Community as the Heart of Recovery
It’s often said in the recovery space that community is the opposite of addiction. Community is the anchor needed for long-term sobriety. This has been the guiding principle as Jericho Road Ministries has sought to serve those trapped and isolated by addiction. In our namesake scripture passage, Luke 10:25-37, Jesus provides an example of community as the answer to the beaten man in the story of the Good Samaritan.
The Samaritan man’s care and presence is amplified all the more by the rejection and neglect of the previous passerbys. Both the priest and the Levite added insult to injury by seeing the man’s great need and crossing to the other side of the road. Not so with the Good Samaritan. He noticed the man and entered into his suffering. I can only imagine the relief felt when he reached out to the beaten man with care and compassion. Our mission is shaped by this story and commitment to be obedient to Jesus’ final words, “Go and do likewise.”
The individuals who walk through our doors in many ways identify with the beaten man. They have often experienced trauma and hurt through tragedy or by the hands of others. Time and time again, our staff hear stories of abuse, neglect, and loss. And when they have turned to substances to cope with these overwhelming circumstances, it has only served to isolate them further from the help they so desperately need. We, at Jericho Road, have realized that undoing the destructive patterns of addiction takes time and presence.
Throughout our 25-month recovery program, we seek to model a healthy community for our residents. For many individuals in our program, this is the first time they have experienced accountability paired with true compassion. The weight of correction is lessened when a person feels heard, seen, and valued. We know that this type of accountability is needed far beyond the length of a person’s stay at Jericho Road Ministries.
Just as the Good Samaritan brought the beaten man to the innkeeper to continue his healing, we seek partners through churches and organizations to provide the ongoing community for our residents. We pray that through the example they have experienced in our program, they would be able to identify healthy, life-giving relationships. Would you prayerfully consider how you can “go and do likewise” in helping our residents find victory over their addictions through Christ-like community?
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