Success Stories

It’s a boy, oh how sweet,

Do you hear the pitter patter of his feet?

A kiss goodbye, not a dry eye,

The first day of school, boy time flies.

A few more inches, you’ll be my height

Come my son, let’s read tonight.

Two more weeks and you’re in high school,

But my son, you’re not the same boy,

Changes are happening, we don’t get along.

What’s the matter, what went wrong?

I don’t know, but things are out of control.

Along comes AMCAL, the teenage pros.

Warm and caring, but very daring.

“Well,” they said, “the problem is,

You need to spend more time with your kid.

Lay down the rules, and stand by your word,

Don’t budge an inch and give him some chores.

Don’t worry we’ll help, just give us 8 weeks.

Delia’s our weapon, just watch and see,

When we give him back, he’ll be happy to leave.

So come meet with us twice a week,

Adrienne’s your counsellor she’s tough, but sweet.

Lenny will lead you in the meeting for parents,

He’s calm and cool, but won’t be fooled.

You’ll share with others and learn of their troubles.”

Now things are back to normal,

We can breathe a sigh of relief.

Thanks so much to AMCAL,

Your mission’s complete.
Each one of you has played such an important part,

A wonderful life-equipping experience for families

Thank God for each one of you and the gifts that

Forever you will be, one of our lives sweet memories.

….I went to Amcal because I was not doing good at home, I had been kicked out of my house a few times. I did drugs and I drank alcohol but the main reason I went to Amcal was because I had gotten arrested for taking money from a kid at…school.

My first day at Amcal the people that worked there gave me a hard time. I did not understand why there were making such a big deal out of this, it was only TAKING MONEY that was not mine. That whole week all we talked about was me, at dinner, drug night, anger management, and even when I went outside to smoke. The thing that really pissed me off the most was when the kids at Amcal would tell me what I did was wrong, no one that was the same age as me or younger could tell me what I did was wrong.

….My first family meeting…was going good at first but by the end of it I did not even say goodbye to my parents. I was so mad at them because I could not go out that week so that meant I could not see my girlfriend. So when I went back upstairs I was really mad. The people at Amcal saw this so we talked about it in a group and they taught me the cool down plan. In the cool down plan there are ten ways to relax when you are mad.

The weeks after were great, I really liked staying at Amcal. I liked the people that were there, the people that work there and the food! I really liked all of the things that I had learnt there. I also like the fact that I can talk to my parents and that we can do things together. I also stopped doing drugs for the whole time that I was at Amcal and a few months after I left. I think that if it was not for Amcal I would have been in a really big mess. I think that anyone that goes to Amcal will have a hard time at first but in the end it’s for the best.

SUCCESS STORIES