Every two months, men in the Guiding Light Recovery program head up north towards Newaygo to spend a few days at Camp Henry. Camp Henry’s mission is to “provide life changing experiences for all in a Christian environment,” and they have been doing so as an organization since 1937.
Typical clientele for the camp tends to consist of youth groups, elementary schools, church organizations, etc. One would not be remiss to ponder as to why a bunch of grown men, homeless and recovering from crippling addictions to drugs and alcohol, would be going to a summer camp typically intended for children.
The truth is that Guiding Light and Camp Henry have had a positive and working relationship for many years now. Our values align as organizations, and our missions, ultimately, align as well. After all, it is our mission at Guiding Light to provide a life-changing experience too. And there are few experiences more life-changing than that of a broken man getting sober, off the street, and becoming self-sufficient again. The reason we go to Camp Henry is because of the immense good that a change of scenery and a positive environment can do for the soul.
“The most important thing I’ve gotten out of being at Guiding Light is the fellowship,” said one client. “The friendships and relationships I have with guys in here have helped me more than anything else. I was always isolated in my addiction and it was hard for me to break out of that, but coming to Camp Henry with the guys…having to rely on each other as a team, that really brought us all together.” The primary reason Guiding Light Recovery comes to a place like Camp Henry is for team building. Many men that come to our doors run on the belief that complete and unfettered reliance on the self is the only way to live. The concept that another human being could be relied upon for support and even friendship is completely foreign. Team building exercises, such as the infamous “leap of faith,” where a man hooks into a harness, climbs to the top of a 35-foot telephone pole, and jumps off with only his brothers in recovery there to keep him in the air, is the ultimate “trust fall.”
There is a reason as to why we do what we do here; it works. Men that complete the four month Guiding Light Recovery program, find employment, and move to Iron House, have a 78% chance of achieving a year of sobriety or longer. This program is provided at no financial cost to our clients, all that we ask is their willingness, open-mindedness, and genuine desire to change. The reason that experiences like those provided by Camp Henry are possible is because of donors like you. Guiding Light is 100% funded through private donations and receives no public grants or funding of any kind. It is because of the generous support of our donors, advocates, and volunteers that we are able to provide a place for men to fully live up to their God-given potential. From all of us, clients and staff alike, thank you for all that you do for us.
