Impressive SLE, too hopeful now
Hi, everyone. Well, I picked my AS up from rehab yesterday and we spent the day getting him situated in an SLE. This is my (and his) first experience with an SLE, and I am so positively impressed. The organization has quite a program. It is run with military-like rigidity, which I think is exactly what my AS needs and which I didn't have the strength to provide. Must be early out of bed, curfew every night (10 p.m. for the first 2 weeks), no overnights out of the house without permission, daily chores for all residents, at least 6 NA meetings a week (9 if unemployed), plus a program meeting every Monday. Must get a job within two weeks, and there are specific guidelines for the job hunt (X-number of apps per day filed, detailed records of where he looks). House supervisors and program directors visit the house several times a day, and the place was spotless when we got there. Met two of the assistant program directors, both recovering heroin addicts (my AS's DOC) who have been successfully in recovery for a year or more. My AS immediately connected with one of them, who is only a year older than him. This guy loves NA meetings, and runs one once/wk. Told me he is eager to include my AS in his activities, befriend him, etc.
I'm EXCITED!! Before this last rehab stint, virtually all of my AS' friends had abandoned him (a good thing, since they are drug users too, tho mostly not addicts), and he is in the market for new friends. He is very social, and really wants close friends, and I anticipate that he will become close with these people who are in recovery, which would be a GREAT thing.
So at the moment, my house is empty of craziness and is peaceful, and I feel like my AS is in a good place and has a real chance for recovery. I'm trying to not get too hopeful, but I'm already there. I know I will be WRECKED if he has a big-time relapse and gives up on recovery this time. And yet I also know that so many people on this site have addicted loved ones who have done just that.
Any words of wisdom from y'all? I think I need some stories from reality to bring me back down to earth, or else I may soon be posting sorry messages from the depths of relapse despair.