{"id":2410,"date":"2016-11-09T18:53:09","date_gmt":"2016-11-09T18:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stigmaunmasked.com\/?p=2410"},"modified":"2016-11-09T18:53:09","modified_gmt":"2016-11-09T18:53:09","slug":"addict-called-to-start-recovery-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digitalresearch.bsu.edu\/stigmaunmasked.addiction\/article\/addict-called-to-start-recovery-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Addict called to start recovery home"},"content":{"rendered":"

Addict called to start recovery home<\/h1>\n

\"rogers_urbanlighthouse_16\"<\/p>\n

Dori Granados traces her addiction back to age 12 when she began compulsively eating food, followed by alcohol abuse then experimenting with drugs by age 14. She continued to use various drugs, including speed and meth, before settling on crack cocaine when she was 30.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou name it, I tried it at least once. I didn\u2019t say no to any drug,\u201d said Dori, who is 53 now. She last used drugs 10 years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dori stopped at nothing to get a fix. She sold her son\u2019s things, manipulated people for money and prostituted herself. She lied, stole and dealt drugs. But even when she was going to these extreme lengths to buy drugs, she didn\u2019t recognize she had a problem.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t realize that I had an addiction until I met with crack cocaine,\u201d Dori said. \u201cWhen my life started spinning out of control, I started realizing I had a problem, but I came to point where I even settled with that. … I settled with my addiction, and I said \u2018This is who I am, and if you don\u2019t like it, screw you.\u2019 \u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Dori’s addiction would lead her to being charged with at least 19 misdemeanors and 11 felony drug charges, which resulted in six misdemeanor and four felony convictions, according to her criminal history. She was in and out of prison from 1990-2006.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2004, while sitting in a prison cell, Dori said God put a recovery home on her heart. She started telling people she was going to help addicts like herself. She didn\u2019t know how or when, but at that moment she knew it was what she was meant to do. <\/span><\/p>\n

It would take years and a few more trips to prison before Dori would get the opportunity to run a recovery home. In the meantime, she continued to use and sell drugs. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI kept saying I wanted to change, but I really didn\u2019t want to change,\u201d Dori said. \u201cI wanted to change because everyone else wanted me to change, because that\u2019s what society said I should do. But I\u2019m not sure if I wanted to change.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The Anonymous Addict (pt. 1)<\/b><\/p>\n

Nick Siano and Phylisia Donaldson speak with a former addict, who describes their time using meth and the impact it had on their family(by Nick Siano) (Part 1 of 2).<\/p>\n

Dori said she was stuck in a \u201cprecontemplative stage.\u201d She thought about changing, but fear stopped her. For someone who had used drugs since age 14, life without drugs looked dark.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere were several times when I was out there and I was dealing or I was using and I would pray, and I would say, \u2018God, I can\u2019t keep doing this,\u2019\u201d Dori said. \u201cI was tired. I was worn out, and I said, \u2018God, I can\u2019t keep doing this, and I can\u2019t stop. Do something.\u2019 And before my prayer was over, the red and blue lights would be in my rearview mirror.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until she was arrested in 2006 and charged with selling drugs and sentenced to 10 years in prison that she decided to get clean once and for all.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI went to prison with the attitude that \u2018I\u2019m gonna take this time to prepare for the rest of my life,” Dori said. \u201cAnd so I accepted that as God answering my prayer and moved forward with an attitude of, \u2018Look out life, here I come.\u2019 \u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She began reading her Bible again and talking to God. During the four years in prison, Dori attended college. She received her associate\u2019s degree and was released early on good behavior.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2013, she was approached by Muncie’s Urban Light Community Church, where she had been working as a church administrator, with the offer to open a recovery home. After working on the project for a year, UrbanLightHouse opened in November 2014.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nine women have gone through Dori’s program. Three have successfully graduated, one is back in jail, one is back using; four did not officially graduate but remain clean.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, I have about a 50 percent rate,\u201d Dori said. \u201cOne out of every two is making it \u2014 whether they finish the program or not. I don\u2019t gauge my success on whether you finish my program. I don\u2019t even gauge success on whether you pay the fees. I gauge success on are you working and are you living a functional life?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

UrbanLightHouse houses up to six women as they complete a three-phase program. The first phase of the program is known as\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cintense recovery.\u201d The women give up their cell phones; adhere to a strict curfew and journal daily. They participate in book studies and attend church on Sundays. Though their contact with others is limited during this phase, Megan Stephens, who joined the program Aug. 10, said this is the phase where you really learn about yourself.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"rogers_urbanlighthouse_11\"\u201cIt\u2019s kind of like the meat of the program,\u201d Megan said. \u201cYou do your book studies, and you\u2019re pretty much finding out who you are sober again. You\u2019re getting that clarity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Megan has now been able to move into phase two, which encourages the women to find jobs and learn about budgeting. Their income covers some of the program fees, but UrbanLightHouse runs mainly on donations. The women open savings account and learn to save their money to use for living arrangements after they graduate from the program.<\/span><\/p>\n

Megan said she is excited to have moved into the next phase.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI guess I\u2019ve never went through something in the past and stuck with it. I\u2019ve always been a quitter,\u201d Megan said. \u201cI\u2019m not a quitter nowadays. … It just feels amazing to go through with something and just to feel that accomplishment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The final phase prepares the women for life outside of the program. They continue working and saving money in Phase Three, but also begin looking for future residency.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alisha Tuttle graduated from the program and said she learned more about herself and her addiction in the nine months she was in the program than the 37 years she has been alive. She now serves as a housemother, mentoring other women currently in the program.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many UrbanLightHouse participants said they like the program has multiple phases because other programs last 30 days, and it takes a much longer period of time to fight addiction. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAfter years of addiction, how do you go into a program for two weeks or for 30 days and walk out a different person? You don’t, \u201d Alisha said.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to the longer program, the women say having Dori as a mentor also has made a difference.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not just a folder or a piece of paper to her with a name on it,\u201d Megan said. \u201cShe truly cares. We\u2019re family over there to her. That\u2019s what\u2019s amazing about it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The women recently moved into a new house that will serve as the UrbanLightHouse until a larger home is fully renovated. The bigger home will offer more rooms for women in phases one and two, with an additional room for those in Phase 3. But Dori still plans to keep the number of women in the program small. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you get more than 10 people, you start separating off in little groups and you become in cliques,\u201d Dori said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s what we don\u2019t do. We are small, and we don\u2019t have cliques. We are a family.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The work doesn\u2019t stop with recovery programs. Dori said there has to be open communication about addiction if Delaware County hopes to gain control of the drug problem. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople who don\u2019t understand the addict don\u2019t know how to help them,\u201d Dori said. \u201cOnce we can get an idea of what addiction is and what is at the root of it, we can help work through those things. … Many of us practice addictions long before our lives fall apart. We\u2019re functional. We can over work; we can drink too much; we can overspend. A lot of us are in addictive behaviors, and we don\u2019t know it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The Anonymous Addict (pt. 2)<\/b><\/p>\n

A former addict describes how meth affects her life to this day (by Nick Siano) (Part 2 of 2).<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/digitalresearch.bsu.edu\/stigmaunmasked.addiction\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Podcast_4_Session_mixdown.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<\/div>\n

The women who participate in UrbanLightHouse agree. They hope if more people understand addiction, it could bring more residential recovery programs to Muncie. Because Delaware County does not have a long-term rehabilitation center, they believe the UrbanLightHouse is the only real option for addicts.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s truly been a blessing to me,\u201d Megan said. \u201cI believe if I wasn\u2019t here, I wouldn\u2019t be getting the relationship back with my daughter, and I would not be passing my screens. … I think Delaware County should get more places like this. I believe it would help a lot of people. I had thought people had given up on me, that (Delaware County’s Forensic Diversion) Drug Court was about to give up on me, and they\u2019re just so amazed right now. It\u2019s a good feeling.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Megan said she hopes to maintain her current work situation and strengthen her relationship with her daughter. She said she is looking forward to graduating from the program, getting back to her family, and working on a GED.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dori couldn\u2019t be happier with the success of her program.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was the person wasting away my life, and now I\u2019m the one they look to for help,\u201d Dori said. \u201cGod has opened every door for me. All I have to do is keep being the best person I can be.\u201d<\/span> life without drugs looked dark.<\/span><\/p>\n