reason to not go into immediate treatment: to say goodbye to family, eat a hot meal, to get a haircut...the list never ends. This case seemed to be no different: the client wanted to go home, take a hot shower and change clothes before entering treatment. It was late in the day on Friday, I was skeptical, but I told the client that he had two options: to walk downstairs in the Clinic and I would arrange for immediate pick-up by a treatment center or wait until Monday morning to make arrangements for treatment at that time. The client, not surprisingly, chose the latter option and I expected that he would somehow find himself once again lost in addiction’s vice grip.
The weekend passed, and by Monday morning I had forgotten all about Friday’s events. I was therefore shocked when on Monday morning at 9:15 a.m. I sat and spoke with a gentleman that I would come to find out was the same client I had spoken with over the phone the Friday before. He had returned and in doing so taken step one of what would become a long road to recovery. That day was a long day and required many hours of work - individual counseling and phone calls to various treatment centers and family members - before the client was eventually picked up and admitted to a treatment center upstate. As I walked the client out to the van for pick-up he thanked me profusely and upon getting into the vehicle turns to thank me and gives me a look that reads: “Thank you for a day’s worth of investment into my future.” No words are exchanged, the door closes and the van pulls off. I reflect: the road to recovery is a life long journey, and while I will not be there every step of the way, at least for one fleeting moment, I was able to extend a hand.
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