My Nonprofit Reviews

I attended MARR “Traditions” South for two weeks. I came in voluntarily. It was a dreadful experience. My wife and I both heard very good reviews about the program. It must have been MARR North because where I was at in MARR South was just a disorganized uncaring unhealthy program. My wife paid for this program, because at this time, being the addict that I am, I ran myself dry. Upon entering though, we were on very good terms. Also, MARR, “helped” me work it out with the courts that I would be staying there and did not need to check in for probation… Anyway, at MARR they base everything on there on so-called "accountability", which means having men tell on other men to get more rewards in the program. Such as visitation out or phone privileges. Which is very understandable. You would not want men using drugs or drinking and such. Instead men would look to find anything, not cleaning, not paying attention in a meeting or such to "move up"... What happened to me in this respect... Well, one counselor told me my wife could visit for a MARR speaker. The other counselors did not know. This upset one of the men here. I was called out on this! Because of counselor miscommunication? I got in trouble? Then my counselor, L. C, who had severe anger and mental issues of his own would lash out at me in group. I overheard him complaining to another counselor about his Chapter 7 and marital problems... He would then, with a heated demeanor and red-face come in and counsel me. Having the nerve - calling me names. This is a guy who is supposed to help me? To bring families together? I was not even allowed to talk to my wife the first weeks and this guy was! I spent sleepless nights worrying about my marriage and what this man was telling my wife! It was terrifying. When I look back, it was like a nightmare. The man in charge of family issues was mentally sicker than me. I may have addiction problems, but this man was very disturbed. As for the residential manager, T. C, he was just a mean guy. I affronted him once when in group he called me out for smoking in the apartment. Which was a lie. I was standing outside on the porch. Apparently he smelled it. Anyway, I said it was untrue. He asked if I was calling him a liar and well, yes, I was. That was it for me. He greeting to me everyday was, “if you don’t like it here, pack your stuff and get out!”. He know by this time I was staying only to please my wife, so he antagonizing me. He also loved to tell me how I was going to relapse. Well, it’s been five months and no relapse. I am grateful to God. As for when the time came to leave, it was a mutual break. Their way of discharging me was putting all of my stuff in a box and dropping me off at a Barnes and Noble. My wife had my Cell Phone. By the grace of God, I leaked it to one of the ¾ men that I would be there. Out of his kindness, he drove me too a sober living community. From there, I continued real recovery. My wife did not understand nor believe the horror that this place was for me. The counselors were selfish and in many ways cruel. Again, maybe MARR north is totally different. As for the men here… Some want recovery, some don’t care. Most are good guys just wanting to get by. They follow all of the rules and don’t buck. They tell the counselors what they want to hear even when it’s not true. As for my probation, when I left, L. C, wrote a scathing letter to my officer about me. Saying I needed higher care and that I was mentally ill… I was in only for a DUI. He really wanted to hurt me. I highly recommend finding another recovery center where there are caring people. Thank you for reading. This is all true – this is no “addict behavior” 