My name is Bill Hadley, and I was brought into Straight at 13 on 12-7-1980. Before I went to straight I was a runaway living at a shelter for kids. We had major family issues, but my dabbling in drugs and alcohol were secondary to those family problems. Straight told my parents just what they wanted to hear: we will make him happy and compliant.
Well, so started a 2 year journey which began with living in a strange home with lots of other boys. I was not allowed to shower alone, and at one foster home they made us go two at a time in the shower. This led to a fun evening at Wayne B.'s house when I threw a kid from Cincinnati (Trey F.)through the shower door, glass shattering everywhere, cutting 3 of us.
I was able to experience what 40 kids in an intake room feels like every morning. Jammed standing in a 10x10 room, gasping for the hint of A/C, while waiting for enough people to show up to group to guard the doors against us leaving.
I ran away. 5 times. Each time I got started over. I was put on peanut butter and bread diet for MONTHS at a time. That was all p'nut butter, all the time for me. I was 14 years old, and growing. Sort of.
I still ran everytime I made a higher phase, and my parents were barred from open meeting for months at a time while I was on 1st phase. In the middle of this period I was told my parents were seperated because of me. Then I was sent back to group. I was not allowed to talk to them. I refused to comply. I was sent to the new Atlanta program. Ruth-anne Newton stood me up in executive rap and made a big joke of it, and how if Atlanta wasn't cold enough to motivate me, Cincinnati was another option. So I left St Pete, and the physical beatings that came to people who did not comply for the mental mind job of total social isolation. In Atlanta I lived for EXTENSIVE periods of time at Ann Crow's house. She would become a director of ATL program soon. I did not see my parents or 12 year old sister for over a year. My parents were totally involved and believed that they were doing the best,latest thing they could for their "addict".
All of my relatives were told I was a "druggie" and would die without treatment. My grandmother came to an open meeting and cried about me being a "junkie". I had smoked pot, drank alcohol and tried to kill myself with Dad's sleeping pills once. That is not a very clinical definition of addict, but I will never forget my grandmother equating me with needle in the arms junkies. She cried so hard, and all I wanted to do was come home, see my sister, and go fish with my dad like we did before our family went nuts.
For a look at straight, go back through old posts and dead threads. A piece of every story is part of me. I, like others could go on for hours. I lived it. Read the christmas at Straight thread. Imagine being 13-15. I did not have my family for 2 holiday seasons. I was 15 on the streets of Atlanta, with no contacts when I asked my parents back in Florida if it could just be over. They flew me home.
Thank you for knowing you'd made a mistake Mom and Dad, and more importantly, making it right.
Bill Hadle
12/80-12/82
St pete & Atlanta programs
[ This Message was edited by: Tampa survivor on 2002-10-21 18:18 ]
[ This Message was edited by: tampa survivor on 2002-12-09 06:05 ]
