12/20/08 Some Of The Good Works That Come Out Of Stanwich Congregational Church in Greenwich

Stanwich Sunday morning worship ...

Giving the spiritual gift of a second chance

Connecticut Post

BRIDGEPORT -- James Worde was driven to the Pivot Ministries Crisis Center in a red 18-wheeler after friends staged an intervention to help him overcome a life-long battle with alcoholism that recently led him to experiment with drugs.

Steven Johnson came to the Jane Street in-house rehabilitation program of his own accord, looking for a fresh start overcoming a 20-year drug addiction, but then suffering a relapse.
Despite their different situations, the men had one thing in common: an incapacitating, overbearing addiction that completely took over their lives.

Before arriving at Pivot, "I had been praying to God to help me overcome this crazy addiction," said Worde, a New Jersey native and administrative assistant at the center.....


....The men also go through a detox program at Norwalk Hospital -- if necessary -- and are given weekly checkups by a doctor from the Southwest Community Health Center in the crisis center's second-floor examination room.

Once a person's body is entirely cleared of addictive substances, "then everything breaks down," said Smith.

The program's second phase -- which lasts another four months -- takes place within the Norwalk Induction Center in South Norwalk. Then the men go on to the Teen Challenge program, where they have the opportunity to obtain their G.E.D. or get some vocational training.

"It's proven that long-term programs work," said Smith. Short-term programs are like "putting a band-aid on a gaping wound." Of the 4,500 men who have completed the program over the years, 35 percent have managed to stay clean, compared to a 15 percent success rate for many short-term programs, Smith said.

The program is entirely funded by private donors and area churches, including the New Canaan Congregational Church, St. Paul's Church in Darien, Stanwich Congregational Church in Greenwich and Gospel Light Community Church in Bridgeport.

Despite the program's nearly 39-year success, there has been one area of a man's life the program has not been able to address.

"We see couples come in. We have three men here right now that when their wife came in with them," they also needed help to overcome a drug or alcohol addiction, Smith said. "There is a need for more programs such as this for women." .....


....The men at the Pivot re-entry house helped Smith convert the large home, which has two full baths, several offices and large backyard, into a safe haven for women "who have problems [and] don't have a place to stay until they can go back into society," she said.

Last month, Smith received zoning approval from the city for the program, and she is now awaiting the approval of the state Department of Public Health.....


....Once the women's center is open, it will operate much like Pivot. The women will have chores, participate in group activities and daily sit-down dinners, and receive counseling and rehabilitation services. There will also be an emergency bed so that the center never has to turn away a woman in desperate need of shelter.

Gloria Smith's ultimate hope is that the women's center provides a place where women can find what men at Pivot find: a reason to go on living.

"We recognize these are human beings just like the rest of us. This is a need," she said.


For information about Pivot Ministries call 416-5468, and for information about the Act of Christ Ministries call 540-5055

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