I listened to an interview that was recorded. The interview was with Dian Law. She had worked with Chuck and his wife during her time at synanon. She first came to Synanon in April of 1964 and was their for 26 years. She was around for the three phases of synanon. The First phase was when Synanon was truly to help drug addicts. She was a heroin addict when she first got there and desperately wanted to get help. She was looking for a way out because she thought she was going to die or end up in jail if she did not get her life together. She was also a call girl and did not have resources to live on her own and she never developed household skills needed. She was constantly scared and just needed a way out and a timeout. When she heard of synanon she went without any hesitation because at that time there were no other facilities that actually worked to help heroin addicts quit for good.
Synanon provided her a safe environment where she could catch her breath. Synanon provided her a life where they taught her important skills. They had taught her how to cook, clean, wash clothes, make a bed, drive and how to run an office. She loved learning new skills and was fascinated with all the new things she was learning. She had many chores and loved to do them. A lot of the men she meant were respectful and treated her very respectfully. The men did not treat her as a dumb blond and a girl used for sex like she was used to be getting treated as. The men treated her a human being and saw her as a women. She felt like she had a place and could be seen and heard. Dian grew up in a neighborhood of jewish people and that was all she was used to seeing. When she came to Synanon it was a fascinating experience for her to see the different people and cultures. She loved seeing the different ways people talked and what they celebrated. It gave her a new point of view and experience. I personally think Synanon gave Dian and many others a purpose in life during the first phase of synanon which helped with their drug problems. Most people using drugs feel alone in the world with no purpose and no sense of support. Synanon give them a schedule and a list of chores that they needed to complete to help synanon stay clean and running. This gave them a sense of purpose and kept them busy during the day so their minds did not have to wonder back to the feelings of drugs. It also seems like Synanon made them feel safe and protected which helped them bring their guard down and they had a sense of a support group. They felt loved and wanted and started to feel less insecure
When chuck started working at Northridge College things started to change and that is when the second phase of synanon started to develop. Traditions started to change and people started to get more educated. Reading books was encouraged and talking about your beliefs were happening more often at meal times. As chuck was a teacher he would talk to his classes about synanon and that open the doors to the outside community. Many college kids would come to visit and would participate in some of the games and the events. Soon after the college kids started coming the faculty of the school start coming to check it out. This led to more interaction with outsiders and they got to communicate and interact with the community around them. This led to more and more non drug users joining synanon. Soon people that had never used drugs before were joining synanon. This led synanon to become more of a social movement. There were also new facilities developing that people could go to get help for drugs addictions so synanon had less people needing help with drugs. I think people get bored of society and the same rules that when they see a different group of people living their lives with different rules they become intrigued with the lifestyle and that is why synanon was the talk of the community and people were joining. Also some of the people just needed a helping hand and synanon could provide that.
As Dian worked her way up she became head of one of the offices and that is where she was able to work with Chuck, Bettye, and Miriam. She said that she felt chuck knew her really well and felt comfortable around him. In the beginning he would stand up for sometimes at the games. Dian started working for Miriam and thought the world her. She thought Miriam was very smart and sophisticated. Miriam could get in touch with people and was able to help them. Miram taught Dian a lot of important skills and treated her like an equal. Miram made a group called The Magic Theater where they would discuss books and talk. Outsiders even joined the group. Miriam was a great friend to Dian and Dian appreciated what Miriam taught her.
Listening to Dian and her experience she definitely would have been in a bad place without synanon. Synanon helped give her a sense of direction and became her family since she did not have anyone else. Synanon helped her with her drug addictions and also helped her gain the skills she needed to live in the real world. She had stayed with Synanon for 26 years so she seemed to really like the structure synanon offered her. She soon began to work for them higher up which she really enjoyed.
http://synanonarchivecollection.com/synanonarchivecollection/Former_Residents_and_Friends_Tell_Their_Stories.html
