Houston Run For Recovery 2012

September 23, 2012

Fish Plaza of the Wortham Theater Center

5K Run/ Walk and 1K Kid’s Run in celebration of National Recovery Month

Registration (not open yet)

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

On Common Ground - 16th Annual Alcathon and Recovery Celebration

June 22 – 23, 2012

Extended Aftercare, Inc.
5113 Del Sur St.
Houston, TX 77018

The festivities will begin at 5 pm on Friday the 22 with a small celebration and mixer for those who wish to attend and learn a little about EAI, the Alumni Association and New Pair of Glasses. The mixer will roll right into our Friday night Community Celebration in which we celebrate EAI graduates and welcome newcomers. The Celebrations will be followed by a meeting and some special games  and finally capped off by an intimate fireside meeting.

Saturday is the big day! Meetings will be going on all day long starting at 9 am and ending at 8 pm. We will also be serving food throughout the day including brisket, snow cones, and an assortment of deserts. Plans are in the making for multiple events during the day including possible volleyball games and Big Book Jeopardy; more information soon!

And to end the whole thing, a party of course! EAI Alumni and professional emcee, DJ Stevie Ray, will be playing everyone’s favorite dance hits after the speaker meeting and through the night!

Please check back here soon for any changes or updates!

• Flyer
• Schedule
• Additional Information

FRIDAY, JUNE 22:

Kick-Off Party…………………5:00 PM

Community Celebration……6:00 PM

Open Discussion………………7:30 PM

Rec. Games and Fun……………9:00 PM

Camp-fire Meeting…………..11:00 PM

SATURDAY, JUNE 23:

Meditation……………………..9:00 AM

Open Discussion…………….10:30 AM

Speaker Meeting…………….12:00 PM

Big Book Jeopardy……………1:30 PM

Women’s Meeting…………….3:30 PM

Men’s Meeting…………………5:00 PM

“Ask It Basket” Meeting…….6:30 PM

Speaker Meeting………………8:00 PM

Recovery Dance………………9:30 PM

Do you or your Home Group want to host a meeting during this event?

Contact Dario Talamantes at dariotalamantes@yahoo.com

Start the Party Early on the Facebook Events Page

Location:

EAI Meeting Hall

5113 Del Sur St.

Houston, TX 77108

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

For the past three years, Extended Aftercare, Inc. has been asked to provide our various sports facilities for a Spirit of Houston Conference fundraiser event. The Spirit of Houston is a annual Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) event with Al-Anon & Alateen participation in the Houston area.  The 27th annual Spirit of Houston Conference will be at the Sheraton Houston Brookhollow August 31st through September 2nd. The Spirit of Houston committee hosts events throughout the year for fun and fellowship and to raise money for the conference scholarship fund.

The event on Saturday, May 5, 2012 will be an Outdoor Fun Day complete with sporting events, speaker meetings, food and fellowship. Beginning at 10 am and lasting until 4 pm, the event looks like its going to be a huge success. EAI will offer support by providing our meeting hall, volunteers, and arranging the volleyball, basketball and volleyball events for the occasion. Many of Extended Aftercare’s alumni are involved with the Spirit of Houston Conference on various levels and look forward to helping out anyway they can.

Visit the Spirit of Houston Website          Download the Event Flyer

Download a Map to the Event          Join the Event on Facebook

After last year’s event, the Chairman of the Spirit of Houston Conference, David C. James, stated:

In the 13 years I have been affiliated with the Spirit of Houston, we have never had the level of support, assistance and encouragement from any host club, like we received from EAI. I cannot say enough about how impressed I am with EAI and the wonderful work [they] are doing in transforming hopeless, broken lives into beautiful, loving productive lives. Keep up the good work and may God continue to bless you in your endeavors.

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

Why does EAI go camping?

After the counseling is over and the process groups are done, knowing how to experience and enjoy the simple pleasures of life is absolutely necessary for successful recovery after residential treatment. Extended Aftercare, in conjunction with the EAI Alumni Association, consistently provides opportunities for clients to experience life through various events ranging from social movie nights to weekend camping trips. Professionals in the counseling field call it “Experiential Therapy” but most people in recovery know it as “living life on life’s terms”, “growing up in public” or just “good, clean fun.” It is this bridge from a life of substance dependency to a life of healthy and positive experience that allows recovering men and women to move forward with life after leaving the “safety net” of a treatment center. Experiential Therapy is the door to the world – it forces the client to test themselves in new ways, to get up when they fall, to learn that giving up is not an option and that when problems arise after treatment there are other means of dealing with problems than turning back to addiction.

When I got into recovery, I heard advice all the time like “Live life to the fullest!”, “carpe diem”, “This is not a dress rehearsal, you only get one shot at life”. But I was terrified of living a life without drugs and alcohol because I could not imagine how I would have fun and be clean and sober. The truth, as I came to find out, is that my addiction and alcoholism had destroyed my ability to make my own decision to experience life, and my life was no longer something I participated in. In my addiction I was a spectator, sitting on the sidelines of my own life, numb to all happiness, excitement and love. In overcoming my addiction, I found my most challenging and vital lesson was to re-learn what it meant to live my life.

-Anthony K. Davis, EAI Alumni and EAI Marketing and Admissions Representative

There is a healing quality to nature which has been known for centuries. Be it taking time to smell the roses, meditating on a mountain, lying in a wildflower field, strolling by a meandering stream, or hiking in ancient redwood groves, there is something about being in the great outdoors that connects to mankind’s innermost self. People instinctively turn to outdoor and nature-loving activities as a way of relaxing and enhancing their well-being. Nature can aid in facilitating self-awareness and promoting healing. For many, the outdoors is a source of inspiration, solace, guidance and regeneration.

For the recovering alcoholic and/or addict, especially those who live in the concrete and steel world of major cities like Houston, getting outside and being a part of the majesty and elegance of nature can do wonders for the soul. For me, there is no place in the world that I feel more in touch with my Higher Power, my fellow man and my own true self, than in the wilderness with my friends around me and the sun on my skin. For some, the Livingston Campout is just what it appears to be: a few days away from the city with some twelve step meetings, barbecue, and fishing thrown in the mix. But for many, many more, the campout is the setting for life-altering connections to be made, spiritual renewal to be felt, and a new outlook on life to be developed.

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

Regardless of the profession we are aligned with, there was always somebody in our past who shepherded us along.  That special man or woman who took us under their wing and offered us very possibly our first glimpse at mentorship.

I think back to my first clinical mentors, Lauren Cohen, Danny Roitberg, and Dr. Barbara Levinson, who gave selflessly to help me “find my way” in the field of addiction studies.  In fact, they saw something in me long before I did, encouraging me to go back to school, allowing me to sit in on groups to observe, teaching me both the clinical side but also how the back office ran.  In hindsight, they set me up superbly so when it was time to do my Practicum, I was ready.  And with their patience and nurturing, I somehow completed the clinical training hours, took my exam and passed.  It was because of the hands on gifts they afforded me, not to mention the hours of one-on-one prep for my exams, that I was absolutely prepared.  I will forever be grateful to them, and I realized early on that the best way I could repay them was to pass the gifts on.

So the million dollar question is, are you paying it forward?  Have you offered the gifts of mentorship to the student or trainee who was once the newbie in the office?  That newcomer who stumbled lost new to the business yet filled with that eagerness to learn and only hoping someone like you would offer that outreached hand?

For me, my first full time job in the addiction field was running an LCDC training school, where I could work with students daily.  I supervised the Practicum and Clinical Training Programs for The Right Step for ten years, and found the giveaway to truly be one of the greatest rewards to date.  When I moved over to Extended Aftercare, the first thing I did was apply for a CTI license and put together a Practicum Program so we could continue the outreach to students and interns.  And what an amazing joy it has been.  Sure it takes a good deal more work, as if the days aren’t busy enough, but isn’t that what we are put on the earth to do?  Teach?  Teach our children, our sponsees, ourselves?  Is it time that you are ready to teach our students?  Because they need you.  There are too few certified training institutes around so as I see it, the time is now to give back.  Honor those mentors who taught you.  Speak to any institution offering LCDC coursework about setting up a Practicum Agreement with them, or contact TDSHS at www.dshs.state.tx.us if you are interested in being a Clinical Training Institution.

The rewards are amazing.

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

Even after only 2 months of being a Counselor Intern, I’ve already learned a valuable lesson from my experiences during individual sessions; Timing is everything

There is an obvious pressure on a drug addict in treatment when they are given 90 days to evolve into a recovering productive member of society.  I now understand that there exists a similar type of pressure on the counselor; especially when some clients don’t want to talk at all.  Yet, those few who do understand how significant their experience in treatment is and are aware that my role in their recovery is to help direct their future success and support their willingness to change their addiction-related behaviors, they end up talking about everything.  Some take full advantage of what they have and dive head first into the deep end of their darkest secrets after only one session.  Although I honor their eagerness, I’ve learned that discussing too much too soon could actually harm the client’s emotional state-of-mind.  I have to be mindful of the fact that I’m providing much of the guidance they will receive and that they are early in sobriety and aren’t usually familiar with the aspects of healing.  I can be ok in the beginning to simply establish a relationship with my client, getter better acquainted with his personality and gain his trust.  I can set the intention to reintroduce these issues at a later date.

There is also the reality that the client will be moving on eventually, so I must not linger along with my client over his issues, and instead be prepared to intervene and help him get to the solution.  Saying all this, there is also the excitement I get when those opportunities for my client to heal appear without preparation.  With the support from the supervision that I continue to receive, I can apply my intuition to these situations in a healthy way.

You cannot afford to wait for perfect conditions. Goal setting is often a matter of balancing timing against available resources. Opportunities are easily lost while waiting for perfect conditions.
-Gary Ryan Blair

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

Poem: Journey Through the Twelve Steps

Poem: Loose this Gravity

Poem: The Man in the Mirror

Artwork: Allen W.

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

I was in a recovery workshop for addiction and alcoholism treatment providers recently and the presenter defined integrity as

one of the highest, most respectable accolades a person could receive, yet rarely given.

She followed up by defining authenticity as

simply being real; real with yourself and real with others. No hidden agendas and no shadows that blind you from being real.

I had to stop and think at how these two characteristics show up in my own life, in the lives of my clients at Extended Aftercare….and in the lives of my family and friends.

For a person to have integrity and be considered authentic, he or she must possess the vulnerability to expose yourself so people can truly see who you are. This sounds like a pretty scary thing. In doing so, you set yourself up for consternation, ridicule, even outcast.

Many folks I know go thought life as opaque, disconnected, sometimes offputting individuals. They may do it for a variety of reasons: conscious disassociation from others, as a means of protection, or to hide from reality and possibly even themselves.

To be of integrity and authentic, I suspect it takes letting down some once rigid boundaries and walls whereby it is still safe for the individual to survive, and let others see all of you – the good, bad and ugly. Moreover, as you let others see you, so, too, shall you.

I always thought on my tombstone I wanted it to be written that I was a “fair” person. Maybe there will be a little extra space for integrity and authenticity, and thankfully, I will leave that up to you.

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

This past weekend, I was blessed to have been a part of the largest, and the most spirit-filled Hour of Power ever held here at Extended Aftercare, Inc. There were 21 men in attendance seeking to hear the word of God and to study the word of God. Men shared about their experience for the first time of truly experiencing the love of God in their lives and in their hearts as a direct result of what God is doing within the EAI community. When this bible study was put on my heart, I couldn’t have ever envisioned it growing the way it has and helping lost men find their way back to the Creator, our Almighty God. Men cried tears of joy and shared on how good it felt to be back in the loving and caring arms of Jesus and that God had provided a way for them to be in fellowship with other believers. All Praise, Glory, and Honor be to God The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit, Thanks Be to God.

- Gregory W. Germany, Humble Servant to The Most High God

Every weekend for nearly two years now, Greg Germany, one of Extended Aftercare’s award winning counselors, has graciously donated his time to lead a small, voluntary bible study group on the EAI Campus. While Extended Aftercare is not a religious or faith-based facility, it does encourage men to find their own path to their Higher Power. The Hour of Power is an extracurricular activity held on Extended Aftercare’s Campus and the clients, alumni and staff honor and appreciate Greg for his selfless gift of service.

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

By Anonymous

The heart of an addict/alcoholic is a very unstable and highly fragile thing. We’ve come to a point where we have beaten such a tender muscle into a state of numbness. Callouses that turn into scars over time harden and soon all emotion is lost and none is received. The small fragments of light that once shone through the cracks have been shut out. In this sarcophagus lives the addict/alcoholic who knows only the bitterest of feeling or emotion. Encapsulated in this prison is the soul and spirit of all that once was. Peace, Love, and harmony have been cast out.

At this point the mind attempts to take over and exert all efforts to obtain the things which can only enter through the heart. Obsessive frustration at all attempts to gain control slowly fatigues the mind of the addict/alcoholic. Tranquility and happiness are never found at the bottom of the bottle, the end of the pipe, at the point of the needle, or stuck clinging to a baggie. The heart and soul, so tightly locked away, unable to reach out to the mind and comfort it. The cycle continues relentlessly as the mind pursues various avenues of obtaining even the smallest iota of joy, only to fumble and smash it all to pieces. Yet the mind and heart share one commonality, the last chances at any hope, the bond of conscience, the small still voice that attempted to persuade the two to work together. Unfortunately the mind has adapted to the idea of control, and like a tyrannical dictator clings to it slapping the conscience away at what it perceives to be right and wrong. This continues while the addict himself is driven mad as seemingly easy everyday circumstances become surmounting boulders in which he is unable to move with any sufficient force. All hope is now lost and the mind succumbs entirely to the chemically induced madness which fuels it, only now it has fully crippled it.

In his despair amongst the brimstone and sulfur stained air of his hell, a voice is heard. With the raise of a brow and the turn of the head, a figure is seen near the delimitation of this inferno. The steps are so sure, so definitive, that with each step the blaze is extinguished. Then in the midst of this psychotically fashioned Hades, the voice cries out, “Freedom!!” What is this? A quake in the heart forms a fissure and a sliver of light pierces the bastille. Then a hand reaches out to the suffering. The aftershock opens the crack wider, and for the first time in what feels like forever, hope returns to this antechamber. Grabbing the hand and being stood up, the flames start to subside, “My friend, your woes are over if you so choose.” the figure says. The wounded man nods and gazes at the ground. The figure reaches out, lifting up the chin of the addict. “Your answer, my friend, is up there.” explains the figure, with a finger pointed to the sky. With tears streaming down and eyes upon the heavens, the mind surrenders control. The light that invited hope burst apart the walls of the tomb, leaving rubble piled high. A smile and a joyous laugh are shared amongst the new friends. The once lone victim, of his own foolish thoughts relieved, attempts to go on about his way, yet the guide replies, “Dear friend, much has to be done. Clean the house of your heart so God’s resting place is free of debris. And when you’re done, we must walk through the ashes back into the blaze to rescue another who is just as you were.”

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