Jon is a veteran of treatment programs. By his calculation, he has been through as many as 15. Starting with his first, after a car crash at age 25, each one has followed pretty much the same sequence.
Stop drinking for a while. Relapse. Start drinking again.
“I wasn’t doing anything to maintain my sobriety really,” Jon said. “I was just kind of not drinking. And I stayed sober for quite a while, but I didn’t do anything to maintain it, and I was struggling with my mental health. I wasn’t working any sort of program, which I should have been.”
Then he found Guiding Light, with its 100% donor-funded program that provides the time and support and spiritual guidance to help clients not just stop drinking but also rebuild their lives.
Today, Jon has a job for the first time in years. He is working to reconcile with his wife and son, and is looking forward to the opportunities ahead.
Jon’s experience at Guiding Light goes to the heart of what we call Recovery Reimagined.
“This has definitely been a different sort of treatment center, and it’s really, really improved things for me. I think that the difference is that all the other treatment centers, whether it’s a week or a month, they send you back home. They have outpatient aftercare programs and things like that, but pretty much you’re on your own out in the world again. And that was a problem for me.”
Ben saw it was a problem for his loved ones, too. During one his longer periods of sobriety, he got married and had a son. But five years into the marriage, his mother died. They were very close — she had raised him alone after his father killed himself before he was born — and Ben fell into deep depression. He lost his job and did little but sleep all day. He didn’t work for eight years and eventually started drinking again.
That latest relapse is what brought him to Guiding Light.
“I obviously needed some longer-term solutions to my problem. I’d been isolating so long I pretty much had forgotten how to function out in the world. So, by coming here, my hope was that I would learn how to live my life again. I don’t think I could have done this anywhere else.”
He re-learned a sense of responsibility by keeping a regular schedule, going to meetings and being part of a supportive community.
“This obviously is a lot stricter program, more rules. They all have good reasons, and I really needed that structure. I needed people to tell me what to do, because the way I was living was not working. The community is probably one of the main benefits of being here. You have a built-in group of people who are all in pretty much the same position you are. We all understand what each other are going through and we all can talk to each other, support each other. We do most everything together, so we all get close very quickly.”
Jon started a new job in February and is saving money to move to Guiding Light’s sober living community, Iron House. He looks forward to helping his wife keep up with household expenses while he continues to work on his relationships with her and their son.
“When I first came in, we were not on great terms. She was very angry, and she had every right to be. We had sessions with my spiritual director where we could talk together and work on things, and we’re at the point where things are good between us now.”
Jon also is grateful for the opportunity to work on his relationship with God. Strengthening faith is a core component of Guiding Light Recovery.
“I used to kind of go to church and then go home and it would be done for the week. I didn’t really have a spiritual connection at all. Now when I go to church, I feel like I have much more of a connection after working with a spiritual director, and being with the guys here who are working on their spirituality as well.”
Looking back at his years of attempts at treatment, Jon said it’s easy to see the difference between those programs and Guiding Light. And he remains deeply grateful for those who have made it possible for people like him to make lasting change in their lives.
“I wish I could have come here long ago. Obviously, we’re very grateful to the people who donate because Guiding Light wouldn’t be here without them. I know that running strictly off donations allows them to tailor their program, do things that other treatment centers can’t. It’s great to see that so many people are willing to help and keep this place running for us.”
