Introduction

America’s Most Controversial Drug Rehab.

A small group of parents from an Orlando, Florida based drug rehab founded Straight, Inc. in April 1976. Its first branch was opened in St. Petersburg, Florida. Straight, Inc. was designed to treat adolescent youth from 12-22 years of age for Chemical Dependency. Over several years, Straight, Inc. opened other branches in other major cities across America, including Orlando, Cincinnati, Southern California, Plymouth, Atlanta, Washington D.C., Virginia Beach, Springfield, Dallas, Boston, & Sarasota.

Straight, Inc. theorized that peer pressure got kids on drugs and peer pressure will get kids off drugs. Utilizing professional and Para-professional staff, the group was led in several rap sessions each day. Clients were expected to talk about their past drug use and how it effected their lives, family, friendships, school and trouble with the law. The group of clients held each other accountable for their actions and gave support to each other throughout their treatment. The program utilized a condensed 7-step version of AA’s twelve-step program.

The 5 Phases of Straight

First Phase- A client is classified as a Newcomer. A Newcomer initially loses a lot of things in the first several weeks. They are prohibited from reading, watching TV, sending or receiving mail, making or receiving phone calls, and listening to the radio. Contact with the family is limited to five-minute "talks" which are earned by the Newcomer up to two days a week. The Newcomer has even lost responsibility over him/her self. They are held on to and led by the belt loop by Oldcomer’s, clients who are further along in their program. Newcomers are watched twenty-four hours a day. Their clothes and personal items, right down to their deodorant, are searched for drugs and paraphernalia, or anything that may be used to get high or harm themselves.

On First Phase Newcomers stay in the homes of Oldcomer’s and are a part of their family. This exposes them to family life in a home without drugs/alcohol. The Oldcomer’s become the Newcomers friend and confidant. They help them learn the steps of the program and how to write Moral Inventories, which are required to be written daily from their third day.
First Phase is spent talking about SELF and learning how to share their feelings that they have for their past. It is during this time that they learn the rules of the program and other aspects of being a client in Straight, Inc. First Phase is a minimum of 14 days long, although most clients will spend considerably more time on this phase. The Client must earn his way to Second Phase, when they can go home.

Second Phase- Second Phase starts out at that exciting moment when a Clients goes home to his/her family. In cases where the client lives outside the treatment area, he/she will remain in a Foster home with another client. The major goal for second phase is working on FAMILY relationships. The client can now wear a belt and has responsibilities over other Newcomers and work around the building. Reading is limited to the Bible. Phone calls are limited to "Dime Therapy" in which one can call another client for help or advice. At some point, Staff will conduct an inspection of the home to ensure that Newcomers can be kept safely. All Oldcomer’s are required to care for Newcomers at some point in their program. This is done at the discretion of Staff. There is no minimum time frame for Second Phase.

Third Phase- The Client on third phase now works on ACHEIVEMENT at school or work, while continuing to work on SELF, and FAMILY. The client returns to the building after school or work. In this important phase, the client faces outside peer pressure for the first time since entering the program. The client can now wear a watch, watch TV, listen to the radio, and read. Phone calls and mail restrictions still apply. There is no minimum time spent on third phase.

Fourth Phase- During this phase, the client begins a staged withdraw from active involvement in the program. He/She comes to the building four days a week, after school or work. Fourth Phaser’s sit in a specially designated area in the group. Fourth Phaser’s may now make and receive phone calls and send and receive mail. The major goal for fourth phase is to learn constructive use of LEISURE TIME and to develop healthy, quality peer FRIENDSHIPS. Fourth Phase lasts a minimum of 90 days.

Fifth Phase- During the fifth and final active phase of treatment, the Client is only in the building three days a week. He/She now concentrates on SERVICE to others and social responsibility and prepares for 7th Stepping. Fifth Phaser’s are part of the chain of command and are responsible for the Group. Fifth Phaser’s take requests from other clients in the group and pass them on to the higher levels of Staff and ensure that the request is answered in a timely manner. Fifth Phaser’s stand along the side the group as an example and watch over the other clients in the program. A client remains on fifth phase for at least 60 days and can only be 7th Stepped by the Director of the program.

7th Stepping (Graduation) The client is now out of the active aspect of the program. A 7th Stepper is required to attend after care meetings twice a week for the first three months and one day a week for the final 3 months. A Client who lives out of state is only required to attend 1 after care meeting a month for six months. A 7th Stepper is still required to write daily Moral Inventories until the six months of after care treatment is completed. Dating is still prohibited until the six months has ended.

The 7 Steps

1) Admit I am powerless over drugs and come to believe that a power greater than myself can restore me to sanity.

2) Make a decision to turn my will and life over to the care of God, as I understand Him.

3) Make a searching and fearless moral inventory of myself daily.

4) Admit to God, myself, and another human being the exact nature of my wrongs immediately.

5) Make direct amends to such people wherever possible except when to do so would injury them, myself, or others.

6) Seek through prayer and meditation to improve my conscious contact with God, as I understand Him, praying only for the knowledge of His will for me and the power to carry that out.

7) Having received the gift of awareness, I will practice these principals in all my daily affairs and carry the message to all I can help.


The Three Signs

Think, Think, Think

First Things First

Easy Does It

Serenity Prayer
God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change
The Courage to change the things I can
And the Wisdom to know the difference

The Five Criteria

Is it based on objective reality?

Is it goal producing?

Does it keep me out of conflict with myself or others?

Does it make me act and feel the way I need?

Does it protect my life?

In the following chapters you will enter a world known by few. Please keep in mind that I do not profess to be a writer. The story line throughout the book may seem inconsistent and choppy. This is a result of a great deal of time having elapsed. The experience is told from information I retrieved from my Moral Inventories, and actual documents obtained from a variety of branches of Straight, Incorporated. The names used in this book are fictional.