Ask me about staying in a Salvation Army adult rehabilitation center

I was in a Salvation Army adult rehabilitation center last year for about 6 weeks. Alcoholism was the main reason I was there but I also had a smattering of opiates here and there (never did heroin, never shot up). It’s a six-month program, but I had to leave early because I was suicidal. My biggest problem wasn’t necessarily alcohol; my bipolar disorder and immense anxiety disorder was more or less what lead me to alcoholism. It’s a highly regimented, “Christian” system where you are expected to perform “work therapy” for 40 hours a week. It’s free to live there although you’re really working to keep a roof over your head.

The way the program works is a phase system, where you would start out in phase one (ending in phase four) and with each phase-up you received more privileges. The ARC (adult rehab center) had 60 beds, which were almost full for the entire time I was there. When you first come in, you are in a room with 4 other guys. You have an enormous locker and nightstand to store your clothes and whatever else in. Yes, snoring was a problem at night to the point where the staff had to make designated snoring rooms, where they tried to group all of the loudest snorers so that other people could sleep at night.

Most of the people there were there for more “serious” drugs, but a drug is a drug is a drug. Some people were court-ordered to be there and you could usually be able to pick them out- getting sentenced to a 6-month Christian-based rehabilitation program wasn’t exactly a field day for them, although it beats jail. I went because I had literally nowhere else to go, and being agnostic (on a good day), it was very difficult for me.

Drug testing was done when you first came in and there were random tests as well. After your first month there, you received one 24-hour pass, where you could leave the property for a full 24 hours. When you returned from you pass, they would drug-test you immediately. Every time you came back from going off the property you also got breathalized. You fail a test or if you’ve been drinking, you’re gone. Period.

Once a week I would meet with a “spiritual counselor” who would go over the workbooks I had to fill out (mostly focusing on recovery through Christ). I imagine a lot of what I wrote in those books offended him, but I wasn’t going to cop out and pretend how righteous I was, although a lot of the men in the program did.

For the most part, the men (all-male facility) in there were there to help each other out. There always seemed to be at least some degree of racial tension between the white guys and the dark guys, and every once in awhile it erupted into shouting matches but never elevated into fistfights.

The first two weeks there, you are on “P.R.T.”, personal reflection time. You are not allowed off the property and have no phone access. This really is a nightmare- they kick your outside support group out from under you and expect you to welcome theirs with open arms. I could send and receive mail, however, so I spent a lot of the free time I had writing. If you screwed up, you would also be put back on PRT for a short period of time- usually a couple days, but some guys got a week for more serious offenses (like skipping chapel service). We could also have an iPod or Walkman, so I loaded my iPod up before I went in- it was permitted only in the “dorm” area or outside.

During the evenings, classes were held which were just glorified Bible studies. I was never taught any coping mechanisms aside from “pray” and “read the Bible.” I am not exaggerating on that account. Wednesday night we had in-house Chapel, where we would sing and hear a short message. Sundays were the worst- we had to dress in church clothes (most of the clothes the guys wore came from the back room, where they had a huge supply of donated clothes that were acceptable for church attire). We had a chapel service at on site, and then we were transported across town to another Salvation Army where we heard another service. By the time church and lunch were over, it was already 1 o’clock, if not later.

For about the first month there, you are in the Sorting Room, where, you guessed it, we separated the donations into usable or rag-out. Our daily goal was to process 10,500 articles of clothing, and the amount of downright nasty stuff we got was incredible- ripped up clothes, skidmarked pants, period-blood soaked panties. None of it was washed before we went through it. The rag-out went into separate bins to be sold overseas.

After my first month there, I landed a job in the kitchen, which was about the best place to work- we could eat whatever we wanted while we were back there working, so I had ready access to ice cream and Gatorade. Coffee was also free, which was great for my gallon or so of it that I drank each day.

Smoking was only permitted outside as was dip, snuff, and snus. Many people, myself included, used snus inside around the clock. There were three breaks during the workday where snacks were served in the “canteen” (a rec room with a TV, ping-pong, air hockey, and pool table) and you could go out and smoke.

Every Friday, you get a “gratuity” which starts off at $3, and increases a dollar per week until you hit $20, where it stayed for the remainder of the time until you “graduated.” This money was either spent in the canteen, where you could order things like burgers and grilled cheese sandwiches.

This isn’t a program that I would recommend if you have the means and the need to get into a better facility. However, I can say that it kept me sober, and I’ve been sober now for 101 days, the longest I’ve ever gone since I started drinking in 2000 at the age of 18.

Ask away, I’m an open book on my psych problems, alcoholism, and other drug use.