Cedar, I agree. I have never wished homelessness on anyone. I reached out to Teen Challenge to get a feel for the program and was impressed with what I heard. I spoke to individuals that have been through the program and how they changed their lives when nothing else had worked. Some of them had been resistant to the program in the beginning but changed their tune when the positives started adding up. Since he is an "adult" this is his call.
This is the only help I am willing to offer him.
I am pressing charges. I do not tolerate willful destruction of property. He knows this. I have pressed charges in the past.
I have worked with the physically disabled, mentally challenged, and mentally ill young adults for many years. I know for a fact that he is making the choice to behave and engage in certain things and that it is not a result of his issues. I have witnessed him being able to control these behaviors when he choses to do so. He is vindictive and spiteful when he does not get his way. I will not protect him from the consequences of his own behavior. I have made many mistakes as a parent. I feel that my greatest mistake as his parent would be to not allow him to feel those consequences and to enable him to continue down this path by providing him a safe haven from which to operate.
Do I feel good about my decision? No. Allowing him back in would eliminate my discomfort, but in the long run it would be a disaster. I am to old to spend my remaining years trying to change what is not mine to change.
