Recovery Mentor Program

People in the throes of recovery often feel hopeless; they may even be convinced that addiction is their fate.  Often surrounded by others with drug and alcohol problems, they have no role models for living a clean, sober and successful life.

In 1999, Central City Concern established the Recovery Mentor Program to give recovering addicts someone to turn to; someone who has traveled the road to recovery and succeeded. 

Clients are matched with individual mentors who literally take them by the hand to introduce them to drug-free housing and accompanies them to their first support group meeting. Mentors check in with clients daily, making sure they maintain their commitment to a regimen of intensive outpatient medical, chemical dependency and mental health treatment. The longer a person continues with outpatient treatment, the greater the chance of long-term sobriety.

The Recovery Mentor Program provides encouragement and a strong social network.  It is a program in which individuals are held accountable for their successes, as well as for their digressions.

With a mentor’s help, clients develop new relationships with others in recovery, gradually learning a new way of life.  With their mentor’s guidance, they learn that transformation is possible.

Impact

Since 1999, more than 1,600 people have chosen to work with a recovery mentor and live in alcohol & drug-free housing as effective approaches to success. See reduced criminal activity study here.