So when the idea was first suggested that Tom's charges be referred to Drug Court, both the prosecutor and I, vehemently resisted. There was no way we wanted a "thug" or "kingpin" in our program. But, the decision to allow a child in is a team decision. We argued. When the vote was taken he was admitted. And this thug soon proved us wrong. He was one of the success stories.
But this makes it sound too easy. It was not easy for him. One of the things the kids have to do in the program is change their lifestyle. This means giving up old networks of drug-using friends. For Tom it meant giving up his leadership role stepping down from being "king" of the little group of criminals he ran. In staffing one week we were told that at treatment he was jumped in the lavatory by some of his "boys." You see they did not like the fact that their leader was trying to go straight. And they punished him for it.
Yet I did not get the full impact until he appeared before me in court with his face torn up and his eyes blackened. My heart melted. For the first time I saw the person and not the thug. For the first time I realized that he was for real and that he sincerely wanted to change his life. Then I was afraid for him because I was certain that the traumatic effect of this beating would lead to relapse and renewed drug use. But here again I was wrong. He did not relapse. The beating he took only seemed to make him stronger. At graduation we shared our true feelings.
It pierces your heart to see young people battle the disease of addiction, against such great odds, and win. When they graduate we give them a plaque that says, "You are a Miracle."
Redemption: You Are a Miracle
The "You are a miracle," plaque was a tradition I inherited. But during my decade, I gradually began to see that the key to successful completion was not the program. It was the internal fortitude of the child. Yes, the program enabled a process of redemption. And what was redeemed was the inner person. Yet not as effect, but as cause.
Quakers and the Inward Light
The Quakers have played a unique role in American history. This is true in two ways: The Quakers were abolitionists who founded the American Anti-Slavery movement. And the Quakers were critical operatives in the American Woman Suffrage movement. They were motivated by the belief: that every single human being has an inward light, which is evidence of the Divine presence. And this is why you cannot enslave blacks and this is why women deserve equality.
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