STEP ELEVEN:
COMMUNITY INTEGRATION
In the last year we have become more integrated in the community than I would have imagined possible when I first joined the organization.
As is typical, there was a perception in the community that the Manor was a place for "chronic inebriates": besides our annual golf tournament, softball tournament, outings, and any AA or NA meetings we hosted, there was no reason for members of the community to interact with us.
This has changed now that we offer tobacco counseling.
We now regularly invite community members into the house for either our own sessions or the Libertas workshops that we host. Shared struggles with tobacco addiction have shown the underlying humanity shared between our clients and those members of the community that are themselves struggling in this regard.
Our resolution to treat tobacco like any other drug and to offer recovery from this deadly substance has enabled us to push past our mandate of caring for those clients in our charge. We are now truly helping our community at large by offering recovery to those who have failed to quit on their own and who otherwise would likely either suffer effects on their health or death from this addiction.
As is typical, there was a perception in the community that the Manor was a place for "chronic inebriates": besides our annual golf tournament, softball tournament, outings, and any AA or NA meetings we hosted, there was no reason for members of the community to interact with us.
This has changed now that we offer tobacco counseling.
We now regularly invite community members into the house for either our own sessions or the Libertas workshops that we host. Shared struggles with tobacco addiction have shown the underlying humanity shared between our clients and those members of the community that are themselves struggling in this regard.
Our resolution to treat tobacco like any other drug and to offer recovery from this deadly substance has enabled us to push past our mandate of caring for those clients in our charge. We are now truly helping our community at large by offering recovery to those who have failed to quit on their own and who otherwise would likely either suffer effects on their health or death from this addiction.