It sounds to me that Paola is both identifying with these men very strongly, and is projecting onto this situation something from his/her own life. First of all, those men are not her "housemates"--as a recovered addict myself who did some time at inpatient rehab, I can tell you how it is. The term "client" is used out of respect, but the fact is that recovering addicts are somewhat like patients and somewhat like students and somewhat like juvies. That means that she is part therapist part teacher and part enforcement officer (at least that is what her role is like). Recovering addicts have to re-learn how to live as responsible adults, because in becoming an addict a person is in a sense regressing and running from responsibility (and yes, an addict can hold down a job and pay rent and still not be recovered). It is true that she was quick to call any of them liars--and in the case of that one guy she was definitely wrong (and I think she owed him a big apology!!!)--but the sad truth is that 999 times out of a thousand, if it looks at all like an addict is hiding the truth or fabricating, then s/he is. It is also true, IMO, that she seemed to feel like she *always* knew what was what, and you would never hear her saying something like "maybe I could be wrong"--and I also think that she could have done better in that case. At the same time, if you really took a good look at what was going on, and realized that what you saw was 1.5 hours out of all the days or months of time she had to put up with a bunch of adults who often did not have their **** together, who could be fine for months and then turn around and betray her by lying and falling off the wagon. She also had to spend hours dealing with various gov't agencies and charitable organizations, both to keep the house running and to make sure that the men she was taking care of had the tools and support they needed.For example, you saw her and the guys helping to give out food to people in the community, right? You think that food just fell from the sky, all divided up and ready to hand out?She would have had to spend lots of time coordinating with whomever supplied the food, for starters. And do you think she had those guys take away from time when they could have been out earning money just to satisfy her ego? One of the major principles of just about every addiction recovery program is the importance of doing things for others, volunteering one's time to help out someone else while one is getting sober and staying that way: the purpose is both to re-integrate the addict into the community in a healthy way, and also to build their self-esteem. So, in short, she had to spend time and effort to get that program up and running, and to oversee it in action because it is part of what helps addicts get better. So, in short, before you ever go writing off other human beings, you ought to try to really look at their lives and their circumstances, and make sure you check your own ego at the door so you don't go reading your own issues into someone else's behavior. Remember, in order to walk a mile in someone else's shoes, you have to take off your own first.

Agreed, she has a God complex. Maybe when she started, her heart was in the right place, but now it is obvious she is on a power trip. I guess it doesn't matter either way to the people she is helping, as long as they can put up with her. Also, the craziness might just be a product of old age.

If we all had someone like Sister Helen in our lives, this world would be a better place. Riveting and Inspirational!!!