Franciscan Value:

“We work to be good stewards of all the gifts given to us.”

I believe that I can speak for all of us when I say that each of us at one point or another have found ourselves in dire need of help while in various stages of our common self-destructive disease (addiction).

While at the end of our proverbial ropes and sick to the bone in body and spirit, it seemed like there was no hope left in the world.  The shame and self debasement that permeates addiction had become all too familiar to us.  However, somehow we were eventually led to a place where hands and voices reached out in welcome instead of expectation.

Once there we were given everything; a place to rest; a place to eat; a place to bathe; a place to feel safe at last.  We were given an opportunity to heal and recover where we could not only live but learn how to live again.  We learned about new thoughts and behaviors and we learned how to apply them.  We gained insights about ourselves and others.  We were introduced to an entirely new lifestyle based on ‘we’ instead of ‘I’.  Before us was the journey along the road of recovery, and we were getting better one day at a time.

There was very little asked of us in return.  Follow simple instructions, do some work, and don’t put any illicit mind altering substances into our bodies.  Everything was leading us to work a program of recovery and to become responsible members of society.

Along with substance abuse treatment and individual counseling in a long term social model setting, we were provided with access to a variety of services, from all aspects of social work to access to the free clinic (including mental health/therapy, vision and dental care).

I was amazed by what was made available to me and others like me.  I remember we as clients often asked ourselves, “Who is making all of this possible?  Who is providing all these services for us?  Who is giving us this amazing opportunity?  Who are these people?”

Today we are ‘these people’.

-Anonymous staff member of Father Alfred Center

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 13th, 2011 at 4:25 pm and is filed under People, Programs & Services, Random, Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.