July 24, 2024 • 53 mins
2024 1040 Garrison Getchell shares the struggles of his journey to get to the doorstep of Hope Is Alive, his progression through the faith based program, what success looks like for a participant, and the process of entering and expectations as part of the program, his current role as a Community Outreach Coordinator, and future opportunities within the spectrum of the HIA programs.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Thanks for joining us everybody. My name is Tim and I'm an alcoholic and this is Children of Chaos.
(00:08):
Today I have the privilege of having Garrison Goetel from the program Hope is Alive with Me today.
And we are going to talk about his experience within that program as a participant and his role in the program today.
So Garrison, welcome and why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself.
(00:33):
Well thank you Tim and I appreciate you having me on today and what you have been doing with Children of Chaos.
I feel like it's something that's needed to give people hope and that's also what I try to do with my job on a daily basis.
(00:55):
As you said my name is Garrison Goetel. I am the Senior Community Outreach Coordinator for Hope is Alive.
Currently here in Tulsa I've worked with the program ministry for over four years now.
Starting in Wichita, Kansas and then moving on to Kansas City and ultimately a job opening here in my hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
(01:30):
So threw my name in the hat and I got to move back here and now get to try to radically change lives here in the city that I was so destructive towards for many years.
That's really great. Thank you Garrison. Would you tell me about how it is that you came to arrive at the doorstep of Hope is Alive?
(02:03):
Yeah that's a good question with a long answer. It's a journey and me going through my I would say probably decade long addiction.
In and out of treatment facilities, detox centers, recovery ranches, you know every me and my family we tried a lot of things.
(02:37):
And it was 2016 I was coming out of another long stint of methamphetamine and opiates, heroin, you know anything I could get my hands on to take me out of the reality of what I was living in.
(03:01):
I finally got into a detox center after being homeless for a little while, living in my car, it getting stolen on the streets and called my dad yet again asking for help.
And he said to me I'll take I'll pick you up right now and take you somewhere not tonight not tomorrow I'll do it right now.
(03:31):
And so he picked me up in a parking lot somewhere and took me over to a detox facility.
After 10 days there I went into another program here in Oklahoma and I was not ready and I left there.
(03:55):
I walked out they took me to a bus station where I started on the the Greyhound tour, if you may, and staying at Salvation Army's and in bus stations and ultimately wound up on my grandmother's doorstep.
(04:24):
Thinking I could manipulate that situation she wouldn't turn me down.
You know we're willing to take advantage of all everyone and anyone including my grandmother and so I took that opportunity and needless to say my mother, aunt and uncle were not happy with me at that point.
(04:53):
So my uncle drove down from northern Arkansas and picked me up.
He had heard of this Baptist ranch where an evangelist came and spoke to his church and was working with a recovery ministry there.
So I moved there in 2016 and felt like I was doing pretty good.
(05:19):
It was a tough program, kind of military style, shave daily, haircut weekly.
In the evenings we would be doing seminary classes and in the daytime we would be working on their ranch helping with whatever, anything.
(05:45):
But I felt like I was doing well.
God was working on my heart.
But there was still reservation in my mind and my first 12 hour family day pass.
My parents picked me up, brought me back to Tulsa for a little cookout with some of the family and I called my dealer right away and he dropped off some meth and some heroin.
(06:20):
And I relapsed at that point but I got away with it.
It was a one slip up, went back to the program, was doing well but I kept that paraphernalia on my person.
And they searched our bags probably two weeks later and found that stuff and kicked me out of there.
(06:48):
Yet another failed program for myself and my dad picked me up, said I had five days to figure out where to go.
And what I felt like burned every bridge that I knew.
I didn't know any other programs or homes in the area that were going to take me in.
(07:11):
But I remembered my mom dropped or mailed me a newspaper article from the Tulsa world while I was in this program.
And it was talking about a guy named Lance Lang that had what he called a night of hope out at First Baptist Owasso.
(07:34):
And I was reading about this nonprofit that he started three years earlier and it was called Hope is Alive.
And so in a last ditch effort I said OK well I've read this article probably ten times in the last two months since I got it.
(07:56):
And let's just see what it's about. So I got online, went to HopeisAlive.net and like a lot of these websites there was a picture of a big group of people that were all happy.
And you know I just thought OK that's what all these websites look like.
(08:18):
What made it different was I used to party and run around with someone in the picture.
And I was like oh wait a minute. And so I called him and he said yeah I'm working for this program in Oklahoma City and would love if you moved in.
So that's where we're based down out of Oklahoma City. So I moved in and the day I got there I immediately felt the love and the passion.
(08:53):
Of the founder and his co-founder and wife.
They picked me up and took me to what they called back then a community night with one of our church partners.
Games, food, music. And it was just it was it was just different. Something felt different.
(09:17):
But the next morning I went to the Army Recruiters Office. The military was something that I had tried to break into many times.
But as many of you know addiction can take all everything away from you.
(09:38):
And it dwindled that dream as well. You know going to MAPS and having the opportunity to get in.
Something would happen and I would smoke weed or I would do something else where I had to dodge my recruiter.
(10:02):
And then the first time it was my grandmother passing away up in Ohio.
I went up there, smoked weed with my cousin, stole her opiates that she had been taking on hospice.
And I was off and running again. Had to dodge my recruiter and you know it just led to a spiral.
(10:29):
Another time with the Air Force my brother's recruiter that helped him get in was doing the same for me.
Wrote a letter of recommendation that he was past this weed problem because I got a weed charge in college.
(10:50):
So did all these things, pulled the strings that he needed to and once again my addiction got the best of me.
And that fizzled down as well. So when I entered the Hope is Alive program in 2016 I saw it as an opportunity.
Hey I'm going to take this, I'm going to get into the military and all will be well.
(11:18):
So that was the case for a little bit I would say. And I dropped the drugs for the most part.
Got into the Army, went to basic training three months later after getting into Hope is Alive.
But I left before the miracle could happen in this program. I left too soon.
(11:42):
And people I should have listened to, my leaders told me exactly that. You're not ready.
It's just you're going into an environment where it's more acceptable.
And so you know my hard head and stubbornness I didn't listen.
And I just replaced the drugs that I was abusing for alcohol.
(12:06):
And it brought me to my knees just as bad as any drugs ever did.
Alcohol was the one thing that I did not check off my list in those ten years that I was abusing drugs.
And you know, opiates I knew I couldn't do, amphetamines I knew I couldn't do.
(12:29):
But alcohol, everybody did it.
So I got into the Army, was at my duty station over Christmas leave.
And thought I could handle a bottle of Makers Mark. And that just wasn't the case.
So it just took all of those hidden trauma and emotions and it just highlighted them in my life.
(13:01):
It became, it ran my life. I couldn't get out of bed without taking a sip of alcohol, waiting after PT, physical training and formation in the morning.
I would be waiting at the liquor store for it to open at 8 o'clock so I could grab a pint so I could make it through the day.
(13:25):
Yeah, and it just crushed all my dreams again.
So transitioning out of the military, I called my friend back and asked, hey, could I get back into Hope is Alive? Is that an option?
And he said, absolutely. But I'm in Wichita now, Wichita, Kansas.
(13:50):
We opened the first house for Hope is Alive outside of Oklahoma here and I would love if you moved in with me.
So after dragging my feet, had to get through the summer, beautiful summers up in northern New York.
Had a girlfriend that I used as an excuse. Had to go visit family, I used that as an excuse.
(14:11):
So it took about three months after, four months probably after that initial phone call and a few trips to the hospital, psych ward.
I was a suicidal drunk at this point. So finally, my dad had to fly up to Chicago, drive my car and me back down to Wichita, Kansas.
(14:35):
And I finally made it, middle of 2019, to Wichita, Kansas.
And when I walked through that door, I got a hug from my friend, got a hug from a stranger that I didn't know.
And it just immediately felt like home. And it immediately felt like the love of Christ was surrounding me.
(14:59):
And yeah, from there I just started saying yes to what I was asked to do, trusting in my leadership.
And that's kind of the long version of me getting on the doorstep of Hope is Alive.
That's literally landing on the doorstep.
(15:22):
Yeah.
Thanks for sharing that with me.
Absolutely.
So once you got to Hope is Alive and started through the program, tell me about how that went.
What all's involved there and what is it that helps you to get and stay sober and continue through the program?
(15:45):
Yes, so there's a lot of things that go into...
Let me back up just a minute.
Please.
The journey you took to get to the doorstep of Hope is Alive is incredible.
And I know that there are a lot of 12-step programs out there.
And that a lot of us go through those 12-step programs and a lot of us make it.
(16:11):
And a lot of us don't, with just the help of the 12-step program.
Oftentimes it takes something more than that.
And that's kind of what I see Hope is Alive is as something more than just the 12-step program.
So can you tell me about that and being a participant in the house and how that works?
(16:38):
Absolutely.
And we go in lockstep with these 12-step programs.
I'm one of those people that you described.
Early on in my addiction, other than my first AA meeting, which was court ordered after that marijuana charge,
(17:01):
that's the first introduction I got to Alcoholics Anonymous,
I tried to go in and get a sponsor and do all that stuff.
But I didn't have the accountability that you get when you come into a lot of these programs and homes.
(17:22):
But for me what worked was Hope is Alive.
It's just when I walked in and felt the community with Hope is Alive, we're very community based.
You still have a job, you still are getting a sponsor, you're still working the 12-steps of programs.
(17:51):
It can be, and I've seen success in a lot of them,
Parcotics Anonymous, Cocaine Anonymous, Celebrate Recovery, Alcoholics Anonymous.
But you need to be with someone that's been through that before and is walking you through these steps that are ultimately going to change your life.
(18:16):
And when you're doing that besides 10 to 12 guys that are all doing the same thing as well,
and you're living with them, I just feel like the success rate is better.
And there's a lot of other stuff that goes into that.
(18:37):
Hope is Alive is a faith based program, and that was big in my journey.
And I believe I could have moved anywhere in the world,
and if I get into a good church and start serving in that church that I would be just fine.
And that's what proved to be right in my story in Wichita.
(19:02):
I got into a very supportive church family.
I started serving with the kids there, and I just felt like I was being supported in a huge way,
meeting new people outside of the people that I'm living with, and I started to flourish from there.
(19:29):
Also tying into that in my story was my physical fitness.
After leaving the military, being forced to work out and be in physical shape,
not only being forced, you're literally being paid to be fit, to serve your country.
And so in my mind, I'm just coming out of rehab and hospital stays, and I just told myself,
(19:58):
I remember telling myself I don't care about my physical health at all.
I just need to be sober.
But probably three months into my stay in Hope is Alive, one of the guys came up to me and said,
hey, start working out with me.
You will see the advantages of doing that.
(20:19):
So I started doing that, working on my physical health a little bit.
Then I started running, and we've all been told about runners high.
And during COVID, that was real for me.
I wanted to get out and see other people, see other faces.
So I started running a lot, and that was extremely good for me.
(20:43):
Listening to my leaders was a big part of it.
Hope is Alive, we have our staff ratio to the number of residents we have.
We have about one to four, and so we have a full-time staff member that lives in the homes with the residents.
(21:06):
And that was a big difference in Hope is Alive to the other programs I had been in,
where some of them are democratically run, and it's run by the residents.
And I've seen great success with some of those.
To have someone in leadership position that you can go to, and they can kind of help you make a decision,
(21:34):
it worked really well for me.
And it was an accountability that I hadn't had elsewhere that I felt like I needed at the time.
And we have a long-term approach in Hope is Alive where they're not rushing out.
It's not a time thing.
I was in it for 22 months living in the house.
(21:55):
I've seen people leave in 10 months completing the program.
So it all is on your term as long as you're progressing forward in your journey.
But the joy is in the journey, and that was the case in Hope is Alive for me.
(22:16):
When you say completing the program, sometimes it's 10 months, sometimes it's 22 months, sometimes it may be longer.
What does completing the program mean? What does success look like?
Yeah, so in Hope is Alive, I believe we're at about 66 requirements now for graduation.
(22:41):
And to answer your question, success looks a lot different for a lot of people.
Because some people are coming from jails, prisons, don't have anything with the clothes on their back.
And so success for them is having a steady job, say build your credit, being of service to your community.
(23:06):
Others, it's getting your wife, getting your kids back, and we see a lot of that and everything in between.
But completing the program, I think it looks different for a lot of people because in our program are two 12-step programs.
You're completing the 12 steps of, say AA, with a sponsor outside of the home.
(23:33):
So that depends on the sponsor you have. Some sponsors can be a little harder than others.
They're not going to give you shortcuts. So that can take longer for some people.
And then you're going into phase two, working on codependency anonymous or sex, love, and relationship addiction.
(23:57):
And working those 12 steps, depending on what your main process addiction is, which is big in our program.
What got you to become an addict or alcoholic?
I think you know, Tim, that we don't just wake up one day and I want to be an alcoholic today.
(24:20):
There's this black hole in our life at some point that strayed us and got us to turn to these drugs and the alcohol to try to fill a void in our life.
And we're trying to get back to that true self that we were created to be.
(24:45):
And going into hope is alive, you're trying to get back and do those, work through that trauma that you've had in your life.
So that looks different for everybody. A lot of people have had maybe a harder time than others in our program.
But we're also working on budgets, opening a checking account, calling your creditors.
(25:12):
A lot of the stuff that the big book talks about.
Start paying off your debts, all different kinds of things. Getting back into school, paying your rent on time.
Our residents, they need to get a job within three weeks. And if you're not getting a job, you're applying to places.
(25:36):
I think it's like at least three applications a day. But we help you with that.
We have supporters in the community. Hey, if you have people that are looking for work, send them my way.
I think we all know the problem that this country is seeing today. It's hard to get good workers, good employees.
(26:01):
So I believe alcoholics and addicts, when sober minded and in recovery, are some of the hardest working people.
Because we worked pretty hard to keep ourselves sick.
So when we can put that energy elsewhere, we're forced to be reckoned with.
(26:23):
But getting a job, paying rent on time, there's a curfew in the house. And these are just off the top of my head on some of the rules.
Like I said, it's high accountability. You have to make a choice. You have to be willing to want this.
And being able to surrender that stuff isn't always easy for some people. It's easier for others.
(26:50):
Probably depending on where you're at on your rock bottom, some say.
So tell me about your current role and the formal side of Hope is Alive, if you will.
Yeah. My main role as a community outreach coordinator, that's what we call it. My main role is to support the program staff and the residents in the program.
(27:25):
That looks like a lot of different things. I got into the role. My friend that got me into the program two times,
he was doing this position in Wichita and he saw something in me probably about nine months in to my stay in Wichita and asked if I would like to become an intern with Hope is Alive.
(27:58):
And so I left my plumbing apprentice job at the time to go down to move down to Oklahoma City and spend three months there learning the position,
learning from our founder, Lance, about what it takes to support our program in the many different ways that we do that.
(28:28):
So after that, my buddy that was working and got me the job in Wichita opened up a couple of houses in Kansas City. So the job opened up in Wichita where I had already been for nine months at the time and knew the community well.
(28:51):
So I moved back up to Wichita to work there and stayed there for about two years and was loving what I was doing. My job, the way I support the program, number one is funding.
You know, we're a nonprofit ministry that has 26 homes across the country from North Carolina to Colorado Springs and those homes, they take a lot of wear and tear.
(29:26):
It's eight to 12 people living in them. As you can imagine, it takes money to run those homes and to pay our staff and to have the curriculum to teach on a weekly basis.
(29:48):
So funding to keep the program going, to be able to help more people, that falls on me. We do that in many different ways. Fundraisers, 5K runs, some cities have golf tournaments and lunches, dinners, individual donors meeting with them on a day to day basis.
(30:13):
A huge lifeblood of our program is church partnerships. Coming alongside churches, we hopefully get in their budget at some point to be the 911 call for when a mom comes up to the pastor saying, hey, my son is addicted to heroin.
(30:37):
Do you have any resources so that pastor can hand them over to our team and we can try to get that loved one the help they need.
Other ways that my job comes into play is volunteer engagement. You know, our program would not be what it is without our volunteers.
(31:05):
I wouldn't be where I'm at without our volunteers. That was something that set us apart for me early on, seeing the community come around us, bring us meals, speak on a Sunday like you've been able to do for us, Tim.
It just feels like we're part of something. Okay, we're not just a drug addict or alcoholic or just lost soul. We have these people in the community coming around us, speaking life into us, pouring into us, time, talents and treasures, taking time out of their busy schedules to come help us.
(31:54):
Time is something we can't get back. A lot of times I have donors that they can write me a check, which is amazing. We need that. It's a lot harder to get their time because they can earn more money. They can't get more time back.
(32:15):
So that doesn't go unseen and we don't take that for granted. And so getting volunteers is a huge responsibility. We have chances for volunteers to come in every Sunday night and bring the residents a meal, sit down, fellowship with them, have a relational partnership with them because that's what we need, consistent partners in our life.
(32:44):
Another one is donor relations. So people that donate to our nonprofit, it's my job to keep that relationship going. And you know that that looks like grabbing a cup of coffee with them, maybe once a quarter in the year, and just hearing how we can serve them, how they're serving us, how it's affecting the people and telling them stories, testimonies.
(33:11):
Our stories and testimonies are a powerful weapon for good. They can be. So these people want to know what they're supporting locally and nationwide. So in a nutshell, that is my position at Hope is Alive. That's what I do.
And all of that comes back to supporting the program team that's walking with these residents to get through our program. They can call me for many different things. A lot of that's, they'll call me for, hey, we need toilet paper and paper towels at the house.
(33:47):
Can you reach out to someone and hope they fill that need? That's my job as well. So it looks a lot of different ways.
Harrison, when somebody in theory winds up on the doorstep or reaches out for the help, how do they do that with Hope is Alive?
(34:10):
I get a lot of calls, hey, it's usually the family member. Hey, so-and-so is struggling with this and I want to learn more about your program. At that point in time, I have them go online to HopeisAlive.net, fill out an application for our program.
(34:31):
That then goes to our recruitment and outreach team and they reach out, call them. They want to talk to the person that's wanting the help and find out if they're wanting the help or if their family member is just trying for them.
(34:53):
So at that point, they walk through a lot of what we've talked about today. Requirements for our program, what to expect.
So at the point where we get the application off of our website, we have an amazing team of individuals that will reach out to you, explain the program requirement-wise, what to expect, make sure they know that it is a high accountability program.
(35:29):
There's requirements that you have to follow that we're unapologetically going to talk about Jesus and make sure they know that.
And let me say, people come into our program as nonbelievers, but they're going to be required to go to a church of their choice every Sunday. They're going to be required for the first six months to attend a Bible study that we hold at the home and see where it goes from there.
(36:09):
That's what we're going to talk about. And we let them know that. And at that point, not everybody's a fit for our program. And we understand that.
And if you aren't, we have community partners out the wazoo that we will help connect you with. That's part of that team's job. They go into recovery centers, they go to other programs, they go nationwide to learn about other places that people are, people are fit for.
(36:47):
And we'll try to connect you with the best fit. If you are a fit for our program, at that point, you go, you get sent to the program managers.
And depending on if you have any location restrictions, and that can look a lot of different ways to children, wife, parole, probation, it can look a lot of different. You can be restricted to an area for a lot of different reasons.
(37:21):
But if you're not, obviously it is easier for us to place you in a home. If we have 26 homes to choose from, and there's an opening here, but not here, and you're willing to go there, that's a little bit easier.
But if there's an opening at a house where you're at, you get sent to that program manager. They look through your application. Usually it looks like inviting you to the home, showing you around the house, sitting down for just to talk with the program manager.
(37:59):
And if the next move is for you to do an intake and ready to move in, you're going to have to pass a drug test and an alcohol assessment.
So that can be a hurdle for some people. And if you're not ready to pass a drug test or an alcohol assessment, maybe a detox center is the best place for you before coming into the program.
(38:27):
Maybe a 30, 60, 90 day rehab is the best place for you before coming into our homes.
Because the main objective at that point is keeping the residents that are already in the home safe at that point.
And if we're just taking people that maybe stopped that morning shooting up heroin and going to go through withdrawals in the home, we're not equipped to handle that. So you need a higher level care.
(39:01):
So you're, the light just came on.
Yeah, please.
Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't.
It's gonna trick me if I'm wrong. The focus is not on helping somebody to achieve sobriety.
It's helping someone maintain sobriety and rebuild their life from the ashes that they've come. Is that correct?
(39:28):
Correct. Long term recovery is what we're after, I hope, is life.
That would be why potentially detox, then a treatment center, and then hope is alive.
Right.
Potentially. Someone could walk right into hope is alive, but potentially.
(39:50):
Right. Say they're coming off of alcohol like I was, and I just got out of a 10 day stay at the psych ward at the hospital.
I didn't go to a rehab facility right after that.
I had been to one three months earlier, but it wasn't a, well, you can't come in yet. You need to go to a rehab facility.
(40:15):
I mean, I had just gotten detoxed at the hospital and did all of that stuff.
So they, I came in. If you're going through meth induced psychosis, we're probably not the place for you right then and there.
We believe we have a place on the continuum of care in the recovery world.
(40:38):
But if you look at it like a baseball diamond, we definitely believe that detox, medical detox, is first base.
A 30, 60, 90 day rehab facility is second base.
And hope is alive, squeezes right in there at third base.
(40:59):
Hopefully to get you ready to go home to your family, wife, kids.
And it's probably going to be the longest and hardest base there is.
Nice analogy.
Yeah. And if you're trying to get back to your loved ones, wife, family, all of that, that's going to take the longest.
(41:29):
You know, trust is the first thing that you lose and the last thing you get back.
I was told that early on by my sponsor.
So you're going to have to not call them every day bragging about what you did, how many meetings you hit.
It's going to take a while of doing the right thing over and over.
(41:52):
So that's where hope is alive, tucks into things.
And we're finding as we grow that if we're having and requiring people to go to these rehab facilities and detox centers before entering hope is alive,
(42:15):
they call us at the lowest point, hurting and needing help. And we are outsourcing them to programs all over the country.
Not all of them that we know.
And to be quite honest, fully trust that they are teaching what we believe.
(42:38):
So we saw no other option other than opening our own treatment facility, healing center.
And that opens in October. So we will now hope is alive is venturing out.
It's a big step. It's not easy. Put the money aside because it's expensive.
(43:04):
It's just a new new realm and we're stepping into it fully, fully faithful on believing.
That's what God wants us to do and getting them more from a day zero, day one approach.
And hopefully the success of hope is alive that we've seen over the last 11 years of our existence seeps into that healing center as well.
(43:37):
And so we're excited about that and announced it at the end of last year that that we're doing it.
And come October, I believe we'll be welcoming our first man at first. That's phase one.
And then phase two, I believe, is the loved ones, a retreat facility type thing for our finding hope and hope after loss groups,
(44:04):
which is a whole other interview, Tim, but finding hope is our support groups for loved ones of addicts and alcoholics.
We're always up for another conversation. Yeah. And hope after loss.
Yeah, I believe it explains it right there. It's support groups for people that have lost loved ones to addiction and alcoholism.
(44:25):
So that's kind of phase two. And then moving into phase three, we will build a women's facility as well.
And that it's a big project. It's seventy five acre land.
So we'll have plenty of space in between our men and women.
(44:52):
That's something I haven't even brought up. But keeping gender separated,
we believe that hope is alive is a huge advantage to recovery for the time being.
Now, if you have a wife that you're trying to build that relationship back up brick by brick, then that's a whole other thing.
(45:13):
That's a whole other conversation. But coming into the program and being able to focus on yourself and not worried about a woman or a man,
it's huge. It was huge for me and my struggles.
I feel like a lot of my struggles in the past stemmed from me looking for approval and and in a woman.
(45:46):
And it never if I was if I wasn't healthy spiritually, mentally and physically going into already sick situation with a woman,
it never turned out good. So I needed to be one hundred percent myself.
I needed to be in a good place mentally, physically and spiritually before I ever even saw it as an option to start dating again.
(46:21):
And I did that. And I prayed. I prayed and prayed and prayed for a godly woman in my life.
And God has blessed with bless me with that today and have a wife and two kids that I never would have dreamed of.
It's all I ever wanted. But I don't believe God was going to give me that if I was just going to destroy their lives.
(46:49):
So I had to I had to build my life back up. So, yeah, that's kind of anyway.
So I got off on that tangent because of describing our our healing center, how it is eventually going to have men and women on the seventy five acres together.
But they're totally separate because yeah, what I got into.
(47:11):
That's all right. Tell me what you want me to know about hope is alive that we haven't talked about.
I know there's more than we can talk about in an hour.
But what are the important things for you for listeners to know about this program?
(47:35):
Well, I just believe that there is a many differences with hope is alive than other places with with the staff that we have that
all on the program side, they've been through our program themselves and walking through a difficult season in your life, trying to heal.
(48:03):
I think it's imperative to have someone that's been through the same stuff there helping you with it.
So our staff is a big, big difference in our program in my life.
And most of the success stories that I see, they have some sort of focus on faith and spirituality.
(48:32):
We're all in different. A different time in our life, different seasons, our walk can look different in that way.
But having a spiritual understanding and a God consciousness that actually fills that void in our life.
(48:57):
We've taken the drugs, we've taken the alcohol out of it, but there still feels like an emptiness inside.
In my experience, from what I've seen in myself and others, putting Christ in that in that void was the only way that changed my life.
(49:23):
And that's going to be what we're striving for in hope is alive.
Life skills development. I've touched on that a little bit, but I brought up we have speakers come in on Sunday nights.
A lot of times that looks like a testimony or a devotional or with lack of better words, a sermon because a lot of the people that we have in our pastors or work in a ministry.
(49:59):
But I'm the one that schedules those. And I've seen it very beneficial in the past to have financial advisors there.
People that we've had realtors that are teaching us how to properly save up and build up what you need to buy a home.
(50:25):
Workout people, yoga people, all types of life skills that we're learning in the program.
I believe is so it's not just you don't have to be a clergyman to come in and speak to the residents.
We all have struggles. We all have a story. We've we've all overcome something that I believe can help these men and women.
(50:52):
And something I also touched on was healing the core wounds in our lives.
I don't think it's any secret that we all have trauma and wounds of all different shapes and sizes.
And it's not anybody's place to judge that effect that it had on your life.
(51:14):
So whether it was losing a job or losing literally everything that you have, we want to heal what that did in your life and in your mind and in your heart.
So but another thing, we're always looking for volunteers.
So I want if you have anybody reach out to you that is looking to help with our mission, which is to radically change the lives of drug addicts, alcoholics and those that love them.
(51:47):
Please reach out to me and I will get them plugged in in some type of way, whether that is their time, whether that's giving to our ministry financially or their talents as well.
We always have volunteer days that people are looking to come out and put a little blood, sweat and tears into the program as well.
(52:09):
So it can look many different ways.
Garrison, thank you so much for being here with me today.
And you know, you've truly shown me that hope is alive.
And I appreciate that very much.
It was my pleasure. Thank you, Tim.
This has been a production of Children of Chaos dot net.
(52:30):
Children of Chaos is a forum to discuss topics related to and in concert with addiction and recovery in America is not affiliated with endorsed or financed by any recovery or treatment program, organization or institution.
Any views, thoughts or opinions expressed by an individual in this venue are solely that of the individual and do not reflect the views, policies or position of any specific recovery based entity or organization.
Thanks for joining us everybody. My name is Tim and I'm an alcoholic and this is Children of Chaos.
(00:08):
Today I have the privilege of having Garrison Goetel from the program Hope is Alive with Me today.
And we are going to talk about his experience within that program as a participant and his role in the program today.
So Garrison, welcome and why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself.
(00:33):
Well thank you Tim and I appreciate you having me on today and what you have been doing with Children of Chaos.
I feel like it's something that's needed to give people hope and that's also what I try to do with my job on a daily basis.
(00:55):
As you said my name is Garrison Goetel. I am the Senior Community Outreach Coordinator for Hope is Alive.
Currently here in Tulsa I've worked with the program ministry for over four years now.
Starting in Wichita, Kansas and then moving on to Kansas City and ultimately a job opening here in my hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
(01:30):
So threw my name in the hat and I got to move back here and now get to try to radically change lives here in the city that I was so destructive towards for many years.
That's really great. Thank you Garrison. Would you tell me about how it is that you came to arrive at the doorstep of Hope is Alive?
(02:03):
Yeah that's a good question with a long answer. It's a journey and me going through my I would say probably decade long addiction.
In and out of treatment facilities, detox centers, recovery ranches, you know every me and my family we tried a lot of things.
(02:37):
And it was 2016 I was coming out of another long stint of methamphetamine and opiates, heroin, you know anything I could get my hands on to take me out of the reality of what I was living in.
(03:01):
I finally got into a detox center after being homeless for a little while, living in my car, it getting stolen on the streets and called my dad yet again asking for help.
And he said to me I'll take I'll pick you up right now and take you somewhere not tonight not tomorrow I'll do it right now.
(03:31):
And so he picked me up in a parking lot somewhere and took me over to a detox facility.
After 10 days there I went into another program here in Oklahoma and I was not ready and I left there.
(03:55):
I walked out they took me to a bus station where I started on the the Greyhound tour, if you may, and staying at Salvation Army's and in bus stations and ultimately wound up on my grandmother's doorstep.
(04:24):
Thinking I could manipulate that situation she wouldn't turn me down.
You know we're willing to take advantage of all everyone and anyone including my grandmother and so I took that opportunity and needless to say my mother, aunt and uncle were not happy with me at that point.
(04:53):
So my uncle drove down from northern Arkansas and picked me up.
He had heard of this Baptist ranch where an evangelist came and spoke to his church and was working with a recovery ministry there.
So I moved there in 2016 and felt like I was doing pretty good.
(05:19):
It was a tough program, kind of military style, shave daily, haircut weekly.
In the evenings we would be doing seminary classes and in the daytime we would be working on their ranch helping with whatever, anything.
(05:45):
But I felt like I was doing well.
God was working on my heart.
But there was still reservation in my mind and my first 12 hour family day pass.
My parents picked me up, brought me back to Tulsa for a little cookout with some of the family and I called my dealer right away and he dropped off some meth and some heroin.
(06:20):
And I relapsed at that point but I got away with it.
It was a one slip up, went back to the program, was doing well but I kept that paraphernalia on my person.
And they searched our bags probably two weeks later and found that stuff and kicked me out of there.
(06:48):
Yet another failed program for myself and my dad picked me up, said I had five days to figure out where to go.
And what I felt like burned every bridge that I knew.
I didn't know any other programs or homes in the area that were going to take me in.
(07:11):
But I remembered my mom dropped or mailed me a newspaper article from the Tulsa world while I was in this program.
And it was talking about a guy named Lance Lang that had what he called a night of hope out at First Baptist Owasso.
(07:34):
And I was reading about this nonprofit that he started three years earlier and it was called Hope is Alive.
And so in a last ditch effort I said OK well I've read this article probably ten times in the last two months since I got it.
(07:56):
And let's just see what it's about. So I got online, went to HopeisAlive.net and like a lot of these websites there was a picture of a big group of people that were all happy.
And you know I just thought OK that's what all these websites look like.
(08:18):
What made it different was I used to party and run around with someone in the picture.
And I was like oh wait a minute. And so I called him and he said yeah I'm working for this program in Oklahoma City and would love if you moved in.
So that's where we're based down out of Oklahoma City. So I moved in and the day I got there I immediately felt the love and the passion.
(08:53):
Of the founder and his co-founder and wife.
They picked me up and took me to what they called back then a community night with one of our church partners.
Games, food, music. And it was just it was it was just different. Something felt different.
(09:17):
But the next morning I went to the Army Recruiters Office. The military was something that I had tried to break into many times.
But as many of you know addiction can take all everything away from you.
(09:38):
And it dwindled that dream as well. You know going to MAPS and having the opportunity to get in.
Something would happen and I would smoke weed or I would do something else where I had to dodge my recruiter.
(10:02):
And then the first time it was my grandmother passing away up in Ohio.
I went up there, smoked weed with my cousin, stole her opiates that she had been taking on hospice.
And I was off and running again. Had to dodge my recruiter and you know it just led to a spiral.
(10:29):
Another time with the Air Force my brother's recruiter that helped him get in was doing the same for me.
Wrote a letter of recommendation that he was past this weed problem because I got a weed charge in college.
(10:50):
So did all these things, pulled the strings that he needed to and once again my addiction got the best of me.
And that fizzled down as well. So when I entered the Hope is Alive program in 2016 I saw it as an opportunity.
Hey I'm going to take this, I'm going to get into the military and all will be well.
(11:18):
So that was the case for a little bit I would say. And I dropped the drugs for the most part.
Got into the Army, went to basic training three months later after getting into Hope is Alive.
But I left before the miracle could happen in this program. I left too soon.
(11:42):
And people I should have listened to, my leaders told me exactly that. You're not ready.
It's just you're going into an environment where it's more acceptable.
And so you know my hard head and stubbornness I didn't listen.
And I just replaced the drugs that I was abusing for alcohol.
(12:06):
And it brought me to my knees just as bad as any drugs ever did.
Alcohol was the one thing that I did not check off my list in those ten years that I was abusing drugs.
And you know, opiates I knew I couldn't do, amphetamines I knew I couldn't do.
(12:29):
But alcohol, everybody did it.
So I got into the Army, was at my duty station over Christmas leave.
And thought I could handle a bottle of Makers Mark. And that just wasn't the case.
So it just took all of those hidden trauma and emotions and it just highlighted them in my life.
(13:01):
It became, it ran my life. I couldn't get out of bed without taking a sip of alcohol, waiting after PT, physical training and formation in the morning.
I would be waiting at the liquor store for it to open at 8 o'clock so I could grab a pint so I could make it through the day.
(13:25):
Yeah, and it just crushed all my dreams again.
So transitioning out of the military, I called my friend back and asked, hey, could I get back into Hope is Alive? Is that an option?
And he said, absolutely. But I'm in Wichita now, Wichita, Kansas.
(13:50):
We opened the first house for Hope is Alive outside of Oklahoma here and I would love if you moved in with me.
So after dragging my feet, had to get through the summer, beautiful summers up in northern New York.
Had a girlfriend that I used as an excuse. Had to go visit family, I used that as an excuse.
(14:11):
So it took about three months after, four months probably after that initial phone call and a few trips to the hospital, psych ward.
I was a suicidal drunk at this point. So finally, my dad had to fly up to Chicago, drive my car and me back down to Wichita, Kansas.
(14:35):
And I finally made it, middle of 2019, to Wichita, Kansas.
And when I walked through that door, I got a hug from my friend, got a hug from a stranger that I didn't know.
And it just immediately felt like home. And it immediately felt like the love of Christ was surrounding me.
(14:59):
And yeah, from there I just started saying yes to what I was asked to do, trusting in my leadership.
And that's kind of the long version of me getting on the doorstep of Hope is Alive.
That's literally landing on the doorstep.
(15:22):
Yeah.
Thanks for sharing that with me.
Absolutely.
So once you got to Hope is Alive and started through the program, tell me about how that went.
What all's involved there and what is it that helps you to get and stay sober and continue through the program?
(15:45):
Yes, so there's a lot of things that go into...
Let me back up just a minute.
Please.
The journey you took to get to the doorstep of Hope is Alive is incredible.
And I know that there are a lot of 12-step programs out there.
And that a lot of us go through those 12-step programs and a lot of us make it.
(16:11):
And a lot of us don't, with just the help of the 12-step program.
Oftentimes it takes something more than that.
And that's kind of what I see Hope is Alive is as something more than just the 12-step program.
So can you tell me about that and being a participant in the house and how that works?
(16:38):
Absolutely.
And we go in lockstep with these 12-step programs.
I'm one of those people that you described.
Early on in my addiction, other than my first AA meeting, which was court ordered after that marijuana charge,
(17:01):
that's the first introduction I got to Alcoholics Anonymous,
I tried to go in and get a sponsor and do all that stuff.
But I didn't have the accountability that you get when you come into a lot of these programs and homes.
(17:22):
But for me what worked was Hope is Alive.
It's just when I walked in and felt the community with Hope is Alive, we're very community based.
You still have a job, you still are getting a sponsor, you're still working the 12-steps of programs.
(17:51):
It can be, and I've seen success in a lot of them,
Parcotics Anonymous, Cocaine Anonymous, Celebrate Recovery, Alcoholics Anonymous.
But you need to be with someone that's been through that before and is walking you through these steps that are ultimately going to change your life.
(18:16):
And when you're doing that besides 10 to 12 guys that are all doing the same thing as well,
and you're living with them, I just feel like the success rate is better.
And there's a lot of other stuff that goes into that.
(18:37):
Hope is Alive is a faith based program, and that was big in my journey.
And I believe I could have moved anywhere in the world,
and if I get into a good church and start serving in that church that I would be just fine.
And that's what proved to be right in my story in Wichita.
(19:02):
I got into a very supportive church family.
I started serving with the kids there, and I just felt like I was being supported in a huge way,
meeting new people outside of the people that I'm living with, and I started to flourish from there.
(19:29):
Also tying into that in my story was my physical fitness.
After leaving the military, being forced to work out and be in physical shape,
not only being forced, you're literally being paid to be fit, to serve your country.
And so in my mind, I'm just coming out of rehab and hospital stays, and I just told myself,
(19:58):
I remember telling myself I don't care about my physical health at all.
I just need to be sober.
But probably three months into my stay in Hope is Alive, one of the guys came up to me and said,
hey, start working out with me.
You will see the advantages of doing that.
(20:19):
So I started doing that, working on my physical health a little bit.
Then I started running, and we've all been told about runners high.
And during COVID, that was real for me.
I wanted to get out and see other people, see other faces.
So I started running a lot, and that was extremely good for me.
(20:43):
Listening to my leaders was a big part of it.
Hope is Alive, we have our staff ratio to the number of residents we have.
We have about one to four, and so we have a full-time staff member that lives in the homes with the residents.
(21:06):
And that was a big difference in Hope is Alive to the other programs I had been in,
where some of them are democratically run, and it's run by the residents.
And I've seen great success with some of those.
To have someone in leadership position that you can go to, and they can kind of help you make a decision,
(21:34):
it worked really well for me.
And it was an accountability that I hadn't had elsewhere that I felt like I needed at the time.
And we have a long-term approach in Hope is Alive where they're not rushing out.
It's not a time thing.
I was in it for 22 months living in the house.
(21:55):
I've seen people leave in 10 months completing the program.
So it all is on your term as long as you're progressing forward in your journey.
But the joy is in the journey, and that was the case in Hope is Alive for me.
(22:16):
When you say completing the program, sometimes it's 10 months, sometimes it's 22 months, sometimes it may be longer.
What does completing the program mean? What does success look like?
Yeah, so in Hope is Alive, I believe we're at about 66 requirements now for graduation.
(22:41):
And to answer your question, success looks a lot different for a lot of people.
Because some people are coming from jails, prisons, don't have anything with the clothes on their back.
And so success for them is having a steady job, say build your credit, being of service to your community.
(23:06):
Others, it's getting your wife, getting your kids back, and we see a lot of that and everything in between.
But completing the program, I think it looks different for a lot of people because in our program are two 12-step programs.
You're completing the 12 steps of, say AA, with a sponsor outside of the home.
(23:33):
So that depends on the sponsor you have. Some sponsors can be a little harder than others.
They're not going to give you shortcuts. So that can take longer for some people.
And then you're going into phase two, working on codependency anonymous or sex, love, and relationship addiction.
(23:57):
And working those 12 steps, depending on what your main process addiction is, which is big in our program.
What got you to become an addict or alcoholic?
I think you know, Tim, that we don't just wake up one day and I want to be an alcoholic today.
(24:20):
There's this black hole in our life at some point that strayed us and got us to turn to these drugs and the alcohol to try to fill a void in our life.
And we're trying to get back to that true self that we were created to be.
(24:45):
And going into hope is alive, you're trying to get back and do those, work through that trauma that you've had in your life.
So that looks different for everybody. A lot of people have had maybe a harder time than others in our program.
But we're also working on budgets, opening a checking account, calling your creditors.
(25:12):
A lot of the stuff that the big book talks about.
Start paying off your debts, all different kinds of things. Getting back into school, paying your rent on time.
Our residents, they need to get a job within three weeks. And if you're not getting a job, you're applying to places.
(25:36):
I think it's like at least three applications a day. But we help you with that.
We have supporters in the community. Hey, if you have people that are looking for work, send them my way.
I think we all know the problem that this country is seeing today. It's hard to get good workers, good employees.
(26:01):
So I believe alcoholics and addicts, when sober minded and in recovery, are some of the hardest working people.
Because we worked pretty hard to keep ourselves sick.
So when we can put that energy elsewhere, we're forced to be reckoned with.
(26:23):
But getting a job, paying rent on time, there's a curfew in the house. And these are just off the top of my head on some of the rules.
Like I said, it's high accountability. You have to make a choice. You have to be willing to want this.
And being able to surrender that stuff isn't always easy for some people. It's easier for others.
(26:50):
Probably depending on where you're at on your rock bottom, some say.
So tell me about your current role and the formal side of Hope is Alive, if you will.
Yeah. My main role as a community outreach coordinator, that's what we call it. My main role is to support the program staff and the residents in the program.
(27:25):
That looks like a lot of different things. I got into the role. My friend that got me into the program two times,
he was doing this position in Wichita and he saw something in me probably about nine months in to my stay in Wichita and asked if I would like to become an intern with Hope is Alive.
(27:58):
And so I left my plumbing apprentice job at the time to go down to move down to Oklahoma City and spend three months there learning the position,
learning from our founder, Lance, about what it takes to support our program in the many different ways that we do that.
(28:28):
So after that, my buddy that was working and got me the job in Wichita opened up a couple of houses in Kansas City. So the job opened up in Wichita where I had already been for nine months at the time and knew the community well.
(28:51):
So I moved back up to Wichita to work there and stayed there for about two years and was loving what I was doing. My job, the way I support the program, number one is funding.
You know, we're a nonprofit ministry that has 26 homes across the country from North Carolina to Colorado Springs and those homes, they take a lot of wear and tear.
(29:26):
It's eight to 12 people living in them. As you can imagine, it takes money to run those homes and to pay our staff and to have the curriculum to teach on a weekly basis.
(29:48):
So funding to keep the program going, to be able to help more people, that falls on me. We do that in many different ways. Fundraisers, 5K runs, some cities have golf tournaments and lunches, dinners, individual donors meeting with them on a day to day basis.
(30:13):
A huge lifeblood of our program is church partnerships. Coming alongside churches, we hopefully get in their budget at some point to be the 911 call for when a mom comes up to the pastor saying, hey, my son is addicted to heroin.
(30:37):
Do you have any resources so that pastor can hand them over to our team and we can try to get that loved one the help they need.
Other ways that my job comes into play is volunteer engagement. You know, our program would not be what it is without our volunteers.
(31:05):
I wouldn't be where I'm at without our volunteers. That was something that set us apart for me early on, seeing the community come around us, bring us meals, speak on a Sunday like you've been able to do for us, Tim.
It just feels like we're part of something. Okay, we're not just a drug addict or alcoholic or just lost soul. We have these people in the community coming around us, speaking life into us, pouring into us, time, talents and treasures, taking time out of their busy schedules to come help us.
(31:54):
Time is something we can't get back. A lot of times I have donors that they can write me a check, which is amazing. We need that. It's a lot harder to get their time because they can earn more money. They can't get more time back.
(32:15):
So that doesn't go unseen and we don't take that for granted. And so getting volunteers is a huge responsibility. We have chances for volunteers to come in every Sunday night and bring the residents a meal, sit down, fellowship with them, have a relational partnership with them because that's what we need, consistent partners in our life.
(32:44):
Another one is donor relations. So people that donate to our nonprofit, it's my job to keep that relationship going. And you know that that looks like grabbing a cup of coffee with them, maybe once a quarter in the year, and just hearing how we can serve them, how they're serving us, how it's affecting the people and telling them stories, testimonies.
(33:11):
Our stories and testimonies are a powerful weapon for good. They can be. So these people want to know what they're supporting locally and nationwide. So in a nutshell, that is my position at Hope is Alive. That's what I do.
And all of that comes back to supporting the program team that's walking with these residents to get through our program. They can call me for many different things. A lot of that's, they'll call me for, hey, we need toilet paper and paper towels at the house.
(33:47):
Can you reach out to someone and hope they fill that need? That's my job as well. So it looks a lot of different ways.
Harrison, when somebody in theory winds up on the doorstep or reaches out for the help, how do they do that with Hope is Alive?
(34:10):
I get a lot of calls, hey, it's usually the family member. Hey, so-and-so is struggling with this and I want to learn more about your program. At that point in time, I have them go online to HopeisAlive.net, fill out an application for our program.
(34:31):
That then goes to our recruitment and outreach team and they reach out, call them. They want to talk to the person that's wanting the help and find out if they're wanting the help or if their family member is just trying for them.
(34:53):
So at that point, they walk through a lot of what we've talked about today. Requirements for our program, what to expect.
So at the point where we get the application off of our website, we have an amazing team of individuals that will reach out to you, explain the program requirement-wise, what to expect, make sure they know that it is a high accountability program.
(35:29):
There's requirements that you have to follow that we're unapologetically going to talk about Jesus and make sure they know that.
And let me say, people come into our program as nonbelievers, but they're going to be required to go to a church of their choice every Sunday. They're going to be required for the first six months to attend a Bible study that we hold at the home and see where it goes from there.
(36:09):
That's what we're going to talk about. And we let them know that. And at that point, not everybody's a fit for our program. And we understand that.
And if you aren't, we have community partners out the wazoo that we will help connect you with. That's part of that team's job. They go into recovery centers, they go to other programs, they go nationwide to learn about other places that people are, people are fit for.
(36:47):
And we'll try to connect you with the best fit. If you are a fit for our program, at that point, you go, you get sent to the program managers.
And depending on if you have any location restrictions, and that can look a lot of different ways to children, wife, parole, probation, it can look a lot of different. You can be restricted to an area for a lot of different reasons.
(37:21):
But if you're not, obviously it is easier for us to place you in a home. If we have 26 homes to choose from, and there's an opening here, but not here, and you're willing to go there, that's a little bit easier.
But if there's an opening at a house where you're at, you get sent to that program manager. They look through your application. Usually it looks like inviting you to the home, showing you around the house, sitting down for just to talk with the program manager.
(37:59):
And if the next move is for you to do an intake and ready to move in, you're going to have to pass a drug test and an alcohol assessment.
So that can be a hurdle for some people. And if you're not ready to pass a drug test or an alcohol assessment, maybe a detox center is the best place for you before coming into the program.
(38:27):
Maybe a 30, 60, 90 day rehab is the best place for you before coming into our homes.
Because the main objective at that point is keeping the residents that are already in the home safe at that point.
And if we're just taking people that maybe stopped that morning shooting up heroin and going to go through withdrawals in the home, we're not equipped to handle that. So you need a higher level care.
(39:01):
So you're, the light just came on.
Yeah, please.
Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't.
It's gonna trick me if I'm wrong. The focus is not on helping somebody to achieve sobriety.
It's helping someone maintain sobriety and rebuild their life from the ashes that they've come. Is that correct?
(39:28):
Correct. Long term recovery is what we're after, I hope, is life.
That would be why potentially detox, then a treatment center, and then hope is alive.
Right.
Potentially. Someone could walk right into hope is alive, but potentially.
(39:50):
Right. Say they're coming off of alcohol like I was, and I just got out of a 10 day stay at the psych ward at the hospital.
I didn't go to a rehab facility right after that.
I had been to one three months earlier, but it wasn't a, well, you can't come in yet. You need to go to a rehab facility.
(40:15):
I mean, I had just gotten detoxed at the hospital and did all of that stuff.
So they, I came in. If you're going through meth induced psychosis, we're probably not the place for you right then and there.
We believe we have a place on the continuum of care in the recovery world.
(40:38):
But if you look at it like a baseball diamond, we definitely believe that detox, medical detox, is first base.
A 30, 60, 90 day rehab facility is second base.
And hope is alive, squeezes right in there at third base.
(40:59):
Hopefully to get you ready to go home to your family, wife, kids.
And it's probably going to be the longest and hardest base there is.
Nice analogy.
Yeah. And if you're trying to get back to your loved ones, wife, family, all of that, that's going to take the longest.
(41:29):
You know, trust is the first thing that you lose and the last thing you get back.
I was told that early on by my sponsor.
So you're going to have to not call them every day bragging about what you did, how many meetings you hit.
It's going to take a while of doing the right thing over and over.
(41:52):
So that's where hope is alive, tucks into things.
And we're finding as we grow that if we're having and requiring people to go to these rehab facilities and detox centers before entering hope is alive,
(42:15):
they call us at the lowest point, hurting and needing help. And we are outsourcing them to programs all over the country.
Not all of them that we know.
And to be quite honest, fully trust that they are teaching what we believe.
(42:38):
So we saw no other option other than opening our own treatment facility, healing center.
And that opens in October. So we will now hope is alive is venturing out.
It's a big step. It's not easy. Put the money aside because it's expensive.
(43:04):
It's just a new new realm and we're stepping into it fully, fully faithful on believing.
That's what God wants us to do and getting them more from a day zero, day one approach.
And hopefully the success of hope is alive that we've seen over the last 11 years of our existence seeps into that healing center as well.
(43:37):
And so we're excited about that and announced it at the end of last year that that we're doing it.
And come October, I believe we'll be welcoming our first man at first. That's phase one.
And then phase two, I believe, is the loved ones, a retreat facility type thing for our finding hope and hope after loss groups,
(44:04):
which is a whole other interview, Tim, but finding hope is our support groups for loved ones of addicts and alcoholics.
We're always up for another conversation. Yeah. And hope after loss.
Yeah, I believe it explains it right there. It's support groups for people that have lost loved ones to addiction and alcoholism.
(44:25):
So that's kind of phase two. And then moving into phase three, we will build a women's facility as well.
And that it's a big project. It's seventy five acre land.
So we'll have plenty of space in between our men and women.
(44:52):
That's something I haven't even brought up. But keeping gender separated,
we believe that hope is alive is a huge advantage to recovery for the time being.
Now, if you have a wife that you're trying to build that relationship back up brick by brick, then that's a whole other thing.
(45:13):
That's a whole other conversation. But coming into the program and being able to focus on yourself and not worried about a woman or a man,
it's huge. It was huge for me and my struggles.
I feel like a lot of my struggles in the past stemmed from me looking for approval and and in a woman.
(45:46):
And it never if I was if I wasn't healthy spiritually, mentally and physically going into already sick situation with a woman,
it never turned out good. So I needed to be one hundred percent myself.
I needed to be in a good place mentally, physically and spiritually before I ever even saw it as an option to start dating again.
(46:21):
And I did that. And I prayed. I prayed and prayed and prayed for a godly woman in my life.
And God has blessed with bless me with that today and have a wife and two kids that I never would have dreamed of.
It's all I ever wanted. But I don't believe God was going to give me that if I was just going to destroy their lives.
(46:49):
So I had to I had to build my life back up. So, yeah, that's kind of anyway.
So I got off on that tangent because of describing our our healing center, how it is eventually going to have men and women on the seventy five acres together.
But they're totally separate because yeah, what I got into.
(47:11):
That's all right. Tell me what you want me to know about hope is alive that we haven't talked about.
I know there's more than we can talk about in an hour.
But what are the important things for you for listeners to know about this program?
(47:35):
Well, I just believe that there is a many differences with hope is alive than other places with with the staff that we have that
all on the program side, they've been through our program themselves and walking through a difficult season in your life, trying to heal.
(48:03):
I think it's imperative to have someone that's been through the same stuff there helping you with it.
So our staff is a big, big difference in our program in my life.
And most of the success stories that I see, they have some sort of focus on faith and spirituality.
(48:32):
We're all in different. A different time in our life, different seasons, our walk can look different in that way.
But having a spiritual understanding and a God consciousness that actually fills that void in our life.
(48:57):
We've taken the drugs, we've taken the alcohol out of it, but there still feels like an emptiness inside.
In my experience, from what I've seen in myself and others, putting Christ in that in that void was the only way that changed my life.
(49:23):
And that's going to be what we're striving for in hope is alive.
Life skills development. I've touched on that a little bit, but I brought up we have speakers come in on Sunday nights.
A lot of times that looks like a testimony or a devotional or with lack of better words, a sermon because a lot of the people that we have in our pastors or work in a ministry.
(49:59):
But I'm the one that schedules those. And I've seen it very beneficial in the past to have financial advisors there.
People that we've had realtors that are teaching us how to properly save up and build up what you need to buy a home.
(50:25):
Workout people, yoga people, all types of life skills that we're learning in the program.
I believe is so it's not just you don't have to be a clergyman to come in and speak to the residents.
We all have struggles. We all have a story. We've we've all overcome something that I believe can help these men and women.
(50:52):
And something I also touched on was healing the core wounds in our lives.
I don't think it's any secret that we all have trauma and wounds of all different shapes and sizes.
And it's not anybody's place to judge that effect that it had on your life.
(51:14):
So whether it was losing a job or losing literally everything that you have, we want to heal what that did in your life and in your mind and in your heart.
So but another thing, we're always looking for volunteers.
So I want if you have anybody reach out to you that is looking to help with our mission, which is to radically change the lives of drug addicts, alcoholics and those that love them.
(51:47):
Please reach out to me and I will get them plugged in in some type of way, whether that is their time, whether that's giving to our ministry financially or their talents as well.
We always have volunteer days that people are looking to come out and put a little blood, sweat and tears into the program as well.
(52:09):
So it can look many different ways.
Garrison, thank you so much for being here with me today.
And you know, you've truly shown me that hope is alive.
And I appreciate that very much.
It was my pleasure. Thank you, Tim.
This has been a production of Children of Chaos dot net.
(52:30):
Children of Chaos is a forum to discuss topics related to and in concert with addiction and recovery in America is not affiliated with endorsed or financed by any recovery or treatment program, organization or institution.
Any views, thoughts or opinions expressed by an individual in this venue are solely that of the individual and do not reflect the views, policies or position of any specific recovery based entity or organization.
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