Once upon a time there was an interventionist
Hi!!! Okay, okay I know so many are tired of this content but one of the things I do not like about TikTok is how it makes it very challenging to tell a story. So some videos get pushed out where others do not. So I am going to start by sharing screen shots of things Sam has said on his social media so that you can maybe understand better why I am so upset. The screen shots may not be in any particular order and I apologize for that.
The story goes like this…I started following Sam early summer of 2022. He showed up on my FYP and I liked his content. I engaged with his content, shared it with followers and I even reached out to learn what was involved in becoming an interventionist because I thought it would be nice to help families since I have lived it. I never went that route and in all honesty even then I had no idea they weren’t required to have a license or board certification. Anyways, we would interact some and then when my daughter showed up in August wanting to treatment I was able to get her into detox right away where she was transitioned to residential detox and then went to another facility for 4 weeks with a trauma focus. Both places here in Florida. Brooke and I both agreed that longterm treatment was a must because she had already been to numerous 30 day facilities. So the search began.
I had made a video asking for longterm recommendations and I was overwhelmed. So many places offered her treatment but I had already learned that I felt like I didn’t know who to trust. I knew I didn’t want to send her anywhere in Florida because we have all heard of the “Florida Shuffle” and I didn’t want my daughter getting caught up in that. I couldn’t trust google reviews, and there was no real way to tell what places actually provided good care when searching as a loved one. So I reached out to Sam for advice. He had openly made videos about the Florida shuffle and corruption in the industry. So I asked if he knew of any of the facilities I had made a list of and then asked if he had any recommendations. He had mentioned “The Arbor” and Maryland addiction recovery center (MARC). He asked specific questions and had said something about his bed card being used up by the arbor. He offered to make a call to MARC. It was explained to him that she had to go to a medicated assisted treatment supportive facility. That was really the #1 request. They agreed to accept her with our private insurance being billed, the gofundme money and then scholarship the rest and we were grateful.
Maura the admissions person at MARC, had explained that there would be a black out period of 30 days, but sometimes 45 days max. My daughter was not happy about that but still agreed to go because I explained to her that it would fly by. Once Brooke was accepted and left for Maryland I really didn’t talk to Sam. We didn’t hire him, and I didn’t expect him to be involved. He I think sent one message asking me if she made it there because a hurricane had just hit the state and there was concern about delay in flights.
The blackout period ended up being over 90 days which I was vocal about on social media. The biggest frustration was the therapist not explaining to me why it continued to be extended. My daughter already had 2 months sober before going there. Through that period we talked to eachother a couple of times a week. I was told I couldn’t even write her or send her winter clothes. We are from Florida.
The therapist was always “the sky is falling” during the weekly calls. I had so much anxiety from that therapist that I couldn’t even relax while she was in treatment. There was never any positive news shared, all negative and it was always she is a high flight risk. I was given the assignment to write an impact letter and I did on time. It was also recommended that I find someone like a recovery coach to help me basically not be codependent. I explained in the podcast episode why I couldn’t afford one at that time. It wasn’t a matter of I didn’t want a therapist, it was literally I had no extra $ for one because I had just taken a fellowship with over a 50% paycut prior to my daughter showing up asking for treatment. I was also struggling paying for therapy for my other daughter because she was struggling with her sisters addictions and that was costing us $350/month that we didn’t have but did everything we could to ensure she got it. My kids are and will always be my priority.
Fast forward to Jan 23 when my daughter left treatment…I had filed a missing persons report after a couple days, and was scared to death that she was dead or going to die. I was posting information on social media because I was in Florida and just trying to coordinate how I was going to get to Maryland, and if I would even be able to find her. Sam had been texting me and just kept trying to encourage me to meet with the owners of MARC Sam and Zach (not sam davis) and that wasn’t my priority. My priority was to find out if my daughter was even alive and get her the hell out of Baltimore. That was an extremely stressful time for my family. I had learned that the facility had refused to give her the phone she went there with. This was apparently there policy which no facility should be allowed to do. They are adults. These same places tell parents to treat them like adults but yet wont give said adult their belongings.
I never blamed Sam Davis for what happened at the treatment center. I left him out of my content because I still felt like he was just trying to help our family. I still trusted him. It wasn’t until I saw comments of him defending the facility and sharing information about my daughter that I had not shared and some I didn’t even know. I realized he cared more about his business relationship with this program than our family. Which in his live last night he even admitted to. He said that he went into this knowing that if she got sober and successfully completed treatment it would have brought more business his way and he would have looked like a “rockstar.”
I didn’t speak for months on this. I researched what I could do behind the scenes and did take what action I could. I learned that he was not certified or licensed and my goal was to bring awareness to families that may have sought services because I spoke openly about him helping us. I never want what he did to happen to another family.
Sam says he wasn’t hired in a professional capacity but the treatment center had her sign an ROI for him as if he was and used that information publicly. Regardless, of me making content and sharing information as a mother and and an agreement between my daughter and I doesn’t mean he is allowed to share that same info on his lives, podcast or as content. He may not have been hired but he was utilized by my family as a professional. I sought his opinion as a professional in the field. If the tables were turned and I did the same I would lose my license. No questions. I believe this is a big reason why the addiction industry is so messed up with corruption. These people running these businesses have zero understanding of what ethics are and even hipaa.
Sam hurt me. He ruined any hope of me trusting the addiction treatment system. I am allowed to speak out on our experience. I will however, not be making videos specifically about Sam any longer. I gave him the option to go live with me and put this entire thing to rest which he refused to do after I told him I was not agreeable to a private conversation. This was all done publicly and I wanted people on both sides to hear both sides and me have the opportunity to ask him specific questions about what he did. This is not about destroying a man. This is about holding someone accountable for what he did to my daughter and me. My issue was with the facility, but he made the unfortunate decision to throw himself in the mix.
I honestly hope Sam reflects on his live and what he said. Money should never be the primary motivator. Money doesn’t buy happiness. People can change, and I am a perfect example of that. I know people have accused me of compensating off my daughters story. I was only in the creator fund and made hardly anything, and now I got removed from it because of people reporting videos or comments lol. It is what it is and I really could care less. My motives are in the right place. My motives are to speak on unethical practices, allow families to not feel alone and educate on the red flags when looking for treatment. I am sorry to those that have hated the recent content but it needed to be done. If you have experienced unethical practices in the treatment industry please email me or speak out about it. Change will never happen unless we use our voices.
