Comprehensive. Relational. Innovative.
This is recovery reimagined.
Men's Recovery
Guiding Light Recovery is an intensive addiction rehab program designed to give men structure and the opportunity to engage in change.
Invest in men and women working hard to change their lives.
Women's Recovery
The Guiding Light Women’s Recovery program offers a residential experience tailored for women, focused on a dynamic culture of community, comprehensive programming, and peer support.
Who We Are
For over 95 years, Guiding Light has served individuals struggling with hopelessness, homelessness, hunger, and addiction. With our main facility located downtown Grand Rapids, we are dedicated to helping men and women WAKE UP to new life as they recover from addiction and the associated chaos of a life consumed by substance abuse. Learn more about our team, our board of directors, and our guiding values.
What we Do
Guiding Light provides tools, relationships, and support to empower individuals in living a new life of recovery, where they’re back to work, reconnected to God, restored to family, safely housed, and active in service. Learn more about Guiding Light’s comprehensive and innovative recovery services for men and women.
Wake up!
This is what we want for the men and women you help us minister to: Wake up and live! Wake up to a new life, one free from addiction, one based in responsibility, hard work, and relationship with God.
Glen Phillips from Toad the Wet Sprocket headlines Guiding Light LIVE!
Join us on Saturday, February 21st, for our 2nd annual benefit concert featuring an all-star lineup of acoustic legends at the historic St. Cecilia Music Center!
Latest News
GUIDING LIGHT IS HIRING!
Looking for fast-paced, meaningful work? Guiding Light is hiring! If you’re ready to wake up to a new life and be part of the transformational work being done here in Grand Rapids, we’re hiring for five (5!) different positions in both development and recovery programming. Reach out to Shelby Smits at shelby.smits@aebetancourt.com for all the details. Check out our programs, values, and newsletters on our website to learn more about who we are and what we take a stand for.
MORNING MIX - ADDICTION RECOVERY & GUIDING LIGHT LIVE!
Brian Elve and David Madiol dive into what makes Guiding Light’s addiction recovery program unique. We are also excited to announce that the second annual Guiding Light Live! benefit concert will be held on February 21st. Tickets go on sale December 15th.
Over 200 community members came out to support Guiding Light and those struggling with substance abuse. See you next year!
The organization’s annual 5K Run/Walk returns to Millennium Park on Saturday, October 11, at 9 a.m., celebrating physical transformation, resilience, and the power of community during National Recovery Month.
The women’s recovery program has officially been open for one year, and we celebrated this milestone at Kendra’s house. Kendra’s family joined us in revealing a namesake plaque, and Kendra’s legacy lives in in each woman pursuing recovery in Guiding Light’s program.
Wood TV 8 Talk with long-time Guiding Light Staff about their recovery journeys
Mark & Michael both got sober at Guiding Light several years ago, and now pay it forward as staff members.
Watch this feature by Wood8 as they share their stories of how Fentanyl use nearly cost them their lives, but in active recovery, their lives have changed for the better.
SObriety Celebration packs the house
Over 160 people came to celebrate Delano, Nick, Steve, Sam, and Ben!
5 men celebrated their first year of abstinence-based sobriety on March 6th. After testimonials, each of the men nailed their name plaque onto Guiding Light’s Wall of Sobriety, joining over a hundred men who have achieved that milestone before them. Watch the Wood8 feature above!
Guiding light live recap!
What a great evening of amazing music and encouragement!
Thanks to our sponsors, supporters, musicians, audience, and staff for such a neat event. And thanks, Local Spins, for writing about the Saturday, February 15th concert! Check out the article to see how it went or watch video highlights above!
Our 2nd annual benefit concert features an all-star lineup of acoustic legends at the historic St. Cecilia Music Center! GLEN PHILLIPS from Toad the Wet Sprocket headlines.
Join a community of people like yourself in sparking deep change. Our LIGHTKEEPER Community of monthly givers truly make a difference.
STORIES
WILLINGNESS, NOT WILLPOWER.
December 29, 2025
Willingness is an attitude backed by action. At Guiding Light, Focus Points are the core practices that shape how we live out recovery and build a new way of life. They are not abstract ideas or personality traits, but lived principles that guide our daily choices, actions, and ways of being. Each Focus Point invites
Celebrating the Launch of the Guiding Light Heritage Society
November 25, 2025
On November 19 we celebrated a meaningful new chapter for Guiding Light as we introduced our Heritage Society. The Heritage Society recognizes individuals who have pledged a gift to Guiding Light in their estate plans or wills. These long term commitments are powerful expressions of commitment to Guiding Light’s mission, and they help ensure that
Celebrating a Year of Sobriety
October 20, 2025
“My life now is better than it was before coming to GLR. I have a job. I have a positive attitude. I renewed relationships with my family and with my daughter. I have a community around me that pushes me to be the best me. I am grateful for everything right now in life, big
Waking Up
August 18, 2025
The following excerpt was written by one of our women’s program spiritual directors, Annie Karasinski as an email shared to the congregation of St. Andrew’s Church: On Division Avenue, across the street from the Cathedral, is Guiding Light, a program dedicated to the recovery and restoration of people suffering from addiction. Many people I love,
The Power of Silence
July 29, 2025
In the busyness of everyday life, it’s rare to find time for quiet. But for the men and women in our recovery program, stepping away from the noise is not just a luxury. It becomes a key milestone in their recovery journey. Participants in our Recovery Program travel to the Hermitage once during the foundations
God Opened the Door for Me.
June 26, 2025
As a teenager, Pablo left his home in Puerto Rico because he couldn’t stand watching how his father treated his mother whenever he got drunk. He moved in with his uncle in Holland, graduated high school, was married for 26 years, had three daughters. But, little by little, family history repeated itself: His own drinking
They Saved My Life. They Really Did
May 29, 2025
Fall of 2018, Javier was detoxing from alcohol and knew something was wrong. He sat on the corner of 44th & Clyde Park until his sister could get him to the ER. This almost-deadly detox had happened before, and Javi’s liver was close to failure. Javi had left California after destroying his family relationships there
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"Just coming through those doors and how they welcomed me with open arms — it was powerful. And just being able to be part of the community with everybody with the same struggles as me, it just made me want to be more open.”
Read about Parris’s story in our newsletter.
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Learn about the impact donors like you are making through charitable giving to the Guiding Light. Check out our metrics and the life-transforming stories behind the metrics.
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Meals provided in 2024 here at Guiding Light and to our hungry neighbors in the community
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Men served through addiction recovery programming in 2024
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