There are so many men who struggle with the disease of addiction to alcohol and drugs and suffer severe consequences from it. The consequences are often so severe that they lose everything: their families, jobs, employability, self-esteem and hope. For many, they never recover. Worse yet, there are men who do achieve sobriety, who want to live and who truly want to repair the damage, to make amends for the wreckage they caused; but, because of their past consequences, have nowhere to go, nowhere to live and work. The Foundation is a place for these men. The Foundation provides a safe place for men, who are sincere in their recovery, to live, where they can learn life skills, a trade and, most importantly, give them hope that they can become productive members of our society. I’ve seen firsthand what a difference the Foundation can make in a man’s life—even in a very short time. The Foundation’s mission resonates deeply for me. I truly believe in it which is why I am honored to serve on its Board.
-Fred J Damsen, Board Member of the Serenity Street Foundation
I first became aware of Serenity Foundation when a friend of mine, Dave Patch, became a resident of the program. I had known Dave for a number of years and witnessed his many attempts to break the cycle of alcoholism and the devastating effects that it had on his life. As Dave participated in the residential and work programs offered through the Serenity Foundation, I saw Dave grow in his understanding of the hope and ability for change through the deepening of his faith and an understanding of the love God has for him. Having a close family member who suffered with her addictions all of her life and was unable to overcome, I became convinced of the value that this unique combination of a faith-based program that offered peer-support in a residential environment offered the people that it served. When the opportunity to assist Serenity Foundation arose, I was grateful for the chance to help the program that gave so much to my friend and others that it serves.
-Michael D Bridges, Board Member of the Serenity Street Foundation
It’s been 7 years now that I first crossed the threshold of Serenity Street. It seemed then that Serenity was a place of belonging, a place where hope is found and more importantly, a safe place that allows for deep constructive change. It was an amazing experience, the transformation that occurred while at the house, notwithstanding some challenges of fear, doubt and faith. Even while I wavered, the foundation and principles that stands strong at Serenity never did.
It seems that the spirit of Serenity Street has seeped in and flourished. Not just because I held my hand out to some of the men at Serenity, not just because good fellowship has been found on the front porch, it because of the lessons taught at Serenity; much like the lesson taught in John 21:17 – “feed my sheep”.
So now an opportunity to cross yet another type of threshold at Serenity Street is before me, the type that promotes not just an individual, but the whole program. The experience of having gone through our program can now be used for the benefit of the men currently involved and for the ones who haven’t found their way yet.
The experience of our program, my professional work experiences, and the desire to continue my relationship with Serenity Street are just a few of the many reasons why I’d like to be a contributing member of the Board of Directors for Serenity Street Foundation.
-John Hambrick, Program Graduate and Board Member of The Serenity Street Foundation