The unthinkable happened this week. We lost one of our boys on Sunday. One of our new little brothers ran away on the way home from church.
The rehab center we’re working at this month allows residents to withdraw from the program whenever they want. It’s not a prison. Yet often residents choose to flee while the group is in public.
That’s what Jose* did. We got off the bus on our way home from church, and he walked with us for a while before picking up his pace and ultimately outrunning the other guys and hiding before they could catch him.
He’s run away before. Last time he was gone for two weeks. This time he “left” with a girl from one of the other houses. She came back but he was too drugged to do the same.
He’s also not welcome back at the home. After running several times, they told him next time he ran, he wouldn’t be able to return.
This caused some conflict within the program.
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