People do not change.
Addicts do not recover.
They do not work.
It runs in the family.
Criminals will always be criminals.
A thief is a thief.
A liar will always lie.
Alcoholic.
Loser.
Addict.
Hopeless cause.
They will never be a good parent.
Those people will never change… and on and on and on…
Here is the problem with that
type of thinking - - it is dead wrong. That
mindset is what creates stigma which is one the biggest barriers to people asking
for help. The people who think those
things do not understand addiction AND it is not their fault. That thinking usually stems from
misunderstanding and most always from fear.
People fear what they do not understand or what they have been told is
the case about someone or something.
Fear is the first 13 sentences of
this blog. Why am I writing about this
today?
As you may know, we are opening a
sober living home in Northwood - - a very nice neighborhood in Marion,
Indiana. I mean it is a really nice
neighborhood.
GUESS WHAT?
Some of the neighbors do not want
us there. WHY? Maybe because they don’t
understand recovery and that leads to fear and close-minded thinking. That same type of close-minded thinking in
our nation’s past has led to school segregation, white-only bathrooms, separate
but equal illogical thinking, and a host of other problems that our city and
our nation still face because of misplaced fear.
Some of those same neighbors have
signed petitions, hired attorneys, plan to oppose our zoning variance, and even
offered to buy the house from us just so that “those people” cannot live in their
neighborhood.
I feel that some of the close-minded
thinking is fueled my unsubstantiated fear and white privilege.
What some of them may fail to recognize is that I AM THOSE PEOPLE… And like me…
People do change.
We do recover.
We do work.
Our families love and support us.
Criminals can rehabilitate and be
productive and tax paying members of our community.
Thieves stop stealing.
Liars tell the truth.
We find HOPE.
We love big.
We are a huge part of this
community.
We are good parents.
We
are 25 million people strong in recovery. We are proud.
We are not going to be silenced by misplaced fear and ridiculous prejudices.
We hope you stand with us as we
open this house and provide a residence for men in recovery.
Please join us and attend our
zoning hearing on August 13, 2019 at 3 PM at the Marion City Building. We will meet at 2 PM for a prayer meeting prior
to the meeting.
Join us today by following us on Facebook at #hopehousemarion
If
you are struggling, it’s okay help is only a prayer away.
