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Resuming Recovery at Guiding Light: Sam’s Testimony

Grand Rapids Recovery

As Guiding Light moves forward during these uncertain times, we have begun the process of restarting our Back to Work and Recovery programs and are currently accepting new clients. Sam is one of the newest intakes to the Recovery program and has been here a little under a month.

At 30 years old, Sam’s years of struggling with alcoholism and addiction issues recently led him to a detox facility operated by Pine Rest. It was from there that he found his way to Guiding Light. “The desperation was there, I knew that I could not possibly do this on my own. I needed a community of people to help me.” Sam ultimately decided to come here because he needed a real, long-term solution to his problems and he found hope in the programming and support provided by Guiding Light and our Recovery staff. “The amount of care and attention that they put into your recovery is on a different level and unheard of,” he said.

Sam has been to a few other treatment programs but finds the programming at Guiding Light to be unique. He finds the emphasis that our Recovery program places on the development of one’s relationship with God to be something you don’t get anywhere else. “You get that genuine and authentic feeling that they are truly here to help us and guide us along with our lives, and that’s not something that I’ve gotten before.”

Sam came here to find “a different and better way of living and the tools and the relationships built here that will assist me in living a sober, meaningful, and happy life with purpose.”

When asked what he wants to do with his future, Sam says that he takes great joy in service work and could see a future in giving back through non-profit work. “I hope this journey can help me find these pieces of my identity that have been covered up for so long.”

There are countless young men like Sam that have come through our doors and had their lives turned around through Guiding Light programs. From all of us, we can’t tell you how much we appreciate the support of our donors and supporters like you for making everything that we do possible.

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