People often have the misconception that because a program is non-profit that means they shouldn’t charge for their services. We wanted to take a moment to address some of the issues surrounding such an idea.
For starters, the staff have to earn a living. Sure, some non-profit charities are staffed almost entirely by volunteers, but that is not the case with drug and alcohol treatment programs. Most people want them to be staffed by professionals who will be doing their best to help them recover from addiction. These professionals have to eat and have families to support and bills to pay just like the rest of us. Therefore, even non-profit treatment centers must make money.
Now, this doesn’t have to mean they charge outrageous amounts. They typically stick to low rates for the services they provide and sometimes even get donations, grants or other funding from outside sources and to be able to offset the cost of rehabilitation even more through discounts or scholarships.
The reality is that even non-profits have to make money, and the better job they do at filling their beds the more people they can help.
They also have to make money to pay for supplies, pay their rent or mortgage and utilities, etc. The power companies don’t care what kind of business they are, they still want their money.
We certainly don’t want it to sound like we’re all about the money. If that were the case we wouldn’t be in this field at all. Someone can’t work in the addiction treatment field for years and not have at least some altruistic base in them to keep going. These are important jobs and the people who help save lives should be rewarded for their efforts, whether they work at a for-profit facility or a private, non-profit center.