On Saturday, the men from the Guiding Light Recovery program traveled out to Iron House, Guiding Light’s sober-living community in Kentwood. Iron House is an apartment complex owned by Guiding Light for men to live in after they have gone through our four-month Recovery program. These men have found full-time employment, saved money and have demonstrated that they have the ability to move out on their own.
At Iron House, men are able to gradually transition back into a normal life, while still having the support and accountability with community of their peers. Twice a month, men living at our downtown Grand Rapids location, have been meeting with the men at Iron House to discuss sobriety, their spiritual paths, and how they are managing to move forward with their lives.
The men broke up into groups and discussed three questions:
“What is something you are glad that you didn’t give up?”
“What is something you are glad that you did give up?
“What is the best thing about yourself?”
These discussions are good for men in early recovery to see what the future can hold for them if they stick to the program and “always show up.” 76% of men who come through Guiding Light Recovery, find employment, and move to Iron House, will achieve long-term sobriety. This is in stark contrast to a 2007 study conducted by the social-research journal, Evaluation Review, showing that only 33% of men who attempt to get sober on their own are able to maintain it for over a year.[i]
Unlike most other rehabilitation programs, Guiding Light Recovery really does work, and the numbers show it. The only cost for men to come through our Recovery and Back to Work programs is their willingness to change their lives for the better.
We are entirely funded by private donations, and for that we are eternally grateful to our generous donors, volunteers, and supporters for helping us on our mission to make our community a better place, one man at a time.
[i] Dennis, M. L., Foss, M. A., & Scott, C. K. (2007). An eight-year perspective on the relationship between the duration of abstinence and other aspects of recovery. Evaluation review, 31(6), 585–612. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193841X07307771
