|
Samuel felt that most of his adult life had been a waste, with no goals or sense of direction. He was born with Attention Deficit Disorder and, although medicated as a child, he stopped the medication in his early teens. It was at that time that he began to set patterns of failure. Because of his disability, he found it difficult, if not impossible, to maintain any kind of steady and meaningful employment or to establish and continue any type of close relationship. He tried self medicating with alcohol and drugs but all that ever got him was in trouble that would follow him in the form of a criminal record for the rest of his life.
It wasn't until he was introduced to MRS that his life began to change. He was told that A.D.D. was considered a legitimate disability and that he could receive training for a career.
After some initial testing and interviewing , Sam was enrolled at Michigan Career and Technical Institute (MCTI) in Plainwell. He had gone through a substance abuse treatment program prior to enrollment, and was subject to random testing while a student at the school. Over the next 2 years Sam remained clean and sober, did well in classes, got involved in the student government, and other extracurricular activities, was a student employee, and graduated with an honors award. After 7 months of job seeking, he was asked to return to the school as a part time employee to give tours and share his experiences as a student. He also utilized the school's job placement services during that time and, after 3 months, found a job within the field that he trained in, where he now works as a Project Administrator. Because of the opportunities and assistance MRS gave Sam, he now has nearly 4 years of sobriety, a career that he loves and that is challenging and rewarding, and best of all, Sam has his family and self worth back.
|
Printer Friendly
Text Version
Twitter
Facebook
Yahoo
Google
Digg
reddit
Newsvine
StumbleUpon
Bookmark
Email Page
