A man’s worth is not held in his hands but in his character. Life’s most precious treasures are not of gold but of the golden rule. The man that owns honor and integrity owns not only the ability to love others but also to love himself. The truth will set a man free. True wealth and happiness is owned by humility. The joy of living is owned by the ability to love others and the ability to laugh. Serenity is owned in prayer.

The individual’s journey to recovery begins with a 360 degree surround of support and accountability. From the first day a young person enters the program, the individual becomes answerable, responsible and accountable to program protocol and to parents. Expert guidance and suggestions are given by program facilitators, sponsors, and experienced members. Drugs and alcohol are not to be on, in or around the individual. Poor choices regarding chemicals or behavior are confronted and resolved.

Immersed in an extensive and enthusiastic recovery support network accompanied by the appropriate level of accountability, the young person begins acquiring the tools and wisdom of recovery through the program and through others who have already adopted a sober lifestyle as a desired choice. A young person typically will start the program by “acting” sober to please those around him or her, but this acting soon gives way to “being” sober, “Fake it ’til you make it.”

Reclaiming one’s life from the throes of mind-changing chemicals is not an easy accomplishment but rather a step-by-step process of restructuring ones’ priorities and values. It is about replacing old using friends with a productive social life. It is about replacing self-centeredness with a spirituality that allows for forgiveness, self-forgiveness and purposeful living.

Emerging from drug addiction and neurotransmitter disease, the young person applies the tools of recovery and wisdom to become self-accountable and honorable, growing in character and in self-esteem. Changes are taking place, from barely functioning in the culture’s dictum of drug dependence to choosing for one’s self to live a meaningful, powerful, constructive, chemical free, and healthy lifestyle.