The Best Thing About CORE
We asked CORE House Managers, “What’s the best thing about CORE?”
Why seek their views? Simple: they have ample experience in our program, having volunteered to stay well beyond their initial year at CORE to give back and help others!
Please keep in mind that they were free to answer in any way they wanted. It could be stuff like our classes, making new friends, our residential amenities – virtually anything! Their captivating insights are set forth below:
“At CORE I arrived to a point where I could turn my will and life over to the care of God, instead of running the show myself. There’s also accountability here and other options that will help with recovery.”
– Neil “Duck Daddy” Finley (Duck House)
“God uses CORE to bring people together in one house, one class, and one building, who normally wouldn’t mix. We all mesh because we have a common understanding. We want a different life. We want to live.”
– Mykaella Ross (JJ House)
“There’s structure here upon which to create a solid foundation from scratch. It’s a start and a base, and a place to gain some kind of grounding. It’s a center for faith, too, something to hold on to while you’re growing into recovery and giving it a shot. I’ve seen many miracles here.”
– Joe Redl (Cardinal House)
“My journey to CORE was the path back to God. That’s the best and most important thing, finding my way back to God.”
– Jen Brinkmann (Quail House)
“If you follow the clear-cut, precise directions of the Big Book, at CORE you build a relationship with God that allows you to recover. It’s here where we learn how to step out of self and give back even though we spent all our lives just taking. We learn what it’s like having that blessing at the end of the day, knowing we helped somebody without wanting anything in return.”
– James Favor (Seahawk House)
“There are so many things, but one is the change of lifestyle. CORE provides a safe, drug-free, and drama-free environment in which to make the changes we wanted by moving here. It’s the right setting to build a new life in.”
– Mikayla Brillos (Outdoor House)
“Learning patience. Initially I was going to leave after my year was up, but I received counsel from Kevin Hunt and began learning patience, about receiving the things hoped for when we wait. By being grounded, working on myself, and practicing patience, things started happening. I didn’t jump the gun just because I was feeling better, and good things came to me. Patience probably kept me from getting ‘hit in the face’ because I wasn’t really prepared, too.”
– Scott Bourbon (Bird House)
“CORE is where I was introduced to God as my Higher Power. It is a completely judgment-free zone where I could turn my life around with the 12 Steps.”
– Alicia Short (Vaughn House)
“Finding purpose in life, and truly knowing what it feels like to have peace and contentment. Even before I started using drugs, I was never truly happy. I was always trying to find the next thing to make me happy. I didn’t understand what it meant to have a relationship with God. I know what that is now. I know what it means to have peace and what it means to know God.”
– Blake Wilson (Pelican House)
“I was so emotionally detached when I first got here. CORE gave me a human connection where I could allow myself to love others and let them love me. That’s how I learned to love myself, which I had to do before I could go on to learn anything else. It was the first thing that started the ‘psychic change’ and led to all my spiritual growth.” – Brittany Breunig (6th Street House)
“It’s the mutual trust and friendship here, the camaraderie. Everyone here shares the same problem. We’re going through the same thing and trying to do the same thing, which is recover. So our community is the best thing, in my opinion – the ‘C’ in CORE.”
– Dylan Butler (Falcon House)
“The fellowship has become ‘family.’ If I really needed something, there might be 200 people here who would come to my assistance at the drop of a hat, without even thinking about it or asking what they’ll get in return. That’s family.”
– Kim Stewart (Swan House)
“Everyone who’s a house manager or works here has already been through the program. When I first got here, I knew that they had all been where I was. By following their example and suggestions I was able to build a relationship with God and Jesus Christ.”
– Mitchell Brooks (Sparrow House)
“Finding a relationship with God. CORE is where I found it, through the 12 Steps.”
– Bracy Sams (Hawkeye House)
“I love the fellowship here, welcoming the newcomer, socializing with the women, and helping them. Spirituality plays a big role in our program here, too. It’s really the foundation of our recovery program, and leading by example helps build that.”
– Tamara Spencer (Quail House)
“It’s a safe place to come find recovery, but even more, CORE gives you the opportunity to pass on what is given to you. At so many places you come, you get, and you go. Not here. You’re not a product of CORE; you become part of CORE. Now you are in a position to help others, to teach, and to carry a message of hope.”
– Marty Neal (Raven House)
“CORE redirected my life. If you knew me before CORE, I’d been a drug addict forever, was fresh out of jail, and just lost. No communication with my family; things were just a mess. From the second I entered CORE, I knew that it’s what I wanted. I completely turned my life around. So of course my family is now a big supporter. They’re ‘Team CORE’ too.”
– Sherrie Bowman (Dove House)
“The camaraderie that comes with it. Everybody in leadership has come through this program already. They struggled with addiction too. This is not someplace with counselors who never lived it. You come into CORE surrounded by staff who were once there too, and they have recovered.”
– Jeremy Hampton (Condor House)
“CORE is like a toolbox when you’re going to work. They give you so many tools that when you leave the program, you can still use them every day to stay clean and healthy. It’s a simple program, and if you just do it the way they suggest, it becomes so much easier.”
– Kelly Creson (Eagle House)