Final Surrender No Turning Back proved to be the shelter in a storm that Preston Merritt had been looking for. After completing 35 days of inpatient treatment, he moved into transitional housing for six months in a residence with five other recovering clients. “Coming from New York in 2008, I didn’t know anybodyin Baltimore,” says Merritt. “No Turning Back was my first opportunity to meet some people who were doing something positive. They were different from other transitional housing places I had experienced, in that they really monitor you. And it is not just the staff.” Key to the experience was plenty of interaction with fellow residents, which “really helped me, not just in staying away from drugs but in improving my attitudes and behaviors,” Merritt says. “Living so closely with people kind of forces you to interact with each other. You can talk about what you are going through and any
issue you might have in there. And people really stay on top of each other. It’s not just the
staff. The clients are programmed to automatically monitor each other.”
He still returns unofficially to drop in on support groups at his former residence. “When I first left, I would go back at least once a week to make one or two group meetings. (No Turning Back) alumni are always welcome to come back and talk to counselors. They don’t cut the cord, which is a big help in maintaining sobriety,” says Merritt. For the past three years, Preston has been working part time as a marketing specialist at No Turning Back. A major part of his job is visiting jails, hospitals and treatment facilities “educating people as to what resources are available to them out there. A lot of people in that situation don’t know.”
The Power Of Your Story In retrospect, Merritt’s years of running the streets in his previous life are not always pleasant to look back on. But the experience has certainly helped Merritt understand and help clients. “We don’t feel that it’s necessary for counselors to have a personal drug history to help, but we’ve found that some clients are more receptive to counselors who have a history.”
What would Preston Merritt tell other addicts or alcoholics in need of recovery?
“I’d say, ‘You’ve tried everything else. So, why not try to look at (recovery) as a whole new high?’ A lot of people who have been using for so many years really lose touch with reality and what it is to actually feel, because one thing drugs do is cover up feelings. When you get clean, you start to feel again.”
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