Over the next few weeks we’ll be posting an interview series from some of the boys who have been through the Triumph program as well as some of their parents. The hope is to show what impact getting treatment can have for troubled teens as well as provide some hope and encouragement for the boys and their parents who are looking for help and hope for the future.
Today’s interview is from a boy who went through the Triumph program.
**What was the challenge you were facing before you went to Triumph (why did your parents send you there)?
I was sent by the judge of the 2nd district court in Ogden Utah to treatment. I was a thief and an addict. I often stayed out all night burglarizing vehicles, houses, and sheds. I had all the worst friends including many gang members from both Ogden Trece, and Westside Crypts. I never went to school and was expelled from Roy High School in Roy Utah. I didn’t have just one challenge, I had a myriad of challenges on a broad spectrum. I’m sure I could have overcome just one problem but it simply was not the case. The horrible things began to stack up around me and I decided to escape. In my escape (unbeknownst to me) I was jumping from the frying pan and into the fire, developing a whole new set of circumstances and whole new bag of problems, solidifying my addiction to substance and carving a super freeway of neural networks to the pleasure centers in my brain.
**What was your FIRST impression when you got to Triumph
I was sent to triumph at their Toquerville location in Southern Utah. My first impression was that I was sober and I did not like it.
**What was your attitude like when you got there?
My attitude was that of one who wanted to escape.
**How long did you think you would be there?
I thought I would be in Triumph for six months
**How long did you actually end up staying?
I lived in the group home for nine months.
**Is there a specific event, experience, or story that had a significant impact on you while you were at Triumph?
I had a recurring dream for about a decade after I left triumph. The dream was of an ancient temple I had found underground while hiking. Throughout the years I began to renovate the temple, adding to it and making it beautiful again. Many years later I went hiking and found the place that I had been dreaming about all this time. It was a place I had gone backpacking when I was in Triumph.
**If you could give ONE piece of advice to someone currently in treatment, what would it be?
Vaya con dios.
**If you could give ONE piece of advice to parents who have a teen that is struggling with something big, what would it be?
Don’t be such a hard ass about EVERYTHING. Pick your battles.
**What is one thing that has stuck with you since leaving Triumph?
For me, it was to face my problems head on. Don’t run. I now have healthy ways to escape.
**If you had to sum up what your experience was like in treatment, what would you say? Do you think it changed the trajectory of your life? Where do you think you’d be if you hadn’t gone to Triumph? Or do you think you would have been ok without it?
Triumph definitely helped but it was not my saving grace. The sober time was a blessing and I was able to be a teenager again, if only for a short time. I did well only for a while after leaving Triumph. I ended up succumbing once again to drug abuse. Now, I have been clean and sober (for they are two very different things) for almost four years. I now hold two bachelors degrees, one in Psychology and one in Criminal Justice. I will attend a masters program in Clinical Psychology this coming fall.
