The Recovery Review: June 2018

Posted June 30, 2018
in Newsletters

The Recovery Review

Real Hope for Addiction

Isaiah House Newsletter, June 2018

Garden Time

As I walked through my garden last evening after a gentle, replenishing rain, I realized how much I enjoy this time of the year! I love to see plants green and growing. Even more, I love the taste of vine ripe tomatoes, sweet corn and other produce that is fresh out of the garden. Don’t misunderstand, gardening requires a lot of work. Tilling the soil, planting, weeding, sticking tomatoes and beans, outsmarting all the critters from beating you to the harvest all require time and work. And of course there is patience. There are several weeks of watching and waiting before you can enjoy that first cucumber or red ripe tomato. But the enjoyment of eating from your first harvest is well worth all the work and waiting.

Just like various fruits and vegetables take time to develop before we can enjoy them, it takes time for the fruit of the Spirit to develop and mature within us. The book of Psalms begins with this very thought. “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord. And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season.” (Psa. 1:1-3) While it takes time, it is clear that if we are connected to the vine (Christ) then we will produce good fruit in our lives. A great tragedy is the fact that there is sometimes little visible resemblance between the biblical Jesus and the Spirit dwelling in our flesh today. There should be in our character and lifestyle a clear resemblance to the Jesus we read about in the Scriptures.

God’s character is expressed in His works and emanates from His personality. God expects the same to be evidenced in our lives; that our faith will be expressed through our works. The fruit of the Spirit is not just internally received but externally expressed. The Holy Spirit does not enter our being to remain hidden. We are the trophies of His grace and glory, not its best kept secret.

The one who fully surrenders his life to the work of the Spirit will be firmly established. He will be like a tree planted by streams of water. There will be fruit. Not only will the fruit come but the fruit will be good. Why? Because there is an ever flowing, rich stream of water that nourishes this tree. Just as the fruit in my garden makes known the kind of plants they come from, our actions reveal what’s really going on inside of us. They reveal whether our relationship with Christ is real and growing or fake and stale.

As staff, one of our greatest joys is to see men enter Isaiah House, begin a relationship with Christ, and observe the visible fruit of the Spirit growing. I want to personally thank every person who has prayed and made financial contributions this past month to afford us this sacred opportunity! It’s harvest time! What kind of fruit are people seeing from your life? Join us in praying that good fruit will be clearly seen in the lives of many more in the days ahead! Please consider making a donation so that we can continue to see lives changed! There is real hope for addiction!

Mike Cox
President, Isaiah House, Inc.

2018 Drive For Recovery a Hole In One

Many people might not know this, but in recent months, as many as 50% of active Isaiah House clients were “indigent” meaning that they were in the program without any means of paying for treatment. Feeding, housing and helping men whose lives are threatened by addiction is not cheap, which is why we are so thankful for the generosity of Isaiah House supporters who so generously donate and contribute to our fundraising efforts. This month, Isaiah House had one of its biggest fundraisers of the year, and it was one for the record books.

The Isaiah House’s annual Drive For Recovery Golf Event, presented by Appriss Health in partnership with Schneider Electric and Local ASAP Boards teed off on Saturday, June 23rd at Boone’s Trace National Golf Club in Richmond, KY. Before the day of the event, the golf scramble had unprecedented support from sponsors all across central Kentucky, allowing it to raise more money for addiction care than any Drive for Recovery in history. Isaiah House is so thankful to those sponsors who made the event possible, especially Appriss Health, Schneider Electric, Mercer, Anderson and Boyle County ASAP Boards, Axis Security, Glasscock Log and Lumber, The Eric Vetter Memorial Foundation, Phil and Pam Robertson, and Revive Mission.

The day started out with the threat of rain and gray skies, but it ended up being perfect golfing weather. With high temperatures in the low 80’s and overcast skies, God answered the prayers of Isaiah House staff to keep everyone dry. The field included teams of loyal Isaiah House supporters, teams from sister treatment facilities and even some that discovered our event on Facebook and decided to come and compete for the unrivaled prizes that the event offered. Isaiah House staff and clients volunteered to work contests on the holes, including a corn hole toss for a chance to hit from the red tees, a putting competition for the chance at $5,000 and the ever-popular “air horn blowing in the golfer’s backswing” that all helped raise money for treatment at the Isaiah House.

What makes the Drive for Recovery unique is the multitude of prizes offered at the event. Each of the 18 holes on the course had a competition for players to show their skill. Whether it was closest to the pin on par 3’s, Longest Drive on Par 5’s or even some longest putts or most accurate drives, each tee box promised another chance at a sweet reward. Winners of these contests took home everything from Garmin watches to Callaway woods, Cleveland golf bags to Odyssey putters. In all, over $8,000 worth of prizes were handed out to the contest and team winners, loot that Isaiah House staff hopes will tempt golfers to return to the event, year after year to support Christ-centered addiction treatment.

In the end, Team Cash took home first place in the tournament with a low score of 57. Coming in second was Team Cox from eastern Kentucky and in third, Team Ayers, featuring the Isaiah House’s own Vice-President of Operations Andy Ayers. The winning team took home Taylor Made M2 drivers, a crystal trophy and the satisfaction of victory. But the real winners from the Drive for Recovery were the 50% of Isaiah House clients who are currently in the program with no means of paying for treatment. It is fundraisers like these that allow the Isaiah House to keep these indigent clients in the program, giving them the opportunity to turn their lives around with the help of Jesus Christ.

If you played in the Drive for Recovery Golf Event, or your business sponsored a hole or cart, or you simple contributed $50 to the cause personally, The Isaiah House thanks you from the bottom of its heart. Most days, playing 18 holes does little more than leave behind a farmers tan and some lost golf balls. On June 23rd however, a legacy of saved lives was made out on those fairways and greens and golf was just the excuse.

Welcome to the Team, Pastor Keith Creech

We are praising God for a new addition to the Isaiah House family. Pastor Keith Creech has accepted a position as our new Chaplain. He is the Lead Pastor of Willisburg Church of God of Prophecy and, he is an ordained licensed Bishop of the Church of God of Prophecy. He has twenty years experience of Pastoring and thirty years of Preaching. He began preaching when he was just 16 years old. He graduated from the Free Gospel Bible Institute in Export, Pennsylvania.

Pastor Creech is married to Lisa, his beloved for 25 years. They have two daughters, Katlyn, 24 and Kari, 22, a son-in-law, Brandon and two grandchildren, Kylee who is 3 yrs old and Bryson who is 7 months old.

Pastor Creech is leading morning devotions, worship time, bible study and one on one spiritual counseling for clients at all three of our facilities- Isaiah House and Patricia’s Place in Willisburg and The Jake Kuertz Center in Chaplin. He also leads Staff Worship 4 days a week. We have been blessed with Pastor Creech’s presence as a volunteer for years. We are now breaking ground to utilize his service and experience for clients and staff. We are thrilled to have him here ministering to the men and staff of Isaiah House.

Le Conte Lodge Trip

by David Cobb

Speaking from personal experience, my treatment at the Isaiah House did not end when I walked across the stage and received my certificate for graduating from the program. After taking an internship with IH, I initially agreed to stay and work for a year from my date of hire. It has now been 2 years (almost exactly) since I made that commitment and that time has helped me grow and apply the tools that I gained in the Isaiah House program in a real world setting. Simply waking up and going to work every single day was previously unmapped territory for me. Having a community of coworkers who are more like family holding me accountable and helping me through the struggles I faced in that time will be key to my long term success, not only in sobriety, but in life in general. All of that is to say, treatment, and recovery, at the Isaiah House, does not end on a client’s last day in the program; it just shifts in form.

A major part of the Isaiah House philosophy is learning to live a sober life that defies many addict’s expectations. Life in recovery doesn’t have to be dull and predictable—it can be adventurous, exciting and challenging. It is a goal of the Isaiah House to give our staff, especially the alumni of the program, experiences that prove this point. In the past, alumni have gone white water rafting on the Upper Gauley River (if you’ve never heard of it, you should do a Youtube search), camping with clients and taken days at local theme parks. While all of these proved that life in recovery can be fun, we wanted to take it up a notch and embark on a journey that would push us to our limits. That is when we discovered Mount Le Conte Lodge, 5,301 feet above its base in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

This past May, 13 Isaiah House staff and interns set out on a hike of Mt. Le Conte that we would never forget. Taking the Rainbow Falls Trail Up, we initially stayed hung together on the trail. Gradually however, as some struggled and others excelled, smaller groups formed along the way. Pairs and handfuls of men pushed and encouraged each other through the grueling trek. Pete Moore, an Isaiah House graduate currently employed with the Isaiah House’s operations team, found himself hiking with Ronnie Roark, a crew member for Isaiah 58 Builders. “I didn’t really know Ronnie that well when we started,” Pete told later, “But after that experience, we will share a bond different than I have with anyone else. We beat that mountain together!” Many of the expedition members shared similar sentiments. This trip was different because, while still fun, it forged bonds that are unique to overcoming hardship, and the memories that go along with them.

Near the peak of the mountain we stayed at the world-famous Le Conte Lodge. When you finally hike in to the little village of log cabins, it feels as though you’re in a different country. There’s no electricity and the distractions of the outside world feel even further away than the Gatlinburg lights that are visible at night. Everyone staying in the village has accomplished the same feat and there is a sense of community that comes from swapping stories about the climb up. The day at the summit was spent with hikes to breath-taking vistas, conversations on the cabin’s porch, and various stunts that prove sobriety is a blast. Kelly Boston, Isaiah House’s Accounts Manager brought his T-rex inflatable costume for some of the most hilarious photos to ever grace the Le Conte blog. Several of the Eastern Kentucky natives taunted the city boys of the group for fear of rumored bear sightings. The time at the top was so peaceful that the party avoided talking about the inevitable hike down that was looming just hours away.

But of course that day came. We loaded out 50-pound packs on our backs and began the descent. Some people say that “going down is harder than going up,” but I’m here to tell you, for this particular mountain, it couldn’t be farther from the truth. The entire team breezed down the mountain in just a few hours, a startling contrast to the 8-hour ordeal that took us up. Our momentum of accomplishment carried us, and by the time we reached the bottom, we felt like different men that when we’d left. We’d proven to ourselves that we could accomplish things that, especially for some, we never thought possible. Many of the crew left wondering what they should tackle next, eager to recreate that endorphin fueled feeling. This trip was more than just about climbing a mountain. Even more than about giving staff some time to bond. This excursion was about pushing Isaiah House graduates to be their best selves, just like those grads do every day for IH clients. The climb to the top doesn’t end on graduation day, it just switches to a more challenging, more rewarding, trail on the mountain of life.

June’s Five Star Employee of the Month, Jeffrey Goins

Congratulations to Jeffrey Goins, our June Five Star Employee of the Month, Jeff works in the PR Department and is Rise Up’s Band Leader. He describes his job as being a face of Isaiah House in the public and being a light of hope for people who feel the hopelessness of drug addiction. His responsibilities for Rise Up are organizing and getting the band where they are supposed to be for each event. He says, “my responsibility for Rise Up is making sure everyone who plays is an outstanding client all of the time. I hold my guys to a very high standard.”

What Jeff likes about his job is that he gets to work with some real warriors for Christ. That he is out there spreading the word that God can heal and that there is hope for addiction. He added, ” and of course, playing music is a great privilege. I’m blessed to have a job that lets me play music.”

When we asked Jeff what he liked about working for Isaiah House, he replied, ” I love working here because I stand behind the program and what it stands for. It saved my life, and I think it’s so cool to play in a band and get paid for it. God is good!”

Jeff was chosen by his co-workers. He received a special keepsake gift, front door parking in the designated “Employee of the Month” parking space and he enjoyed lunch with Isaiah House, Inc. President, Mike Cox.

My Name is Jeffrey Keith Goins

My name is Jeffrey Keith Goins. I was born In Middlesboro, Kentucky and was raised in Claiborne County Tennessee in a good home by two loving parents. I had everything a kid could want and then some.

When I was 16 years old, I had a gun accident that ended up with me having a broken nose. I was prescribed pain pills and found out really quick that I enjoyed the way pain pills made me feel. I started using pain medication on a daily basis. I stopped taking pain pills one day and found out that I was having opiate withdrawal.

At the age of 23 my daughter was born and I wanted to stop using pills, but my addiction got so bad that I couldn’t do it. I lost job after job after job because of my addiction. I started to steal money from my Dad, Mom, Grandmother & my daughter’s Mom because I had to have drugs just to be able to make it through the day. I was in and out of jail most of my adult life because I had become a thief. If I could have sold my soul for some dope I would have. That’s just how sick I became. I started using methamphetamine to replace my opiate addiction, and for the next several years I used meth and suboxone on a daily basis. I became homeless and despised everything I had become.

In desperate need of help, I reached out to my high school teacher Missy Essary, she knew Ed & Joanna Early that worked at Isaiah House Treatment Center. I wanted help badly so I called Isaiah House and told them I was going to die if I didn’t get help. On February 10th of 2016, I started my first day in treatment.

I completed their 11 month program and after I graduated, Isaiah House was kind enough to offer me a job in Maintenance. This was the first time that I’ve ever held down a job for a whole year! Now I work doing Public Relations for Isaiah House and I’m also Rise Up’s band leader. I’m over 2 years and 3 months Clean, Sober & Happy! I have a relationship with my heavenly father, my daughter has her Daddy back, and my Mom and Dad have their son back.

If I can get clean and stay clean then anyone can do it. God is using Isaiah House Treatment Center to save lives and bring people closer to Jesus! I went from being a homeless junkie to a praise and worship band leader in just over 2 years! God is Good! Philippians 4:13. This is my story thank you for reading. I hope this story can help someone.

**For a restored life of addiction recovery, call Isaiah House at 859-375-9200.
#realhopeforaddiction

Isaiah House Management Visits No Longer Bound in Atlanta

The Isaiah House prides itself in the excellence of care that it offers the men in its care. While IH is convinced that it offers the best, most comprehensive treatment in Kentucky, it is not content to rest on our laurels. Isaiah House Management are always seeking best practices, learning from the experiences of partners in the field and working to refine the program. In February, Isaiah House staff had the opportunity to share their expertise in gaining state licensure, insurance billing and clinical care with the executives of No Longer Bound, a treatment facility based outside of Atlanta, Georgia. Their team was seeking to improve in these areas and the Isaiah House was more than happy to share what it could to help them along the way.

No Longer Bound is no fledging program, though. Operating since 1991, NLB has been helping men transform their lives by the power of Jesus Christ for almost 30 years, and they do many things very well. Because of this, Isaiah House managers traveled to Cumming, Georgia in early June to have a look at No Longer Bound’s operation and apply their expertise to our shared goals.

The primary reason Isaiah House staff went to visit NLB was to learn from their industries. While the Isaiah House is the frontrunner in Kentucky when it comes to creating and finding jobs for people in treatment, what is happening at No Longer Bound inspired IH staff in a whole new way. No Longer Bound operates two thrift stores in the vein of Goodwill or the Salvation Army, but with a style and design that is incredibly alluring to customers. Throughout the stores, graduate testimonies and messages about the customer’s dollar directly impacting a person struggling with addiction adorn the walls. Their execution was first rate and got the wheels turning in the minds of the Isaiah House’s operations team.

No Longer Bound also operates a furniture business, crafting high-end tables and beds that they sell out of a retail store. All of this furniture is made by clients and interns in the program, giving them carpentry skills and inspiring confidence in them that is hard to find among those struggling with addiction. NLB also operates a car refurbishing business, taking in donated vehicles, fixing them up with the help of clients, staff and volunteers, and then reselling them once they are drivable. No Longer Bound even operates a graphic and web design studio, giving the branding in all of their enterprises a streamlined, professional touch that no one could guess was created by someone who just months before was a salve to drugs.

All three of these industries give No Longer Bound clients real-world job skills training and the confidence they need to confront and conquer future challenges after their treatment ends. It is this aspect of NLB’s program that the Isaiah House hopes to replicate here in Kentucky. While IH already has Isaiah 58 Builders, Clean Cut Mowers and Clean and Sober Cleaning Service, it knows that the purpose and hope offered by employment are an aspect of the program that must continue to grow. The Isaiah House wants to continue giving its clients as many employment opportunities as possible so that they can thrive in a field of their true calling. Everyone was given a purpose by God, “before the creation of the world.” It is the hope of IH staff that its clients can find theirs, while learning to live a life of sobriety.

Thank you to our Drive for Recovery Sponsors

Career Opportunities

Clinical Therapist
Are you a licensed therapist looking for an opportunity to work in a growing and dynamic company that offers a full array of clinical services and a Christ-centered atmosphere? If so, Isaiah House, Inc. is looking for YOU! We are currently in the process of hiring multiple therapists to staff our expanding programs with two new centers opening soon. RESIDENTIAL and OUTPATIENT positions are available. ALL SHIFTS AVAILABLE, INCLUDING WEEKENDS. We offer competitive wages and benefits! SIGNING BONUS OFFERED! Preferred licenses for these new positions include LPCC (with capability to provide board approved supervision), LPCA, LCADC, LCSW, CSW or other comparable licenses. • Must possess a current valid and unrestricted license or associate license from the state of Kentucky Mental Health Licensing Board. • Prefer to have 1 or more years in license.• Prefer knowledge of recovery, mental health and other co-occurring disorders and experience in working with addiction in a residential and / or intensive outpatient milieu.• Experience in crisis intervention and conflict resolution skills. Please see our website for job descriptions and to apply.

General Laborer/ Crew Leader/ Renovation Supervisor
Isaiah 58 Builders are looking for several hard workers to join our team. We need full time employees, preferably with a year or more of construction experience. We also require a high school diploma. We are looking for entry level positions as well as some supervisory positions. If you are interested in working in a Christ Centered environment, with a great group of men and women, please apply through our website today.

Book Keeper We are hiring a Book Keeper. Preferred applicants have a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or 5 years equivalent work experience.• Experience in medical billing preferred.• Record A/R.• Reconcile P/C and bank statements. • Print checks.• Record general ledger entries. • Record credits/debits in accounting records.• Run checks online. • Print deposit slips.• Process payroll.• Process payroll taxes Federal/State/Local on a monthly/quarterly basis.• Prepare financial reports for board of directors and grant applications. • Process UNITE vouchers. • Work with CPA to ensure financial accountability.• Ensure all required filings are made in an accurate and timely fashion i.e. 990.• Assist in acquiring any and all financial accreditations. To apply, send your resume to Melissa.Howard@Isaiah-House.org

Making it Simple To Help Isaiah House

As we grow and open more beds to provide addiction treatment for men in our communities, we have increasing needs for items ranging from vehicles and computers to bed linens and supplies for Patricia’s Place and Isaiah House in Willisburg, KY, and the Jake Kuertz Center in Chaplin, KY. We are a non-profit 501(C) 3 organization, donations can be tax deductible. We couldn’t do what we do without you. Thank you!

To donate an item, contact the Public Relations Department by calling 859-375-9200.

Monetary donations can be made through our website by clicking the Donate Now buttons on our Newsletter.

You can support Isaiah House Treatment Center while you grocery shop at your local Kroger. When you enroll in Kroger Community Rewards®, you’ll earn rewards for Isaiah House every time you shop and use your Kroger Plus Card. To enroll your card just click on the logo.

.As you shop online on Amazon, use AmazonSmile and the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible purchases to Isaiah House, Inc. as the charitable organization of your choice. Choose Isaiah House, Inc as your charity and go shopping by clicking on the logo!

Start saving money nearly everywhere you go, just by using iBennie and iBennie will make a donation to us. You can save money and support addiction treatment. Sign up for this free program by clicking the logo.