I am embarking on a journey with you to grow my faith, and maybe yours too. ‘Addicts in Action’ is a thought, a desire, a hope that faith can transform lives not yet aware of the power held in that faith.
First, I must have enduring faith. How do I achieve enduring faith? By committing to action the choice to trust that there is something greater than me that has the power to make all things possible; by committing to action the process of letting go and letting that power guide me; by committing to continuously seek the guidance of this power; and by having the courage in stillness to allow this creation to unfold as it will.
My human existence is perfectly imperfect and I falter on a regular basis. Through this faltering I learn. I learn about myself and the world around me. I learn that my fears are stifling liars. I learn that my thoughts are not truth. I learn that my feelings are fleeting. I learn that we are all doing the best we can with what we have and that we can all do better. And, I learn that love can change the world.
‘Addicts in Action’ is born out of love. Sobriety from alcohol was the first gift given to me freely by others who knew not anything about me but knew everything (faith). Recovery has been an incredible gift because I continued to show up (action). The best way to achieve a goal is together! Together these gifts are magnified beyond imagination.
So what is the goal of Addict in Action?
To Provide
Countless women enter treatment each year for addiction, whether in-patient or out-patient, through court orders or CPS recommendations, or simply because they fear where they are headed if they don’t learn how to live differently. This treatment has merit but not without limitations. Where does she go when her home environment is part of the problem? How does she get the help she needs to deal with the traumas that have contributed to and been exacerbated by the substance use? What life skills training does she receive if she has just barely survived familial addiction patterns? Most treatment falls short at these questions.
Vision: Small apartment communities transformed into 18-24 month sober living environments with individual and group counseling, access to medical and dental care, community support meetings and communal sober activities, life and job skills training and support, education, child care, and opportunities to give back to the community through volunteerism. These communities would be in rural areas where access to this type of care is extremely limited and the opportunity to become a member of these communities would be completely free of charge.
Why 18-24 months? It is said that this is the amount of time it takes to make a major life change. Women who come into the community are not simply looking to stay sober. No, they want to transform their lives. These facilities will give them the space, nurturing and encouragement to make those changes, free from worry about how to provide for themselves and their children which drives many to just stay numb in their addiction to avoid feeling that fear.
How will this monumental undertaking come to fruition? First, one day at a time. I don’t have many original ideas and I am a grand visionary so I know I need others and I need to patiently commit to each day doing something to move toward the goal. This is where you come in. By reaching every addict in recovery, every person affected by a loved one’s addiction, every person who cares about the cost of addiction on society I believe a movement can be achieved to bring this vision, or something similar to it, into existence, 24 hours and $24 at a time.
About 20 years ago, I printed out a saying and taped it to my keyboard, “A smile is contagious, careful you just might start an epidemic!” This is the infection we need in the world, not addiction.