Through The Narconon Program The Whole World Has Changed
Article:
Milton Record-Transcript
December 21, 1972
BOSTON–It is said that miracles happen only in works of fiction, but you will never convince Clayton Ellis of Cambridge of that. In 1950 when he was only 21 years old, he had already developed a serious drinking problem. The problem had led to crime, and he was convicted in that year of four counts of armed robbery. He had robbed a liquor store and three taxi drivers. He was released from Norfolk Prison Colony in 1953 on parole, and while he gave up a life of crime, his drinking problem became worse.
In 1960 he sought the aid of Alcoholics Anonymous in Salem which, according to Clayton, served only to convince him further that he was only a drunk. His problem continued.
In 1967 he was convicted of assault and battery and served two years in the Essex Country House of Correction. Upon his release he continued to drink and his problem worsened.
In October of 1968 he was taken to Westboro State Hospital in a state of dead stupor. He decided then that he had to kick the problem. He was treated there for eighteen months without success and was released to go to Hope House in Boston. He remained there for seven months, still without success in licking his problem.
He was then taken in by Mrs. Non Shay in Bridgewater, who attempted to help him by getting him a job at the John Lucey Shoe Company. Later he moved to an apartment where he was thrown out for getting drunk and starting a fire.
Needing a place to stay, he went to Boston City Hospital where he was transferred to Long Island City Hospital in Quincy at his request. It was there that he first contacted Narconon.
Narconon is a drug and alcohol prevention and rehabilitation program (the word came from the Greek “narco” meaning “numbness” and “non,” hence - “non-numbness”). It was started in 1966 in Arizona State Prison and has since expanded to prisons, hospitals, and communities around the world.
Narconon was presented the Inter-Science Community Service Award for 1972 by the Surgeon General of the United States on December 2 in Los Angeles. Accepting the award was Mark Jones (Lt. Col. U.S.M.C. Ret.), National Director of Narconon.
The program was new to Long Island City Hospital soon after Clayton Ellis arrived in February of 1972, and he became the first graduate.
“Through the Narconon program the whole world changed,” says Clayton. “I’m not an alcoholic anymore. I’m cured.”
According to Deac Finn of Milton, Narconon’s New England Director, the program works by helping the addict or the alcoholic locate and handle the source of his problem. Finn explains, “The Narconon program endeavors and in most cases succeeds in enabling the individual to overcome the cause of his tendency or desire to use drugs or alcohol. While it is recognized that each individual takes drugs or alcohol for reasons peculiar to the individual, these reasons can be broadly categorized as problems of two types. The first type of problem is something the person wants to avoid and has been unable to avoid, such as fears, loneliness, feelings of failure, and so forth. The second type of problem is something the person wants to do or achieve and has been unable to do, such as greater awareness, relating to others, acceptance by his peers, more satisfying communication, or something like that. The Narconon Program enables the person to handle these problems without the use of drugs or alcohol.”
For Clayton Ellis, his problem was that he wanted to avoid something: his left leg.
“On the medical records, my leg is totally paralyzed,” said Clayton. “I was born with polio, and I’ve always walked with a bad limp. I never could confront being a cripple, so I started taking to booze. Once I realized what the real problem was, I no longer needed the booze. When I completed the program, I had regained the feeling in my leg. I don’t have the limp at all anymore.”
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| |—| | Photo Caption: Clayton Ellis, at the left, shakes hands with Deac Finn, Narconon New England Director, after beating his personal problem. Ellis plans to work for the Narconon program in the evening. |
Photo Caption
Clayton Ellis, at the left, shakes hands with Deac Finn, Narconon New England Director, after beating his personal problem. Ellis plans to work for the Narconon program in the evening.–>
Clayton recently secured a full-time job at the American Brush Company in Boston as an inspector, and he plans to devote his evenings to working with Narconon.
“I’ll work with Narconon for the rest of my life, because I want to offer to others the helping hand that I had,” he said. “I like working with these people, and I hope to get a few sober people out of it. It’s the best thing that happened to me and I’d like to see it continued.”
According to Director Finn, Clayton is currently training to become a Narconon Supervisor, and will become the director of the program at Long Island City Hospital upon completion of his training. “The Supervisors are trained in a technology developed by L. Ron Hubbard, the Founder of the Church of Scientology,” said Finn. “While Narconon is separate from the Church, the workability of Hubbard’s methods cannot be denied. It’s the only thing we use.”
Clayton Ellis’ future plans include a wife. He is the victim of two previous marriages which failed. “Both my marriages failed because of booze,” he said. “I believe that most divorces today are because one or both people are alcoholics and they don’t know how to handle the problem. After twenty years of being an alcoholic, I am finally free of the problem, and when I finish the supervisors’ course, I’ll be able to help others just as I was helped.”
For Clayton Ellis, a whole new world has opened up. “I’m 43 years old, but I don’t feel it. I feel like I’m 23 years old and just getting started. It’s a beautiful thing.”
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