This #GivingTuesday we want to thank YOU, our donor, for making all we have accomplished this last year possible. Hundreds of men have come through the doors of our Recovery program, hundreds of thousands of meals have been served, and – for the first time in decades – Guiding Light is offering women our life-transforming services.
Congratulations to seven graduates of the Guiding Light Recovery program and Iron House residents for reaching one year of sobriety!
As we approach Thanksgiving, I’d like to share a timely message we received recently at Guiding Light. The note begins: The hardest thing my wife and I have ever done in our lives was dropping off our 34-year-old son, Brandon, at your organization in November 2018.
After a lifelong struggle with alcohol, Tim had managed to stay clean and sober for just over a year. Then everything fell apart. Today, Tim has awakened to a new life and the possibilities it holds. To a restored dedication to Christ. To upholding responsibilities, including by managing the kitchen at Guiding Light Recovery. “The staff here actually cares for you. They’ve been through here too, and they know it’s all about actually changing.”
Addison spent more than a third of his 37 years behind bars, the result of drug use since age 13. When he left prison, he still wasn’t free.
Every Tuesday, men staying at Guiding Light attend a cognitive behavioral therapy class facilitated by staff-members Daniel Irwin, Michael Ryan, Jacob Passerman, or Ryan Becksford.
Guiding Light staff has been hard at work renovating two rooms that have been dedicated spaces for the men of our Recovery program to receive Spiritual Direction. These renovations, made possible through the generous donations of Larry and Judy Fredericks, have allowed us to create two safe, peaceful, and therapeutic spaces for men recovering from addiction to form a better relationship with God. In May 2023, we were able to formally open these spaces and dedicate them to our long serving Spiritual Director Larry Slager. Larry has been volunteering at Guiding Light for over a decade, helping men to develop their spirituality and move forward in their lives.
Parris got to the point where “enough was enough” and he reached out for help at Guiding Light. He remembers the specific date – January 19 – just as he remembers what he found here: “A lot of structure. A lot of love. Acceptance, wisdom, knowledge. This place made me stand for something. It helped me not only find sobriety but also find myself as a person who I really am, my purpose in life.”
The harsh reality of addiction is that many do not make it to recovery. Many simply do not get it, many die, many move on, struggling to cope by substituting one addiction for another. But few are able to truly reach sobriety and reap the amazing benefits that true recovery offers. The men of Guiding Light Recovery recently had to confront this when a member of their community relapsed.
Through the guiding light of God’s Spirit, Guiding Light partners with individuals to fulfill their God-given potential through rescue, recovery and re-engagement in the community.
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EIN: 38-2638465 | Non-Profit ID: 402257
