1340 S 4th Avenue, Yuma AZ 85364 928.261.8668

117 E 2nd Street, Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520.413.9941

December 2016/January 2017 First Edition, Volume 3

Here is a Gem that needs little intro-duction…. Lemme break it down for you… Hollie’s true title is Community En-gagement Specialist. Her name is Hollie Mellor. She lives with her sig-nificant other and her bearded dragon; she has a 10 year old son also. Her bearded dragon allows her to spend time with us making a dif-ference one person at a time. And forget it gentlemen, one of her best friends is her significant other. She

specializes in allowing the commu-nity the benefits available and the perks of being in a member’s only club. She is coming up on her 5 year recovery mark. Don’t judge but she shares it with other historical marks on the same date. I asked her to tell me a little about her life before landing here. Early on she worked with children as a bus aid in the school district. She gained some experience in working in a shelter for domestic violence for abused women. It’s looking like this way of life chose her long before it chose it. She has learned her pas-sions are what she does. She has been employed with Transitional Liv-ing Center Recovery since December 2012. She started as a Peer Support Specialist and gained her title as Community Engagement Specialist October 2015. Hollie got out of treat-ment June of 2012 and shortly after became a member of team turtle. Even during the worst times we at

Gosh Gollie………. Here comes Miss Hollie……..

TLCR ever faced as a whole, she was offered employment elsewhere. She stuck it out and became a true be-liever of, “till the end”. I asked her what she does for her recovery. She said that she surrounds herself in the safety net of people in recovery. She sometimes hits a meeting during the week. Other than that she likes to relax and spend time with her son. By being a part of our team she is recognized as a person and is allowed to have a life for her-self also. When asked why she is never at her desk, she replied that she feels a loss of connection with the members. For those of who don’t know her, should take a moment to introduce yourself. If not you will be missing out. Also try getting involved with her presentations that she holds. I have been blessed to be a part of this team. Miss Hollie lives by example and it has been an honor knowing her. Written by: Tim C

Yuma’s Turtle Bay Café Salad Bar

I would like to start off with explaining how the cafe and the Job Tech program have been crucial to my success and also played a fundamen-tal part in my recovery. With that I strongly urge those indi-viduals who are seeking guid-ance and the push in the right direction to participate and volunteer in the Turtle Bay Cafe program. The salad bar is there for those who are seek-ing a healthy alternative to

the regular American diet. It has a variety of healthy and delicious entries. Just to name a few different salads like Chicken and Bow Tie, Jell-O's, Puddings, Fruits, Vegetables and different as-sortments of toppings to per-sonalize your salad. There is one member from the recent group of graduates who had the responsibility of setting up the salad bar on a daily basis. Not only in my opinion

she did an excellent job, so for that I give Kandice a big Kudos. To the best of my knowledge, between the two T.L.C.R.’s ,Yuma’s Turtle Bay Cafe is the only one that has a salad bar. There has already been new changes to improve the salad bar and more are yet to come. The new changes will depend solely on the season which will deter-mine the layout of the salad bar. There is also a new

change that will be imple-

mented on the cafe’s menu

which will be called Manager’s

Choice. - Alberto L.

On Friday December 23rd, 2016 one of our members who played Santa, thank

you Steve!!! Jesus our cen-ter director and our elves played by Skyler, Linda and James and other helpers like Andrew and myself, went around to three dif-ferent Yuma daycares and handed out presents to some very excited chil-dren. Some of the younger kids cried when they saw Santa, some ran up to him and hugged him. Some of

them ran up to Skyler and hugged her. It was a great time for all the children and the adults as well. It was very heartwarming at the last daycare when Santa received homemade cards from all of the chil-dren there. It was a great way to give back to the community that we all love so much. Merry Christmas Yuma!!!!! -Shannon C.

A Santa Trip to Three Yuma Daycares

“Be the

reason

someone

smiles

today”

Page 2 Turtle Times

I think just about everyone knows Glenda, the turtle van driver M-F all day. She has been around the cen-ter for 13 years since Rick first opened the center. She’s been employed at TLCR for past 2 years doing the transport. Tiffany H. had a chance to ask Glenda a few questions about her

life here at TLCR. Q. If there was one thing that you could do at TLCR that you haven’t done already, what would it be? A. Peer support I am certified but I haven’t switched over yet. Q. Would you ever con-sider getting another job in another field down the road? A. No I am giving

Yuma’s TLCR Driver

back what I was given over the years. Q. What would you change about the transportation job at TLCR if you could? A. Communi-cation. -Tiffany H.

The Electric Light Parade was a big event this year. TLCR entered the parade

which had a western theme to it. Kim and Alex worked hard on getting all the lights on the trailer, which Marcie and her hus-band generously loaned the trailer to TLCR to use once again. Thank you all for your contributions to getting the trailer and van ready for the parade. The two who represented the

Yuma Electric Light Parade 2017

turtles in the parade were super AWESOME, and that was Joseph and Tiffany. Thanks to everyone in-volved. Jesus rode his mo-torcycle in the parade and looked great and Kim said it was a great experience. Thanks to everyone in-volved.

-Shannon C.

office that she couldn’t ask for anything more” Ana’s new year resolution is to be less ocd and enjoy her life”- Ana you are Super Awe-some!!!! All the members and all the staff thank you for all your hard work.

The next fantastic woman I will tell you about is Cecilia. She is a sweetheart. She has been a part of the TLCR family since August 8th, 2016. She has years of of-fice experience and she is a certified nursing assistant. Her favorite part of the job is knowing that she has an extended family, even though at times this job is stressful it is worth it be-cause she loves what she does. She says she wouldn’t change anything about her job because it’s such an amazing place to work. It is so motivating to see mem-bers succeed in their recov-ery. TLCR is very blessed to have her on their team. Her job duties include many of the same things as Ana’s and they work together well as a team. Cecilia”s new year's resolution is to be healthy and our new year's resolution is to keep these ladies around for a very long time.

The Last but not least mag-nificent woman to introduce to you is Vicky A. and she has been here for a year and two months and before she arrived at TLCR, CHA was lucky enough to have

her for three years as a clini-cal assessor. I asked Vicky what is it that she does at TLCR, and she told me that she is the Quality Manage-ment Director. Of course I asked what that position entails and she explained that she oversees the Yuma and Casa Grande TLCR Cen-ters to make sure all of the policy and procedures are being followed. She also makes sure all the treat-ment plans are up to date and works with Cenpatico to do all the au-dits. She also runs reports to make sure we are meeting our contracts. I asked her what she saw in her future at TLCR, she said she plans to retire from here one day. What do you see happening at TLCR in the next few years, Vicky stated that she sees the center getting stronger and continues to see great things for our members. What is your New Year's Resolution, to be more patient. I asked Vicky would she like to add any-thing and she said that TLCR has shown me that people helping people is a powerful tool in motivating people to move forward in their life. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me, all of you great women TLCR is very blessed to have all three of you as part of our team I hope you are all around for many years to come.

- Shannon C.

Women Behind the Scenes at Yuma TLCR

Page 3 Turtle Times

We have 3 beautiful women here at TLCR who are rarely seen but TLCR could not operate without them. The first lady I will introduce you to is Ana Z. on January 25th, 2017 she celebrated her one year anniversary at TLCR. Before coming to TLCR she was at CHA for 6 years as a Children’s Case Manager. She was also a volunteer at her children’s school for years when they were young. Working at TLCR was a positive change of careers for her. Her job duties in-clude reviewing incoming referrals for members want-ing to become active mem-bers of TLCR and TBC. She also creates their rental spreadsheet and calculates their rental amount if they are getting housing. She also keeps records of all the “Request for funds” And a huge part of her job is to keep communication open with all of the ICCA case managers to insure we re-ceive all updated docu-ments. Those are Ana’s many duties. I asked her if she would change anything about her job and she said, “no because they all get along so well in the back

“If you are

always

trying to be

normal, You

will never

know how

amazing you

can be”

“Never except

anything less

than you

deserve.

Remember you

teach people

how to treat

you”

Page 4 Turtle Times

delicious. The 931 house won for the best tasting turkey and the 944 house won with the help from Lori for best tasting ham!!! Congratulations to the winners enjoy your pizza party!!! As for all the food everyone made it was so fantastic no one went home hungry that is for sure. A big thank you to all of the houses for cooking all the food that everyone enjoyed and to all the staff who served and brought food as well. Steve A.k.a SANTA thank you once again the kids absolutely loved to see you and tell you what they wanted for

Even though our dinner was at lunch time it was really dinner for most of us. The majority of people who came to the TLCR Christmas Eve Dinner like myself had only this one dinner for Christmas and it was enough that is for sure. We had at least 7 turkeys and 7 hams maybe even more, they were all

Christmas. Jesus our cen-ter manager was involved in Friday’s daycare events and for Saturday’s events as well. From the grocery shopping to taking Santa out to the community to give out toys Jesus was there. Thank you for doing such a great job!!!! Van-ecia, Vicki, Kim, Sal, and Alex for wrapping a ton of presents and for decorat-ing the center. Overall it was a great turnout for all involved. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Everyone at TLCR!!!!! -Shannon C.

Yuma’s Christmas Eve Dinner at TLCR

Dear Addiction, For years you took love, kindness, understanding, and reality from me. You pretended to be my friend, my sole companion. You lied to me. You de-stroyed my self esteem, my dreams, my relationships. As a child I dreamed of be-ing a hero, a rock star, a great man, and you crushed those dreams. Every time I tried to leave you, you kidnapped me threw me in chains and shackles and en-slaved me. What have I ever done to you to deserve such misery? I hate you, you are the antichrist. As I push you further away from your miserable existence, I’m happier, comfortable, confident, knowing my God, my Lord and Savior will lead me to greener pastures. You will never take me alive again. This time I am a strong sol-dier of God, I will fight you and I will win. You no longer own me. I am a free man today. Because you dragged me though it, I can stand a better man today that I used to be. I’m saying goodbye for the last time and the stronger you think you’re getting I am just that much stronger than you. I will die with my boots on. Forever your enemy, Chris F.

Duane L. and Aaron W. graduated the class and agreed to answer our interview questions. Q. Why did you take the P.S.S training? R.S. -To contrib-ute back to society D.L.-To control anxiety A.W.-Volunteering at the mis-sion inspired him to help others Q. How do you feel about yourself since taking the class? A.W. –Inspired

to help others D.L.-Confidence gained R.S.-Learned different aspects on helping others Q. What part of P.S.S. training really stood out you? R.S.-The process of helping oneself through giving D.L.-How it helps others A.W. - How authentic the tools gained through the P.S.S class. Good luck to all the gradu-ates!!!!! -Shannon C.

Yuma’s First Graduates of TLCR Peer Support Training

TLCR recently has its first peer support class taught by our very own Mercedes M. and Marcie B. The class was 2 weeks long and 80 hours. From knowing these women personally I wish I had waited to take my Peer support classes just so I could have been in their class, from what I have heard they did a fan-tastic job. Richard S.,

Page 5 Turtle Times

well. I asked him some

questions that some of our

members wanted me to

and I ask him a few of my

own. Q. How long have

you worked at TLCR? A. I

started working for Tony

and Rick as an independ-

ent contractor in 2007 and

I just work as needed then

I stopped for a few years

then in 2012 I was driving

by the old TLCR building

and stopped in to say hi to

Rick and Tony and they

hired me fulltime and I’ve

been here every since. Q.

How do you handle work-

ing at both the Yuma TLCR

Center and the Casa

Grande TLCR? A. I try to

make everyone aware to

call if they have a problem.

It took me a few weeks to

catch him but I finally did,

he is a very busy man. I am

talking about Claude

TLCR’s one and only Tech

Guy. He not only takes

care of all of Yuma techni-

cal issues but also Casa

Grande’s TLCR center as

I’m also very proactive so

That I am able to resolve

any problems that come

up either place quickly. Q.

What it like to try to stay

one step ahead of the vi-

ruses ect…? A. I keep all

the Malware and the anti-

virus software up to date

and I do all the updating

and the scans at night

when no one is here. Q. Is

it hard to block all the so-

cial media sites? A. Almost

impossible to block all the

ways to social media, but

we try to use the honor

system with our members.

Q. What do you see for the

future of TLCR? A. Moving

everything to the cloud

because it is all about se-

curity because of HIPPA.

TLCR’s Tech Guy - Claude T.

Q. What is your New Year’s

Resolution? A. Try and

keep myself educated and

on top of all the new

things in the technology

world and be able to pro-

vide knowledge to who-

ever needs it. TLCR is lucky

to have such a knowledge-

able and awesome techni-

cian working here and we

really appreciate all the

work he does!

-Shannon C.

friend is crying and your par-ents are crying and all you ever do is hurt them. Can’t do that anymore, too painful, too much pain. So you begin smiling. Every-one thinks you’re picking up your feet. You laugh, and the sound makes you want to vomit. Your smile feels like acid on festering wounds and it’s impossible to change the bandage because if you pull at the gauze you’re afraid you’ll fall apart right there. A cycle has started; the crea-tures said it would. They were gnawing at the tendons on your ankles as they told you, ripping them out and savoring the taste, gorging themselves on your flesh. You can’t move your feet, all you can do is smile that stupid smile and repeat, “I’m okay” like a record player too stub-born to move on the threads. Everyone believes it, and you feel guilty about lying but you can’t bear to see them share in your sickness. They are beautiful and lovely and bright and deserve more, you are undeserving of their love. That thought process is be-coming more frequent and you judge your value on the teeth and claws buried in decaying flesh on your arms, that burned so good and made your heart restart, if only for a bit. You’ve come to love the beasts in your head, their constant whispers comforting in the overwhelming static of your thoughts. There’s a per-sistent roar that makes focus-ing almost impossible, and those around you worry as you daydream for hours on

Creatures—By Luis B.

the floor, phone ringing and ringing and ringing but you can’t hear it clearly and you don’t even want to. It’s too hard now, interacting with others who aren’t ill like you. They laugh from the gut and smile and love, and the whole charade is exhausting. You don’t know when you stopped showering and be-gan skipping meals. Time is something that you can no longer relate to. At some point, you stopped, and if you had answered your phone at some point in the last 4 months you could tell some-one when exactly it was you started becoming withdrawn. Those creatures of malice and snarls and snapping teeth have become your only friends. They comfort you and press their misshapen muzzles against the bare skin of your neck, salivating over the life force being pumped in your jugular. Their breath is cold; it smells like sulfur and plague, while their fur is hot and charred. The smell of burning flesh and fur is nor-mal now. You stroke them, not as afraid as you were of them ages ago. They are the only things you know, the only sense you can cling to. Your friends left at some point, you only remember laying on the floor again and hearing the door shut just after some sad words and eyes and faces gazed at your destroyed form, crippled and bloody and broken in more ways than one. Professional help seems to be brought up every day by someone with good inten-tions, but they can’t see how

far gone you are. You live in your head, unresponsive and drowning in tar that bubbles and sears in your throat and keeps you from uttering your grievances. You couldn’t talk if you wanted to. There’s pills. They don’t fix you. There’s the therapist. She only looks at you over her notebook and you sit in si-lence, staring at the window but only seeing the creatures stalk around you, making unearthly groans and biting at the flesh on their backs. They’re getting restless, you’ve noticed. They stir fre-quently, take chunks of meat from your body to greedily devour in the blackest corner of your mind and you find yourself unable to remember if you’ve moved in the last week. Everything is a blur, everything is nothing and nothing is everything. Your sickness progresses fur-ther, your body is heavy. It feels as though someone has strapped a planet to your back and told you to march onwards. Your spine can no longer bend to adjust to the weight on your shoulders and your muscles, those that the creatures have kindly left, cannot strain any further.

Page 6 Turtle Times

Major depressive disorder is a disease. A malicious cancer that eats up every nice thought in your head, and every mo-ment which should had been enjoyable. All you can do is watch as your world slow burns, grays into ashes that will abruptly burst into vibrant flames for what feels like the second (or third or fourth or fifth) time, only more intense. One day you find yourself un-able to get out of bed, strength gone from words and actions. You can’t explain it to other people because you can’t put it into words and they won’t know how to pick up the pieces anyway. They’ll say, “You’ll get better” or “stop being dra-matic”. You get angry with them, but you know deep down that doing so is unfair. How could they understand that there is a sickness in your bones, a pestilence which flows like water in your lungs and you can’t breathe, carnage hiding just below your skin and at your center there is a storm so violent you are afraid it will wash you away? Every day is a fight; a struggle to survive. There are creatures in your dreams with teeth and claws and bile in their mouths that burn away your happiness for no other reason than to watch you writhe inside your-self. Eventually you realize you don’t even dream and you’ve been awake for hundreds of years and you’re just so fucking tired. The creatures, with bits of decaying flesh stuck to their gums and their manic eyes that you see in the mirror every day tear you apart from inside, and all you can do is say “I’m okay, really I’m fine” because your

Page 7 Turtle Times

Photo Credit by Duane L.

Eye Depths— By Susie R.

If you looked into the depths of her eyes Do you think you would see

The emptiness she feels inside From the loses and the pain

From the love she thought she had But never seemed to stay

Would you see how hopelessness Has completely turned into despair

From all the things she thought was real And turned out to be not really there

If you looked into the depths of her eyes Would you know her soul was dead That no emotions fill her thoughts And her heart is no longer there

Would you see that she is not Trusting anyone, not even her own self

Would you know she feels That life is meaningless

If you looked into the depths

Of anyone’s eyes

There are many things worse that these

That linger on inside

If you take the time to see

Into the depths

Of someone’s eyes

TLCR Members & Staff New Year’s Resolutions New Year’s Resolutions are a tradition, most common in the Western Hemisphere but also found in the Eastern Hemisphere, in which a person resolves to change an undesired trait or behavior. They are easy to make but difficult to maintain! I decided to ask around TLCR and was pleasantly surprised by the turn out of members and staff who had New Year’s Resolutions. - By Marcie B. Juan S. – To not lose my marbles

Rachel B. – To have weight lose

Roberto D. – To not lie

Lorraine C. – To get a new place

Salvador R. – To be a good father to my new baby boy

Carlos M. – Lose weight

Liquitha M. – To stay positive and sober

Angel R. – To take a trip and visit my grandparents

Raymond W. – Find a job and get a car

Jackie G. – To find a house and make employee of the month

Esteban D. – To rule the world! To see progress in myself! I

did not get my strength from lifting weights; I got my strength

from picking myself up when I fell. Hope, determination, and

inspiration will get you far!

Niklaus B. – To make a New Year’s Resolution for next year

Ramon A. – To get my fingerprint clearance card

Shannon C. – Obtain my own housing

Tara S. – To lose weight and buy my Lincoln

David V. – To become a dictator

Echo B. – To get in shape and be healthier

Patrick D. – To retire

David R. – To not get arrested

Marcus J. – Stay sober

Jennifer B. – To lose 30 pounds

Alberto L. – To stop smoking and to get my GED and to start

working out again

Kimberly O. – Stay clean and sober and make healthier

decisions

Paul V. – Stay clean and sober

Hollie M. – Make healthier decisions

Steven E. – Be a better person than I was last year

Glenda R. – To get my teeth fixed and to be nicer

Timothy C. – To keep it interesting

Linda R. – To gain weight

Jesus E. – To continue my vlogs

Marcie B. – To continue on my path of recovery and be a

better person then I was the day before

New Year’s Resolutions 2017

Page 8 Turtle Times

Questions? I wonder what the future holds for me?

Who is it I’m gonna be? I have these fears that hold me back, magnifying all the skills I lack.

So many dreams will they come true? If they don’t what will I do?

Will I look back on the years with too many regrets, to many tears? What will I tell my grandchildren one day?

Will I have anything important to say?

All these questions run through my head, I only pray they are answered before I am dead.

By Shannon C.

Personalities I am so sick in my brain considered to be insane. All the abuse when I was a child created the voices that drive me wild. Other personalities that developed to protect me from the reality everyday now prevent me from growing the right way. I never remember where I go or what it is I really know. Time lost I cannot account for happens to often it seems, like living a life inside of a dream. Faces I should recognize we must have met before, I guess. Having no

memory can cause such a mess. Does all this make me crazy or less?

By Shannon C.

I like Rainy days

I’m Excited about being sober

I Care for others

I am Open minded to new things

TLCR is Very fun

Everyday is a new day

I care about the Recovery of others

If you don’t trY hard you won’t achieve your goals

Written as a group poem between Barbara N., James C., Shannon C., and Marcie B.