Written by Tracy Korney, Posted November 22, 2019
We all have imperfections we like to hide.
But for those battling drug or alcohol abuse, hiding can destroy lives and families for generations.
33-year-old Jennifer, who asked that we keep her last name private, calls herself a “master hider.”
She says she started sneaking alcohol, cold medicine, and cough syrup at age 11 or 12.
“Yeah, for most addicts, you try whatever you can get your hands on,” said Jennifer.
A car accident at 17 put her on painkillers, the drug that would become her full-fledged addiction.
“So I used that as an excuse for the next 3 years, until I got arrested,” she added.
The courts forced her to enroll in a recovery program as part of her deal.
She says she called multiple recovery centers from jail, but no one would take her calls.
Except one: The Next Door.
“I had a bed date within 10 minutes,” she said. “They answered not just one time, but every time. You do not understand how important that part is, okay, because it starts to rebuild faith in people. And that’s one of the things you lose the quickest. You lose faith in people.”
Amanda Dunlap is The Next Door’s director, a faith-based, multi-story treatment facility on Charlotte Avenue in Nashville.
It offers everything from medically monitored detox, to residential and outpatient treatment.
Dunlap first worked as a therapist there for 12 years, then as director for four.
“We’re creating a community for women,” Dunlap said. “They go through the treatment journey together, and they have the same therapist, care manager, nursing staff. The same support staff are working with them from day one.”
Off the lobby sits a sun-drenched chapel.
The center’s key values, such as hope, faith, wholeness, and love, grace the walls.
“Many women walk in the doors feeling that loneliness, so we are wanting to connect them to something that goes way beyond us in this building,” Dunlap added.
“They never let you NOT know you’re cared about here,” said Jennifer. “It has saved my life and given me hope. Everything has changed. You start from learning you are not worthless–not only that you’re not alone, probably the biggest thing–but you have worth.”
Link to full article here.
