• LAVA Moderator: Shinji Ikari

A weird idea

CoffeeDrinker

Bluelighter
Joined
Oct 6, 2009
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4,079
Location
Bohemian Grove
Is it possible to combine a college or school and an addictions rehab center so that addicts can get clean but also work towards a certificate or degree program of some kind?
My biggest problem with AA is that they seem to talk about the same thing the whole time, every time. I'm not saying I don't respect the idea of steps in the recovery process, and I am so grateful for the people whose phone numbers I got during my first few trips.
I think it would be cool if addicts can work through their issues in addition to grooming themselves for future employment and giving them something to live for.
I came up with this idea just after going to an AA meeting and wishing that there was something better and more substantive regarding your whole life and not just the fact that you used mind altering chemicals. I'm also of college age and my addiction problems have caused my education career to be sidetracked and harmed. I hate the fact that I had to sacrifice my semester just because I was in the hospital for a little over a week and in an intensive program for a little over a month. I feel like I could have been doing more during that time.

They say that you have to change people places and things that are related to your use, but so often when people get out of rehab they have absolutely nothing but a few months of clean time under their belts and the pressure to fall back into their old ways can be almost insurmountable. Why wouldn't this idea make it that much easier for addicts to stick with recovery?

What do the insightful people of bluelight think about this "Recovery University" idea?
 
I see great benefit in the idea of combining education/career goals with a clean lifestyle.

The problem I see this running into, is similar to that of ACORN. Even if the money was available, and the infrastructure put in place, lobbyists and conservative media will exercise great effort to sabotage it. Combine this with the US' almost fanatical obsession with keeping essential services in the private sector, and an crippled economy, and you see the dilemma.

Perhaps a fast track to Pell Grants, and other subsidies for those enrolled in treatment programs is all that's needed. There is certainly no shortage of institutions that will take on new students. That is assuming that money is the limiting factor that keeps recovered patients from forging new lifestyles after treatment.

Did I understand correctly, or were you speaking of an institution of higher learning that is restricted to former addicts?
 
Yeah it would be primarily for recovery. That's the goal, but the idea is to give an addict in recovery something worthwhile to work and live for, and give them a reason to believe in themselves that they can in fact make something out of themselves. Something to fill the void while they are clearing out the demons.
I don't think just sitting around and talking about how bad off your use has left you is particularly constructive if you just keep rehashing the same old points. These types of conversations seem to be the beginning and end of current therapy, and I think a more holistic approach would be effective.
I was thinking that it'd be pretty much a privately funded endeavor.
It could be primarily online classes offered by another institution or something like that that addicts could attend while in rehab, but I really like the idea of having hands on learning as well. I like the idea of giving an addict a multitude of options that they might not have even considered before, and practical ways to pursue those options. I'm not sure how it would all be worked out as it's just a fetus of an idea at the moment. It might be a very small operation as it could potentially only appeal to a very small population of recovering addicts, but the market can decide the logistics of the situation.

I believe money is very much a limiting factor that prevents a full recovery in many addicts. Addiction completely dashes your chances at a good job and money management skills, for most people anyway, and then the idea of a good university seems out of reach for them and hopelessness can snowball easily in such situations. I like your idea about Pell grants.
 
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actually a cool idea, i know someone in canada who is going to something similar to this
 
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