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OCTOBER 2014
Family Mailbag

  

"I'm grateful for Turning Point, and for what they've done for my son. I don't think he'd be alive if he hadn't gone there. He's got great friends there, and he's come a long way. He puts the program first."

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In This Issue
Recreation & Lifestyle
This week's recreation article features the monthly Phase I vs. Phase II basketball game. This month, Phase I defended their title as the reigning champions. This event provides a perfect opportunity for Turning Point residents to re-claim an activity that they enjoyed prior to drug and alcohol use.

"I've always loved playing basketball, but forgot how much I really enjoyed it," said Chase B., a current Phase I resident. "I felt like it was being reintroduced to me. All of us had a lot of fun. John Stewart, the Phase I Program Director, put the pressure on to bring the trophy back, so that was weighing heavily on us as well. We wanted to make him proud."

Mission Accomplished.

"We all felt a little closer as a group," Chase said.

"It's the strict training regimen I had them on that made all the different," said Casey Olayos, Support Staff Manager in Phase I.



All joking aside, when the dust settled and the trophy was in the hands of the Phase I victors, it was evident that this recreational event was more than just a basketball game. "It's a way to trust one another and get closer through working together," said Casey. "Win, lose, or draw, the event is a relationship building experience."

RECENT TURNING
POINT GRADUATES:
DOMENIC M.

16 Months
JOSH F.
BRIAN M.
MICHAEL R.
ETHAN E.

15 MONTHS
BRANDON T.

14 MONTHS
SHANE F.
TYLER E.
MARK S.
ALEX C.
JOE P.

13 MONTHS
CHRIS H.
CONNOR L.
JP H.
DEMETRI A.
JESSE S.

12 MONTHS
CAMERON B.
SEAN M.
BILL D.


11 MONTHS
SAM R.
NICK J.
PETER Z.
DIMITRI H.


10 MONTHS
ANDREW A.
MICAH P.
BAXTER D.
MAX V.

9 MONTHS
CRAIG B.
ISAAC F.
RYAN R.
TJ K.
DOMENIC M.
ANDREW G.

8 MONTHS
JOHN K.
JEFF S.
MATTHEW L.
COLEMAN F.
CLAYTON S.

7 MONTHS
PAUL A.
AMORY B.
JAMES B.
JORDAN B.
OREN O.
MATTHEW M.
ALLAN P.
THOMAS R.
KYLE D.
JAMES D.
 

6 MONTHS

CARTER A.
JOHN C.
JONATHAN H.
KODY M.
GABE T.
QUIN F.
SAHIL G.
CONNOR M.
EVAN R.
BRENDON K.


5 MONTHS 
JACK R.
OWEN T.
ANDREW B.
JACK A.
WILLIAM P.

4 MONTHS 
JASON P.
CHRIS C.
COOPER S.
LUCAS S.
ANDREW P.
JONATHAN V.
TED R.
ANDREW B.
BEN M.
HENRY T.
 
3 MONTHS 
DANIEL A
DAN P
ERIC D
JAKE B
ZACHARY A
JAMES W
WILL C
JESSE Z
BLAKE R
RYAN H
WESLEY F
TANNER C
PAUL J
ADAM B
CHRIS M
WYATT C 
Thomas K., also known as TJ, is 22 years old and currently in Phase III of the Turning Point program.

Before coming to Turning Point, TJ struggled greatly with opioid and cocaine dependency. "My life was hell on earth," said TJ. "I had no hope and nothing to live for. I felt like I had a demon inside of me. I thought that taking my life seemed like the only solution, that living life wasn't going to be an option. I was hopeless, I saw no future."



In that moment of darkness, TJ mustered up the courage to reach out for help. "I come from a very loving and supportive family," said TJ. "I called them and asked for help. They picked me up and offered me treatment. I jumped on the opportunity."



After 30 days of treatment TJ knew there was more work to be done. Turning Point was presented as an option for continued care and TJ accepted. "My first week at Turning Point was interesting, " TJ said. "I tried to fight everyone and everything. I thought I was the one that was going to fix everything."

TJ realized pretty quickly that he couldn't do this alone. "Going through phase 1 and 2 I realized that I needed friends and other support to help me get through," said TJ. "I began to take the suggestions offered and pretty quickly I started seeing the results. I suited up for life."

Now in Phase 3 life has begun to take shape. "I started doing the next right things, I began praying, I started buying into the process outlined to me," TJ said. "I surrendered to what was in front of me. Now I'm a house manager and given responsibility. I have built a life that I love. I believe that I've had a real spiritual and psychic change. I look out for people. It's an amazing thing to be able to come back from the dead."


Warren Phillips
is this month's Unsung Hero. 

Warren P. is 28 years old and from St. Louis, MO. He graduated Turning Point in May of 2014. 

During his stay at Turning Point as a resident, he finished his undergraduate degree at Quinnipiac University and is now working towards his Master's Degree in Social Work at Southern Connecticut State University. 

Shortly after graduating from Turning Point, Warren was hired to our Support Staff. "This was such a great opportunity for me to work at the place that helped me get my life back," Warren said. "Part of my journey has been trying to find a purpose. I was told early on that I needed to find the transition from consequence-driven recovery to purpose-driven recovery." After a mere 4 months as a staff member with Turning Point, Warren is being recognized for his dependability and his strong desire to help others. 

"Most recently I have been given the opportunity to be a shift manager," said Warren. "I embrace the overall responsibility and challenge that this position brings. It's a privilege to be able to use my experience to help these guys navigate there first few weeks here."
Kevin S. is a recent successful graduate of the Turning Point program.

Prior to coming to Turning Point, Kevin's life was falling apart. "I was no longer a member of my family; I was absent as a son and a brother; my sole focus was getting high," said Kevin. "Life was heading towards a dramatic conclusion if I didn't do something soon to change. My parents had to beg me to come home to eat dinner with them and when I was there all I could think about was how I was going to steal money from them."

Kevin's parents saw the addiction and associated behaviors spiraling out of control and decided they were not going to stand idly by. In an effort to save their son's life, Kevin parents decided to intervene. "My parents made an appointment with a therapist for all of us," said Kevin. "I'm diabetic and wasn't taking care of myself and had a blood sugar crash right in the parking lot of the therapist's office. The medics were called, they brought me back and I went into the appointment. This was the tipping point for me. I surrendered and took their suggestions and shortly made it to a rehab in Pennsylvania."

"While in Pennsylvania, Turning Point became an option," said Kevin. "We all knew I needed more help."



Having never experienced anything like Turning Point before, Kevin went through an initial period of nervousness. "It was a little weird; I was out of my element living with a bunch of guys being sober," Said Kevin. Once he settled in and began participating the result surprised him. "I started doing what was asked of me," said Kevin. "I built strong friendships with a group of kids that I arrived with. There were good and bad days, but it was really the friends I made that helped me get through the times I doubted myself and my ability to do this."

"I started to embrace the culture and began my own program of recovery through Turning Point's help and began building a life for myself that I wanted to protect. I started doing things that I was proud of; I became a member of my family again."

At the end of Kevin's stay, he continues to be amazed. "Graduating TP was probably the single most rewarding achievement in my life," said Kevin. "It was difficult but it enabled me to build a life for myself that I'm proud of. I'm doing more than I thought was possible. I'm still maintaining my program of recovery with 12 step meetings.

I maintain relationships with my friends, both in and out of TP. I'm still going to school and now I've gotten hired by TP as Support Staff. I have now been given a chance to give back." Currently, Kevin lives independently in Connecticut with a few of his fellow Turning Point graduates.

From the Family Header

Jeannie, the mother of Jonathan H., a current resident in phase 3, talks about the fear, heartache and profound moments of being a Mom to an addicted son.


"The call from the hospital late at night was the absolute darkest moment," said Jeannie. "Walking through the ER that night and hearing that Jonathan was okay, I was overwhelmed with gratitude. I think fear and denial are two really powerful things that had me making excuses for Jonathan. I was definitely in denial and prior to the overdose it was clear that something was going on. I as a mom denied a lot of that and wasn't sure how to handle it."

Jonathan had a condition that caused chronic pain and needed pain management. "I saw the doctors controlling the prescriptions and he wasn't Doctor shopping," said Jeannie. "I knew he was in pain and that he needed to be medicated, so who am I to say differently? Then I began noticing bizarre behaviors, signs of depression and a roller coaster of emotions."

After the overdose Jeannie called for help. "As a mother I couldn't deny this anymore," Jeannie said. "I knew I had to make some really difficult decisions. I called an interventionist and began getting educated in preparation for our next step. I developed a plan of action and was then prepared to present Jonathan the only option that I was willing to support. I was no longer willing to enable my son."



Jonathan started his journey at La Hacienda in Texas and was subsequently introduced to Turning Point. "Turning Point has helped Jonathan work his program," Jeannie said. "I've taken advice from the experts and stepped back. I work my program and Jonathan works his. He is learning skills to do things for himself and learning how to manage life. I no longer am the person to do it for him. I go to my Al Anon meetings, which Turning Point suggested I do in order to take care of myself. We now have these amazing talks."

"He has totally changed," said Jeannie. "He's healthy, he's gained weight, he smiles and he talks about the relationships he's developed with the people at Turning Point, from staff to other residents. He has now developed a confidence and self-worth that he is proud of. He has totally changed."
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