Troubled teens. An interview series.
Over the next few months 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. His name is Jonathon (JC)–name published with permission.
**What was the challenge you were facing before you went to Triumph?
Before I went to Triumph, I had a big problem with anger, fighting, disobedience, but most of all, drugs. I was a marijuana and methamphetamine addict.
**What was your first impression when you got to Triumph?
When I first arrived at Triumph I wasn’t sure what to think. I know that I didn’t like it after being taken through all of the rules.
**What was your attitude like when you got there?
My attitude was bitter, no care, and above all stand offish. I didn’t want to be there, and I did not like the staff or most of the other kids at first. I didn’t really understand why I was there simply because I didn’t think that I had a drug problem.
Growing up, my mother was married and divorced more than normal and moved my brothers and me around a lot. She never really seemed to care when or if I came home so I was pretty use to just doing what I wanted when I wanted how I wanted to do it. When I started with drugs at the age of 10, I was just having fun, and that’s all I ever saw it as.
**Were you upset with your parents for sending you there or did you understand why?
Back when I was in Triumph there wasn’t such a thing as a private kid [someone sent by their parents and not by the state]. Every one of us had been sent there by the juvenile court systems. I had many drug charges piling up on me, and when I had finally stopped trying to run and decided to turn myself in to the courts, they had sent me to Farmington bay detention center. While in “lockup” I was sent over to their O&A program. While in observation and assessment, they had come to the decision I need to go to an inpatient rehab facility for my drug use. My case manager had found Triumph and he was the one who had sent me there.
**How long did you think you would be there?
I didn’t think that I was going to be at Triumph very long, at least I wasn’t planning on it. After I had been there for about 2 months, I had made a plan to run with another youth. It didn’t happen because that other youth ended up holding us both accountable in a PPC group. When that happened I realized that I might actually be there for awhile.
**How long did you actually end up staying?
I ended up being there from August 08 to September of 09.
**What was your LEAST favorite part about being in treatment?
I didn’t really have a least favorite part of treatment. The longer I was there the more I grew to like everything about treatment. But if there was one thing that I struggled with until the day I graduated it would have to have been therapy. I have never been very good at talking to anyone about my problems or sharing what I had on my mind if it was concerning my personal life.
**Is there a specific event, experience, or story that had a significant impact on you while you were at Triumph?
I don’t have any specific experiences that had a huge impact on me from the program simply because the entire program left a huge impact on my life. I have tons of stories, experiences, and events that I could share.
**What impressed you the most about Triumph? Or what do you think might make it different from other treatment programs?
Triumph had become my home because I had never really had a home. But there I was taken care of. I had friends, a warm place to sleep every night, and food to eat every day. That being said, I treated it like my home. I had never been to any other treatment programs so I couldn’t tell you how it was different. But I can tell you that the thing that impressed me most was how involved everything was. All the houses would get together to play sports and have parties. Every holiday was celebrated together one way or another, and the extreme amount of discipline. You weren’t very likely to get away with anything and if you did it wasn’t for very long.
**If you could give one piece of advice to someone currently in treatment, what would it be?
If I could give a piece of advice to someone currently in the program, it would be: Really take it all in and use what you can and do your vest to use what you think you can’t. Not everything that the program tries to teach will make sense or seem like it won’t apply to you in the rest of your life. But speaking from experience, everything that program has to teach has been carefully and strategically done by a group of very good people who just want to help troubled kids. Everything that I had learned in Triumph has come into use in life in the real world at least a dozen times each. The things that they tried to teach and I just didn’t pick up for whatever reason that maybe would have come into use many times–I have looked back and wished I would have practiced those things in past situations.
When you graduate and move on with your life, this will be an experience that you should never forget, and when you are starting to fall back into old habits, because you will, just call someone from the program and ask for guidance. Or better yet, don’t lost contact with the ones who positively influenced you most from the program, and they will help you stay on track to making your future as bright as possible.
That’s why they are where they are, because they want to help and they are good at it.
**If you could give ONE piece of advice to parents who have a teen that is struggling with something big, what would it be?
I know it may be hard to rebuild a foundation for your child who is coming home. But you need to do it, and before they come home. We all make our own choices and we all have control over our actions. But to be frank, a kid will only act the way that they are raised. Obviously your child was in the program so you could have used some help along the way with learning different methods to teach your kids right from wrong. I’m not blaming my mother for my past, but I can say that if she would have cared more or at least acted out how much she did care by not letting me go wherever I wanted when I wanted when I was a little kid, or letting me pick my own friends on my own, or putting down rules for me and MAKING me follow them or facing consequences, I don’t think that I would have ever ended up there.
I knew that my mom wasn’t going to stick to the program, I was only 15 when I graduated. I still needed a parent, rules, consequences, and a daily routine not chosen by me. So I decided to go into independent living through Triumphs proctor care program after I graduated. Not all kids are as serious as I was when leaving the facilities–they see it as leaving the program–but that’s one of the most important things that they don’t realize. They are not leaving the program, only the house where it was created.
It is up to you to adopt the program and keep your child on the path Triumph redirected them on for you.
**What is one thing that has stuck with you since leaving Triumph?
There are many things that made a huge impact on me from the program, and honestly I can’t pick a certain one.
**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?
Going to Triumph was the best thing for me and it really did redirect my life in the best way. I’m 100% sure that if I had not been sent to Triumph I would have been dead by now either by drugs, violence, or my own depression.
Because of Triumph, I now have two beautiful daughters, I live to the fullest every day. There isn’t a place that will not hire me simply because of the work ethic, honesty, and progressional attitude that I developed from the program.
Thanks so much Jonathon! So much hope from your example.
