Service Spotlight – October 2017

ARC is fortunate to have a new intern-volunteer to join the team! Renee Ware will be serving as one of our treatment group leaders and will be helping us complete assessments, among other thing. Renee graduated from Emmanuel College with a B.A. in Psychology in 2007. She then completed her M.A. in Mental Health Counseling in 2011. Renee has previously worked at Heart Ministry, Women’s Services, and Wellsprings Psychological Resources. Renee began participating in Celebrate Recovery and local AA/NA meetings in 1996. She is dedicated to helping others in their recovery and helping others become productive members of society.

Welcome to Team ARC, Renee!

Anonymous Superstar

Our Anonymous Superstar for October is a gentleman who arrived at ARC last October ready to do whatever it took to change his life. Before his addiction took over his life, he was a high school athlete, a college athlete, and for nine years, a professional athlete. As happens more often than not, addiction robbed him of his job, his marriage, his driver’s license, his freedom, and his children. Despite many emotional hurdles over the past 15 months – arrest, divorce, his children moving out of state, and the death of his father – our October Superstar has remained firm in his commitment to sobriety, relying on the tools of recovery to get through each circumstance. The relationships with his children have been restored, he has a job, a sponsor, a driver’s license, and 15 months drug and alcohol free. Most importantly, he has his freedom and he has hope for his future.

Soon after our residents get here, before they can advance from Stabilization to Phase One, they write a Goodbye Letter to their addiction. Each month we will share one of those letters with you. Prepare yourself to be deeply moved.

GOODBYE ALCOHOL

Goodbye, my addiction. You filled me full of false hopes, dreams, and aspirations of things I thought I could be and what I thought I was. In reality, with you as a friend, I was not who I thought I was. With you as a friend, I chased dreams that, with your help, were not possible. You took from me all that was important in my life, while blinding me to those same things. You took my family, my money, my job, an almost my life. But now, after unfriending you, my dreams are possible, my money is mine, and I do have chances to rebuild relationships. All in all, I am a lot better off without you, so goodbye alcohol.

Thank you to all our sponsors and everyone who attended or otherwise supported our 2nd Annual Addiction Awareness Benefit!

ARC hosted a camping trip for residents and friends the weekend of September 15th through the 17th at Richard B. Russell State Park. One resident commented, “I didn’t know you could have so much fun in recovery. In fact, I think that was the most fun I’ve ever had camping.” Events such as this not only help strengthen the bonds of friendship in recovery, but are also so important in creating new memories of good, clean fun! Thank you, Rick, for all your hard work to make the ARC Unity Camping Trip a success for those who went.