I pulled in the driveway this afternoon at Joe & Shirley's Place.  Several residents gathered to say hello and tell me about their day.  There were also three student interns in the group, processing the events of the previous night. There had been police officers all over the property!  Everyone was talking about the sadness in the air for one resident who relapsed yesterday and is now back in jail. A fresh reminder of the pain addiction causes everyone and what it means to relapse.  "Recovery is a life long process.  It is not just an event".  Staying clean and sober is work!  Staying "high" is also work.  Recovery is a life style.  Staying high is too.  JSP residents new to this, struggle not only with staying clean/sober one day at a time but, are also experiencing explosive, painful, joyful, regretful and mixed emotions in the new world of FEELINGS!  It's rough and it gets even rougher at times.  We try to give people an opportunity at JSP to "unravel" and heal in a safe and supportive environment.  Many do not or cannot choose to tough it out and to learn new coping tools to survive and succeed. Some may get it sooner or later.  Many will die or live out a miserable life incarcerated or on the street.  Some will fight for their right to self-distruct to the bitter end!  ARSR focuses on those that want to choose life today!  If a person who relapses is still alive or not incarcerated and seeks our help to get clean/sober in the future, we will always try to get them to a better place. We all live in a world of finite resources, limited time, money and opportunities.  Personally, I suffer a broken heart when somebody I work with and come to love as a fellow human being makes a choice to step back into the abysse of addiction.  I grieve; I let go; I regroup and get lost in the overwhelming demand for help in front of me.  Then I take on the "next person in line."

The good news is that at any given moment, there are so many people in recovery right here, right now all over the world! They are rebuilding their lives; they are free!  Today I am one of those lucky individuals!

If you would like to help fund this work, we could sure use some cash!

Thank You!

Dave Beatty

Executive Director
Addiction Relief & Supported Recovery, Inc.