Many clients, when they first arrive at Guiding Light, are initially reluctant to commit to any significantly long-term treatment plan. Four months often seems like more than enough time to spend in rehab and for all of the issues underpinning one’s addiction to work itself out.
As one client put it, the plan for him when he arrived at our doors was to stay here for “four months and one second” and no longer. The thought of following the suggestions that give you the best possible chance at staying sober, at first, is a hard pill to swallow. But the truth is that the statistics for men and women recovering from addiction are grim. Very few that attempt to get sober are able to stay sober for any significant period of time. A 2007 study conducted by the social-research journal, Evaluation Review, showing that only 33% of men and women who attempt to get sober are able to maintain this for a year.[1] The odds for those seeking help for problems with drugs and alcohol are unfortunately not good.
78% of men that come through Guiding Light Recovery, find employment, and move to Iron House, will stay sober over a year. Here we focus on the long-term success of our clients. We do not believe addiction is a problem that can be fixed in thirty days. To us, substance abuse treatment is done on a timeline of months to years of continuous work and improvements. To us, a client is not a number, a metric, a statistic, or a paycheck; he is a human being that has fallen down and is worthy of God’s grace. Being able to help men get back up is a truly worthwhile mission in our eyes and one that we take very seriously. The only cost for men to be accepted in the Guiding Light program is their willingness to change and commitment to living a different way. Our clients have access to professional and holistic treatment and care from therapists, spiritual directors, and life coaches. It costs roughly $300 a day to house, feed, and teach our clients how a life in sobriety is possible, and we could not do it without you, our donors, supporters, and volunteers. Thank you so much, from all of us at Guiding Light.
[1] 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
