Clayton Goldberg got sober on October 24, 2007.  On February 6, 2012, Clayton tore open a letter from the Department of State Health Services certifying him as a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor Intern.  While the acceptance letter promised an abundance of possibilities for his future, Clayton’s journey to becoming a counselor is far more interesting than speculating on his future.

Clayton wasn’t introduced to Extended Aftercare as an employee, but rather, as a client.  Clayton was 20 years old when he checked into EAI and according to him, he was “depressed, terrified, and completely irresponsible.”  The staff did their job and pushed Clayton to fellowship, process his feelings, and get into the solution.  Steve Boon, COO, told him that he “didn’t have to run anymore.”  Keith Liles, CEO, never asked Clayton to leave when he showed up to Keith’s office EVERYDAY with his issues.  Clayton began to thrive in the community at Extended Aftercare, Inc.  Six months later he graduated the 90-day Supportive Residential Treatment Program.

Nearly a year after graduating, Hurricane Ike hit Houston, leaving Extended Aftercare’s community and staff to join together and rebuild. Clayton wanted to be apart of EAI’s new growth, so he applied for the office clerk position.  Soon, he was conducting the admissions process and giving tours.  He earned more and more responsibilities, until he basically formed a new position for himself: Admissions Coordinator.  After a year of talking to the mothers of alcoholics, liaising between different agencies, referral sources and companies, and and being the friendly face in the window everyday, Clayton realized that he loved working with people; a far cry from his old life of seclusion and drug abuse.

After weighing several options concerning his future, Clayton enrolled in the Institute of Chemical Dependency Studies to become a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor.  Extended Aftercare supported him while by arranging Clayton’s job duties so that he could keep full time employment while attending night classes.  Extended Aftercare also showed our support for Clayton by ensuring he had the opportunity to complete his practicum hours at EAI.  Today we are very grateful and proud to welcome Clayton to the counseling team where we are positive he will thrive and help change lives.

“I have one of the greatest jobs because I get to work with a group of individuals who have never given up on me.  The fact that I have fun with my coworkers on daily basis isn’t so bad either.  It is an awesome privilege being a part of the Extended Aftercare family.  Somewhere in between my sobriety date and the day I received that letter, something changed.  It was the treatment I received as a client of Extended Aftercare that provided the atmosphere, guidance, love and support that I needed to go from a lost and broken child to a recovering man who gets to help people exactly like the old me. Funny how the world works sometimes.” – Clayton Goldberg, Counselor Intern

Extended Aftercare Inc - Houston's Leading Residential Drug & Alcohol Treatment Center for Men

Every holiday season, the EAI Alumni Association hosts a variety of events to support men who have graduated the residential treatment program, their friends and families, and current EAI clients during one of the more trying times in sobriety. For many addicts and alcoholics, holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve can be triggers for relapse. We think about our family who we miss and can not be with for whatever reason. We think about all the past parties and celebrations, most of which involve our addiction in some form or fashion. These thoughts can be dangerous if left to grow and fester in our minds.

Extended Aftercare’s Alumni Association makes it a priority to allow men in and around the EAI treatment program to make new, healthy, sober memories through the holiday events we host every year.

Thanksgiving:

On Thanksgiving Day, the EAI Alumni Association partners with the EAI House Managers to throw a huge football party and feast. The EAI family includes clients, family members, friends, alumni and staff all gathered together for this celebration of gratitude. It is imperative to the EAI Alumni Association to provide the fellowship, support, and comradery that all recovering addicts and alcoholics require to lead healthy lives. The Thanksgiving Day Feast helps support that mission.

Recovery’s Got Talent:

On December 10 the EAI Alumni Association threw a recovery based party, including BBQ, a speaker meeting, dance, and talent show. With nearly 200 people in attendance, the event brought together many different treatment centers, 12-step groups, alumni, clients, friends, and families for the festivities. The Talent Show portion of the event was great and featured a gaggle of different acts including a couple comedians, some singers, poets and even a magician.

Caroling:

December 17 was the date for one of the Alumni Associations smaller and more service oriented projects. Every year, a group of Alumni bring clients to several local hospices and assisted living centers to spread holiday cheer through song. Granted, some of us are not the best singers, but we still make quite an impact on the residents of these sad places. Some of the people we visit there may never see another holiday season and it makes our service that much more meaningful to bring a smile to there faces. It also has served as a enlightening experience for our clients to see exactly what 100% selfless service is really about.

Gift to A Stranger:

The day after Caroling, the EAI Alumni Association host a Celebration of Christmas for alumni, clients, friends, families and some very special guests. With the assistance of Intergroup Houston, the Alumni Association finds one family in recovery who can not afford to buy gifts for their children. We collect donations and purchase items for the children and family and have Santa (our professionally trained Santa Claus and EAI Alumnus, Patrick A.) surprise them when they come by our campus on the day of the event. This year was wonderful, as we were able to support a young couple and their 3 children through the holiday season. Everyone walked away full of food, love, candy, joy and gratitude!

Christmas Feast for Houston’s Homeless:

Arguably the largest event EAI’s Alumni Association puts on every year, the Christmas Feast for Houston’s Homeless has been a heartfelt tradition for our Alumni for 19 years. Between collecting food to cook turkey dinners for 600 men, women and children, getting all the correct health and service permits and organizing hundreds of volunteers, it is sometimes a little difficult to “get in the spirit” but that all changes on Christmas Day. We had an outstanding turnout of volunteers at the location we used near downtown Houston. We served hot turkey, stuffing, gravy, green beans, mashed potatoes, cornbread, cranberry sauce, desserts, water and coffee from 10am to 2 pm to hundreds of Houstonians in need.  Members of our Alumni Association also provided gently used clothes, jackets, blankets and hygiene packs. Everyone who participated agrees it was the best way to spend Christmas morning and truly embraces the “Spirit of Christmas.”

New Year’s Eve Bowling:

New Year’s Eve can be a dangerous night for anyone in recovery. The classic New Year’s images of popping bottle of champagne and kissing those we love are the first things to come to mind. The EAI Alumni Association provides a fun and safe alternative to traditional parties with our New Year’s Eve Bowling Night. We rented an entire bowling alley that is closed to the public, allowing recovering individuals, their families and friends, treatment centers, sober living houses and other recovery based organizations the run of the entire alley to bowl, eat pizza and chilli dogs, win prizes, fellowship with new friends and enjoy the night. With over 250 people in attendance, it’s hard to deny the event’s success.

And finally we at Extended Aftercare would like to thank all of the Alumni Board members and volunteers for the hard work they put into providing these event to our clients and the Houston Recovery Community at large. The Extended Aftercare Alumni Association in a non profit group of men and women, who love Extended Aftercare and continue to help us, their peers and new clients long after they have left our 90 day residential treatment program. We respect and honor these men and women for their selfless service throughout the year.

Extended Aftercare Inc - Houston's Leading Residential Drug & Alcohol Treatment Center for Men

By Kevin M.

At this time of year, the Holiday season, we find it easier to be grateful and filled with humility. We also find a greater amount of despair and hopelessness. In these times we find the essence of the 12^th step at its greatest importance to those of us in recovery. Giving back to one another and society has an even more powerful affect on our lives this time of year than, in my opinion, any other because, now is the time we are subject to remembering our own despair and sorrow the greatest. Now is the time we tend to dwell on what we’ve lost or believe we should have by now in our lives. I find that by giving more of my time in service work, by being there for others that are newer in recovery than I, that I find more inner peace for myself. My prayer for those of us in recovery, those still lost in addiction, those that have returned to using, the homeless, the hungry and all others that have need in their lives becomes essentially the same this time of year.

“I pray that the POWER GREATER than myself, GREATER than us all, will bless us in our hopelessness, increase our faith, build our resolve and show us the way we can be of service to others that we may find the strength that brings us through today. I pray that whatever selfish, self-centeredness that exists in me be removed as I seek to be a better me for the sake of others in need. I pray that all that are blessed in the least remember those blessed a little less. And I pray for those unable or unwilling to pray, that theirs needs are met and their lives fulfilled. Amen.”

To all those fortunate enough to read this, blessed to be able to, whether you celebrate this season or not, I wish you well and pray blessings in your life that last your lifetime through.

Extended Aftercare Inc - Houston's Leading Residential Drug & Alcohol Treatment Center for Men

By Bob

In my mind’s eye

I spy

a man,

a man alone in his addiction.

Picture, if you will,

a room sterile and still.

Our animate solitary in a void

stares at a screen.

The feature life

not to be lived, only seen.

A film noir, black and white,

one dimensional,

nothing sentimental.

Then one day, an option,

relief from decay,

set free from confusion

of hope

an infusion.

Peace for today

in the Loving arms of our family

A. A.

Extended Aftercare Inc - Houston's Leading Residential Drug & Alcohol Treatment Center for Men

By Edgar R. M.

You cannot imagine how hard it is to observe and preserve

the bright ruby hint left upon my grey lip.

Lingering heat urging memories deserved,

a swaggering teasing with every sip.

Given the opportunity to gaze into your eyes again,

again while challenging my stare through pain.

An unexpected match over Earl mist and girl,

a welcome opportunity to reunite misjudged worlds.

Such a contrast, raising tea over wine.

Your sparkling smile invites continuance,

demonstrating the strength of warmth and shine

as background rubbings whisper, “Shall we dance?”

Extended Aftercare Inc - Houston's Leading Residential Drug & Alcohol Treatment Center for Men

By Kevin M.

In a sweeping defeat of 2-0, clients Lucious and Kemp crush alumni Chris B. and Mouton in the first round of domino play. Meanwhile clients, Tony and Raymond defeat Cobbs and Bobby in their first round battle. Then, in a back and forth battle of champions, Lucious and Kemp finally defeated Tony and Raymond for the title of  Extended Aftercare Dominos Champions.

The Spades tournament consisted of Larry and Pat sweeping the tournament. Even though they were as mismatched a team as any one could imagine, they managed to stay undefeated for this event.

If you were not there you missed out on a load of sober fun and excitement. There was plenty of good fellowship, camaraderie and laughter shared by all. Not to mention good food cooked and served by alumni D. J. We offer CONGRATULATIONS to our victors and much THANKS to ALL our participants, alumni and clients. See you at the next one!

Extended Aftercare Inc - Houston's Leading Residential Drug & Alcohol Treatment Center for Men

by Hazelden

Patricia used to approach the holidays with an overwhelming sense of dread, because she never knew what her alcoholic brother might do to ruin them. As Thanksgiving floral arrangements gave way to sparkling Christmas ornaments and the drone of holiday music, her stomach would clench more each day and her mood would grow darker.

“Some years were just awful,” she recalls. “So often my brother would show up drunk and make a scene at family gatherings. He’d scare his kids, embarrass his wife, and break my mother’s heart over and over again. One year he got arrested a week before Christmas for driving under the influence and for disorderly conduct. I remember that we called the judge to ask if they could keep him in jail until after the holidays. We all breathed a collective sigh of relief when they did just that. We could finally relax and enjoy ourselves knowing he was safe but unable to spoil things for everyone.”

Thankfully, those painful memories are distant ones now because Patricia’s brother–after 25 years as a practicing alcoholic–stopped drinking 20 years ago. “But it took me several years after he went into treatment to trust him and his recovery,” she says. “For a long time, I still prepared myself for the worst, half expecting another midnight phone call saying he had been in an accident.”

The holiday scene Patricia describes today, however, is right out of a Norman Rockwell painting. “My brother is a grandfather now, and he is like an excited little boy, eagerly watching his grandkids open the gifts he laboriously and lovingly picked out for each of them. I’m so grateful that my parents got to experience his sobriety and witness the profound changes he made in his life before they died.”

Patricia says her own involvement in the Twelve Step program of Al-Anon has helped her understand that addiction is truly a disease that affects the entire family. She says recovery has allowed her to unearth the meaning of the holiday season and reclaim it as the joyous and contemplative occasion it was meant to be.

In autumn, the early settlers of our country gathered and evaluated their harvest, preparing themselves for the challenging winter months ahead as they gave thanks for the bounty their hard work brought them. “This is how I view Twelve Step recovery and Thanksgiving now,” Patricia says. “I welcome it as a time to take stock of past experiences and meditate on the lessons I’ve learned–seeing those lessons as my ‘harvest,’ my protection for any future difficulties. Then I find ways to express my gratitude for all I’ve been given.”

Two years after her brother began recovery, for example, Patricia gave him a little music box for Thanksgiving that played “We’ve Only Just Begun,” thanking him for rekindling the flame of family that was almost extinguished by the winds of his alcoholism. Patricia describes herself as a spiritual person who sees Christmas as another opportunity for deep reflection. “To me, Christmas is about love, acceptance and expectancy–a symbol of birth and hope,” she says. “I try to carry through with the ‘attitude of gratitude’ that I learned about in Twelve Step recovery, and use Christmas as a time to help others.”

Some years she and her husband and daughter play “secret Santa” and buy gifts for a family in need. Sometimes they serve meals at a homeless shelter or take an elderly friend out for a holiday lunch. She also likes to write letters of appreciation at Christmas to the special people in her life, letting them know what gifts they are to her.

“Recovery has been transformative for me, for my brother, and for my whole family,” she says. “Twenty years ago, I hated the holidays and feared what my brother would do. But then he sobered up and I got my big brother back. Along the way, I discovered the Twelve Steps. I guess miracles really do happen. Isn’t that what the holidays are all about?”

Extended Aftercare Inc - Houston's Leading Residential Drug & Alcohol Treatment Center for Men

For over a decade now, that safe place has been a bowling alley full of sober men, women and children. On New Year’s Eve night, the EAI Alumni Association rent an entire bowling alley to host a private, sober, bowling party. Complete with all the pizza, hot dogs, and soda people can handle, EAI clients, alumni, friends in sobriety, and families bowl the night away. Not only does everyone have guaranteed fun, but everyone also stays sober!

The cost of the event is $20 per person ($10 for children under 13) and that includes all the pizza and soda you can eat, all the bowling you can handle and a door prize entry. The event kicks off at 8 PM and will go through 12:30 AM.

As with all Alumni-sponsored events, this event is open to anyone in recovery who wants to participate.

Contact us for more information or to get involved.

RSVP on Facebook

Download the Flyer

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Extended Aftercare Inc - Houston's Leading Residential Drug & Alcohol Treatment Center for Men

At the 2011 State TAAP Conference on July 29 in San Antonio, TX the rarely bestowed Hall of Fame Award was presented to Keith H. Liles, BA, LCDC, ADC III, ICADC for his outstanding contributions to the addiction counseling field during his distinguished career.

The Texas Counselor’s Hall of Fame Award recognizes the body of work of an individual in the field of addictions counseling, prevention, education, intervention and treatment, his dedicated service to TAAP and his outreach to the recovery community.  It is awarded based on the many facets of the candidate’s contributions over an extended period of time, the varied scope of services provided, and the populations these services reached.  The Nominee must have a minimum of ten years of experience in the field and as a member of TAAP, and have provided significant contributions to the profession and the TAAP organization.  This award is not presented every year but instead when a worthy candidate is presented that meets the full spirit of the award.

Keith is a graduate of Baylor University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and business and honors graduate of the University of Houston’s School of Addiction Studies. Liles enjoyed a 12 year career in the banking industry before embarking on his heart’s mission of chemical dependency counseling. He has blazed the path as counselor, instructor, clinical supervisor, youth mentor, legislative advocate, executive manager and professional leader on local, state and national levels. In addition to receiving this Lifetime Achievement Award, he was honored as the National Addiction Professional of the Year in 2005 by the National Association of Addiction Professionals.  He serves as the CEO and Chief Clinical Officer of Extended Aftercare, Inc., a long term residential treatment facility for men in Houston.

“As a young Counselor Intern, I wondered what you have to do to ever be put in the Hall of Fame.  Now that I have been inducted into this illustrious group of Texas counseling pioneers, I’m still not sure, but I can tell you that for my peers to look at my body of work over the last sixteen years, and deem that as exemplifying consummate professionalism, outstanding treatment provision, clinical mentor-ship, community outreach and support of my professional organization, as the trophy states, then the honor could not be more humbling.   I look forward to the next sixteen years of collaboration with my colleagues and for all our clients as we continue our fight against addiction,” states Hall of Fame Inductee Keith Liles.

Extended Aftercare Inc - Houston's Leading Residential Drug & Alcohol Treatment Center for Men

Aiming for improvement in services provided is the number one goal of every organization.  EAI is certainly no different, and we measure our overall treatment experience as well as many individual components by our Client Exit Interviews.  As you can imagine, after a minimum stay of 90 days, graduating clients are well conditioned to offer their opinions on the clinical programming, daily operations, residential housing, and more.

The detailed survey evaluates 20 criterion as well as solicits feedback as to rationale behind the evaluation.  This data is then compared to previous years to see which areas of the company showed improvements, as well as those who were identified as in need of attention.  For the year 2011, EAI received an overall client satisfaction approval of 91.87%, a 0.21% improvement from last year.  The most notable improvements were: our admissions experience, food quality, treatment planning, referral process, education groups, and “Upon Awakening” groups.

“With the start of 2012, I once again had the opportunity to go through the Client Exit Interviews for the past year and compile a report evaluating Extended Aftercare’s entire program from top to bottom,” said Anthony Davis, Marketing and Public Relations Representative who oversees the Exit Interview data tracking on compilations. “Extended Aftercare has always sought feedback from our clientele. It’s one of the few ways we have of know what works and what doesn’t when it comes to clients not only benefiting from the treatment they receive here, but also enjoying their time with us.”

As a part of Extended Aftercare’s yearly review, we also compile and examine our discharge demographics. When a client leaves our program, the discharge usually falls into one of four categories: Completed Program, Transfer, Staff Discharge for Cause, or Client Discharge. With 206 client admissions in 2011, 55.34% of men completed the 90-day residential treatment program, which is significantly higher than the state average according the the Texas Department of State Health Services (43.2%).

Below are some excerpts from the interviews:

Extended Aftercare Inc - Houston's Leading Residential Drug & Alcohol Treatment Center for Men