Phil, 44, is an intelligent, capable guy who’s battled alcohol for decades. He’s also had lots of involvement with Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) — and believes the material — but has struggled practicing it day by day.
Despite his addiction, Phil got a college education and had a couple of good jobs in different career fields. But alcohol always won and Phil would manage to mess up what he had.
He arrived at Helping Up Mission in June 2015, ready and willing to try something different. He settled into our 12-month residential Spiritual Recovery Program and did what we suggested.
In most cases, they were things Phil already knew — but just couldn’t stay the course consistently. So the structured environment here helped him focus on his priorities.
In his own quiet way Phil worked at his recovery, renewed his spiritual commitment to God…and found himself in a good place to help others.
All the men of HUM have daily Work Therapy Assignments (WTA) on campus. Because of his skills and experience, Phil’s was in our Innovative Learning Center.
That meant his daily responsibilities involved helping other HUM guys studying for their high school diplomas. Phil’s special focus was assisting them in developing computer skills — now a Maryland High School Diploma requirement.
While not an expert, Phil helped guys set up their own email accounts, learn to access their accounts and, then, read and write their own emails. He also taught them how to use the internet for job information and helped with their resumes.
His AA training taught Phil that investing time and energy in others in a powerful recovery tool — and, today, helping another guy get exciting about changing things in his life also gives Phil joy and purpose in his own life.
Now that’s how recovery’s supposed to work!
One Day at a Time,
Pastor Gary Byers
Deputy Director