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NEWSLETTER... |
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Eric Z., the Pathfinders program coordinator, noted recently that two former residents-one with 22 years of sobriety and another with 23 years of sobriety-were still coming back to work as sponsors with new Pathfinders residents. Recovering alcoholics with a firm grip on sobriety have an important role in the social model of recovery which Pathfinders pioneered more than half a century ago. What newcomers see in the "old-timers" is a way of life that sustains a personal commitment to sobriety. Pathfinders remains a leading example of the social model of recovery-a model in which authority is based on experience rather than professional degrees. From the day they enter Pathfinders, newcomers are among other alcoholics measuring their recovery in days, months or years. The annual Pathfinders Homecoming-on October 11th this year-is an event that celebrates the link between former residents of Pathfinders and those who are just beginning their sobriety there. The invitation to "Keep Coming Back" reminds those who began a new life of sobriety at Pathfinders that there are two reasons why the door swings both ways. "I need to touch base with this house periodically for my own benefit," says one old-timer who began his sobriety at Pathfinders. "And I've never forgotten how much it meant to me when I was new and people with long-term sobriety would come to meetings here." Pathfinders began in 1950 as a way for sober members of Alcoholics Anonymous to practice the 12th Step of their program, which calls on them to carry the AA message to the alcoholic who still suffers. These early members of AA pooled their resources to open a refuge for sobriety-seekers on San Diego's Skid Row. Their storefront evolved into a residential program that now provides room and board for 40 men in three residences in a neighborhood near Balboa Park. |
Keeping It Green |
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Pathfinders residents assume responsibility for their surroundings—indoors and outdoors. Besides doing daily housekeeping chores in the three Pathfinders residences, men in recovery also tend to the landscaping, taking pride in the neat appearance of the Pathfinders property. |
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During their stay at Pathfinders men are urged to write about their experience. Here is how one resident explained his new attitude toward an important element of recovery— |
"a willingness to change" |
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My willingness has grown a great deal since I came to Pathfinders. Before I came to Pathfinders I hated everyone and everything, and the only thing I was willing to do was commit crimes to get money and to survive out there on the streets. Since I’ve been here I have been willing to do what it takes to stay sober. I don’t want to go back to the horrible life I was having before I came here. Pathfinders and Alcoholics Anonymous have given me another opportunity at life. Every day I try to remind myself what it was like before I came here and how helpless and hopeless I felt. This helps me stay sober each day Since being here at Pathfinders and in AA have learned to do things I don’t want to do. Before I came here I never wanted to help anyone. Today, on the other hand, I do want to help people. I go to Detox every Friday and share my experience, strength and hope with the people there because I’m willing to do whatever it takes to stay sober in Pathfinders and AA. If I’m not willing to do these things I’ll get loaded. In the old days doing only what I wanted to do always got me drunk. I’m grateful for Pathfinders and Alcoholics Anonymous and for the life I have today. |
To e-mail Pathfinders: stan@pathfindersofsd.com |
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