2010
08.10
By Dominic Bürgi
GRADUATE 2010
IT was in November of last year that I set out from SELF to pursue my education in Communication Arts at the University of De La Salle Canlubang, the school I had attended before being admitted to SELF. It was both an exciting and daunting step for my recovery. The prospect of going back to my old stomping ground stirred up all kinds of emotions and thoughts.
Would I be successful? Would my old friends (positive and negative) still be there? Would I fit in? I had never been the “popular kid” on all levels of schooling. These were but a few of my anxieties, but I steeled my resolve and strode “into the fray”, so to speak.
As I had somewhat expected, things were awkward for me at the beginning. But my expecting it didn’t make it any less hard. I had no friends, a bad reputation stemming from my past, and the uncomfortable feeling of not really knowing my place. It was just as it had been before my rehabilitation. People seemed to look at me with suspicion and what might be described as a mixture of fear and doubt. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: bad reputation, communication arts, kinds of emotions, skeptical eye, stomping ground Category Graduate Testimonies |
2010
08.10
By Anthony Hecker
FAM MEMBER
AFTER our son’s entry into the SELF program in October 2009, we have met with him twice. The first was for a Family Encounter on May 17, and the second for our 1st Family Dialogue on June 23.
When Tony walked into the room for our Family Encounter, I was surprised and pleased. He had a self-confidence and poise that I had never seen before. As he talked with us, he did not have the twitchiness and the ers and ahs that we were accustomed to.
He began by speaking about his feelings and what he had expected in a family, and went on to admit that we had not met many of his expectations. My wife Luz spoke about the family atmosphere that, ironically, she felt she was proud to have established. I began by saying to Tony that we seemed to have three different sets of expectations of what a family would be like: mine, his, and his mother’s.
I admitted that there had been times when I was not as present to him and Luz as he would have wanted. I had many demands upon my time and energy because of my work at St. Louis University. Looking back, I wondered whether Tony would have turned out better with a different set of parents. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: dying of cancer, family atmosphere, family dialogue, filipino child, sacred journey Category FAM Testimonies |
2010
08.10
By Lea Tumbado
Program Director
In 2005 Jay was an active member of the Family Association (FAM)as the guardian of his eldest brother, a dual diagnosed resident at SELF. Three years later, on January 18, 2008, Jay was admitted for drug abuse and excessive gambling, joining his brother in the facility.
Background
Jay is the second child of his mother’s first marriage. When he was seven years old his father passed away while working as a seaman. This loss created numerous changes in his life.
His father’s siblings snatched the insurance money and his family was left only with their house to live in. His mother struggled financially and had to work hard to support the family.
As a student, Jay experienced hardships since his mom had difficulty providing for his necessities. Eventually, he started stealing money from his mother and uncle. When he was inevitably caught stealing by his mother, she physically beat him. Consumed with shame, he vowed that he would cease to care. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: alcohol drugs, eldest brother, insurance money, smoking marijuana, stealing money Category Clinical Case Study |
2010
08.10
Martin R. Infante
Founder & President
FOR several years now SELF has been satisfied, even happy, with one or two admissions every month. This has given rise to a continuing challenge to provide high quality service within a really tight budget.
Well, since the second half of 2009 and continuing into 2010 SELF has finally experienced a turnaround. Admissions have flown off the charts and we have surpassed all our targets. The phones have not stopped ringing as inquiries about our treatment program have been coming in at a rate we have never experienced before.
This sudden surge of calls, many of which have resulted in admissions, is a phenomenon we cannot explain and has caught the Foundation off guard. Taal View House has run out of unused bed capacity and we now have to build more dormitories. It’s a welcome development but nevertheless a stressful challenge.
At this point it is proper to acknowledge SELF’s Director of Admissions, Sockie Averilla, who was first to rise to the challenge as she tirelessly attended to the inquiries, providing them much needed counseling in their most trying moments, and helping them get their loved ones into recovery. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: female population, high quality service, profit foundation, tight budget, welcome development Category Editorials |
2010
02.26
By: Cookie Guerrero
FAM MEMBER
Have you ever felt the desire to say “Stop! I want to get off!” when riding a roller coaster? Of course you never say it out loud because: first, it would be foolish (no one ever gets off the roller coaster); second, it would be too embarrassing (after all, no one forced you to ride).
Life can be a roller coaster ride, and sometimes it is a whopper of a ride! I had been on this up and down ride for many years … ever since my son started to take drugs. I was coasting pretty well when it all began, thinking the ride was a bit bumpy at times, but pretty bearable. Of course I was going to get off at some point and the ride was going to be over … Well not quite.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: bumpy ride, corkscrews, dips, roller coaster ride, whopper Category FAM Testimonies |
