Narconon | Confront to Control
Delaware State News
Maryland State News and Daily Eagle
Dover, Delaware, Friday, December 5, 1975
Article:
Confront to Control
by Tammy Brittingham
Staff Writer
SMYRNA - Two men sit opposite one another in straight-backed chairs, eyes closed, for 40 minutes.
In another corner, two men sit together. One many asks the other the same question over and over. The second man answers, sometimes sensibly, sometimes not so sensibly.
Weird? Yes, if you aren’t familiar with Narconon, it would seem strange indeed. But for these men, such routines are all part of their day at the Delaware Correctional Center at Smyrna.
Narconon is a non-profit organization designed to prevent drug abuse and crime, and to rehabilitate those who have become dependent on drugs or alcohol, according to a Narconon pamphlet.
The solution used in Narconon is simple, the pamphlet goes on to explain. It enables individuals who are using drugs to learn how to achieve the conditions they desire much better without drugs than with them.
Narconon programs are springing up all over the country, and about half of them are in penal institutions, according to pamphlet statistics.
Trained counselors oversee the classroom situations, providing guidance and assistance when needed.
But what does Narconon do?
“This program is giving me confidence in myself,” said Larry DeJarnette, 24, serving a 45-year sentence for robbery and kidnaping. “I’m beginning to take on more responsibility for my actions and I am starting to look people in the face when I talk to them.”
“I came back from Vietnam a drug-user,” said Bobby Mitchell, 28, serving 22 years for robbery and assault. “I was a clean-cut kid when I went over there. Anyway, I came to this state (Bobby is from New York where his wife and two daughters live) and I had no knowledge of the law here. They (the judge and lawyers) tricked me into plea-bargaining, and they sold me right down the drain for 22 years. I was guaranteed 10.”
“So after I got the 22 years, I said the hell with everything and I broke all communication with my family… until I ran into Jack (Jack Malahauski, Narconon supervisor at DCC),” Bobby continued. “He pulled me into Narconon. It has brought something out in me–the real me–I can confront my problems now.”
Photo Caption
Steven Long, facing camera, engages in a confront session–>
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| Steven Long, facing camera, engages in a confront session |
“I was the cause of all my own problems,” said Steve Long, 24, serving 10 years for burglary, robbery and kidnaping. “The communication course here teaches you how to express yourself. Now, I’ve gotten my GED (General Educational Development or high school equivalency diploma) and I want to go to college when I get out of prison. It’s all thanks to Narconon.”
Although Narconon is specifically aimed at drug rehabilitation and drug use prevention, the program is also open to non-drug users who recognize that they have problems they can’t cope with.
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