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Our Core Beliefs

  1. Reducing substance abuse is a worthy cause. Substance abuse kills, sickens, disables, destroys marriages and families and imposes a huge financial burden on our economy. Some call it the number one health problem in the nation.
  2. Recovery is not just for alcoholics and drug addicts. There are many kinds of destructive addictions. Addiction is widespread and, by some definitions, universal (i.e. “sin” is an addiction and everybody sins).
  3. Substance abuse is implicated in major social problems. In 80 percent or more of prison populations as well as the ranks of the homeless, substance abuse is involved. The potential for reducing the cost in money and human suffering in these areas alone is huge.
  4. Recovery requires intense local involvement at family and community levels. Recovery begins with the individual, but it requires family and community involvement. National campaigns are fine but the real work is done at the local level.
  5. Education about addictions should begin early in the home. Teenagers whose parents talk to them regularly about the dangers of drugs are less likely to use drugs than those whose parents don’t, yet only one in four teens reports having these conversations.
  6. Recovery should be embraced, not feared. For those who achieve recovery, it is a door to freedom, restored relationships and a new purpose in life. It can also be fashionable and lots of fun.
  7. When substance abuse is reduced, communities benefit. In healthy communities, work forces become more productive, and costs associated with health care, crime, accidents, homelessness and incarceration go down. The RWJ Foundation “Fighting Back” project in Little Rock and other cities proved the point. And with every success, individuals and communities develop more courage and the will to act boldly.
  8. People who are informed are better able to deal with addictions. People who know about the scope and consequences of substance abuse, where to get help, how other people recover and about the availability of both secular and spiritual resources, have the best chance of avoiding or recovering from addictions and helping others.
  9. Our principal message is one of hope and recovery. We are a non-profit company (with tax-exempt status) and are supported by revenues from operations, grants and contributions. Our main mission is to change lives by reducing addictions and promoting recovery.
  10. Our mission of providing education on recovery is comprehensive. We seek not only to inform and encourage through a variety of media but also to participate by providing jobs, training, volunteer opportunities and by other activities.
  11. We seek to grow with the help of a variety of collaborations. Recovery itself is about relationships, and the quickest, most efficient and least costly path to our growth is through a variety of alliances, coalitions and other collaborations.
  12. Momentum is growing in the fight against substance abuse and other addictions. Churches and other faith-based institutions are increasingly confronting addictions of all kinds and offering programs of recovery. Universities are doing groundbreaking research. Hospitals and other caregivers are developing new treatments.