Former offender turned social worker co-operates ‘best kept secret in Newton’

Terry Sallis stood outside of the Center for Arts & Artists on Friday having what appeared to be a casual conversation in a circle of people. Sallis, an average height 61-year-old African American, stood with his hands in his khaki shorts chatting with a young man in a plain white T-shirt and jeans who appeared to be in his late teens or early 20s. To his left stood Karen Sallis and Kim Zantingh. They all wore smiles.

But, as relaxed as the circle appeared, the implications of the gathering could have profound effects on the young mans lifestyle and future a path that Terry knows intimately.

We were just talking to a guy out here a few minutes ago and he said, I think I need a little bit more help than just myself, Terry said a short time later in his office. And for the most part, addicts think that this is a disease or a disorder that they can fix themselves without the help of other people, and thats just simply not the case.

Together, Terry and his wife, Karen Sallis, have operated Integrated Treatment Services (ITS), LLC at the CAA for seven years. Both are licensed masters social workers, but in 2000, Terry had just been released from the Newton Correctional Facility with only an abstract plan. He had served time stemming from forgery charges and had been living a lifestyle of drug abuse. The drive for the financial means to continue using, he says, put him and his wife into bankruptcy.

Some addicts describe an aha moment, Terry explained.

Its a moment where a light bulb turns on and a decision is made to quit using. The Newton social worker said he never had that moment, but a long process of realization that had a subtle yet powerful end point.

A lot of people say they have that moment, he said. But when I was in prison, my wife brought my two youngest kids down to see me. They were 7 and 8 at the time. I was sitting out in the prison yard, just absorbing this unconditional love that my children have given me, and it dawned on me that I had no right other than to give them a healthy parent and a healthy dad. I really made my mind up with some degree of finality that Im done with that life.

The couple has been together since 1973, and Karen Sallis saw her husband in every stage an addict goes through. But she said her background serving people facing similar addictions gave her hope and perhaps a bit of intrigue.

It was frustrating. I saw this man who was extremely intelligent who was self-destructive with drug use. I was powerless to make him stop, but I never gave up hope that he would turn it around. I found it relatively easy to believe in him because he was so intelligent. When he wasnt using he was just great, she laughed.

It was kind of a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde thing, Terry added.

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Former offender turned social worker co-operates ‘best kept secret in Newton’