NPORTC Magazine

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B obby Harper has been a resident of one of the two houses at New Place of Recovery for three months. Usually, it’s two men to a room, but for now, he has a room to himself. “It’s nice—I like peace and quiet.” Bobby came to New Place of Recovery for two reasons. “I came to the programbecause, for one, Iwashomeless; I had nowhere to go. At the last minute, I decided to try to find a home, so I came here. And the other reason is I was taking prescription pills out on the streets.” He was using opiates for twelve years. “I started when I was twenty years old, having been around the wrong associates.” He started taking pills just to do what they were doing and to fit in with the crowd. Along with the pills, that crowd is no longer a part of his life. “I let them go. It wasn’t hard; it was very easy for me. I said enough is enough. I'm done with them.” He has new friends now—at New Place of Recovery. “They’re like my family here. Everybody helps everybody out. We don't judge the next person. Everybody has an addiction problem; that's why we're here in the program.” Bobby shareswhat it was likewhen he first arrived. “When I got here, they put me on medication. I went to go see a doctor.” He was given suboxone strips to lessen the opiate withdrawal symptoms. Even then, he experienced nausea. He said it took two and a half months for the withdrawal symptoms

to clear. In the meantime, he has been progressing through the program. He finished the first stage, twenty-eight days clean, and is in the second stage now—IOP. He attends group meetings. “It's pretty good; it's working for me. I’ve got three more months, and then I graduate from IOP to OP.” And Bobby is feeling the change. “I'm doing new things that I wasn't doing out in the streets.” One big step— he’s looking for employment. He can even see the change. “At first, I looked in the mirror and saw a no-good person. I had a dark cloud,

a dark shadow over my back. I look in the mirror now, and I'm a better looking man. I lost a lot of weight when I was out on the streets, and since I've been

here, I eat a lot now, I'm gaining more weight, and I look much better. My color’s coming

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