JOHN
This is the story of a 55 year old man that worked the majority of
is life as a truck driver. After a difficult divorce, John found himself
depressed and looked to alcohol for comforting. After 10 long years
of alcohol use, John had lost his house, contact with his family,
and - most importantly - his self esteem. John came to the CHIP Center
with only a few personal items. Through counseling and hard work in
the programs offered by the CHIP Center, John found stable employment
and began to gain back his self dignity. He moved into transitional
housing and reestablished contact with his family. John's son graduated
with his doctorate and then, on a visit to see his dad, helped him
purchase a permanent home. Now, two years later, John is doing well
and even donating to CHIP.
JANET
This is the story of a 52 year
old woman who was a nurse at local hospitals for over 15 years. When
Janet came to the CHIP Center, she had just spent the past two weeks
in an apartment without electricity. Janet suffered from anxiety and
had been disconnected from her family for at least 5 years. She was
emotionally overwhelmed with her situation and unable to look at anyone
without crying. After a safe and warm night's rest, Janet was able
to "get herself together" enough to begin looking for work. She denied
assistance for her mental health issues. Within six weeks, Janet moved
into an efficiency apartment. One year later, Janet returned to the
CHIP Center. She again moved after a short time - still refusing mental
health assistance. Just 2 weeks after moving out, Janet was again
in a distressed emotional state. She lost her job and was drinking
heavily. She came to the CHIP Center and requested assistance again
- but this time was ready to receive mental health counseling. Janet
followed through with her counseling sessions and worked full time
at a new job. Janet continues to work each day on setting boundaries
with others and on choices that are best for her.
RON
This story is about a 47 year old man who came to the CHIP Center
even though he had full time employment. He was a crack cocaine and
alcohol addict and was paying restitution for worthless checks he'd
written. Due to these problems, Ron had lost his home and driver's
license. He had also spent some time in prison. Through the programs
and counseling offered at the CHIP Center, Ron has been able to maintain
full time employment while paying off all restitution. He has been
"clean and sober" for over a year. Ron now lives in a rental apartment
which he shares with a roommate. Ron is also on the CHIP Board of
Directors as a client representative and sometimes fills in for workers
at the CHIP Center.
