Faith-based ministry brings guidance to woman addicts
Women share Bible study, meals, work in 13-month rehab.
Addiction had Areil MacKenzie in a chokehold.
MacKenzie was desperate to do anything to get her next high. She was a prostitute and drug dealer. But she was also a mother.
“I knew in my heart I was going to die,” she said. “But I couldn’t stop myself.”
When MacKenzie lost her three children to the foster-care system, she knew it was now or never. She had tried rehabilitation before without succeeding, and her hope for recovery was quickly fading.
For MacKenzie and five other five women taking part in a new program, the difference has been God.
MacKenzie said her faith was awakened by The Refuge, a faith-based ministry and rehabilitation center.
After successfully running a men’s program for 18 years, The Refuge decided it was time to expand, and in March it launched a 13-month intensive women’s ministry. Six women are living in a house in Grove City as part of the program, supporting each other and learning about God.
Every Monday at 9 a.m., addicts and recovering addicts convene for an introduction and orientation at the Veritas Community Church on the Hilltop. The women from The Refuge exude confidence on a recent morning; they sit close together at the front of the church, eager to talk and share a laugh. Some who are checking out the program or are new to Refuge Ministries shuffle in and slump in the back.
Sarah McGlone, 35, of the West Side, remembers her orientation vividly. She had hit rock bottom, and her dealer had cut her off.
“You know you’ve got a major problem when your drug dealer drops you off at rehab,” she said.
McGlone sat through orientation, listening to women share their testimonies and to the women’s ministry outreach director, Bekah Linton, give details about the program. The only thing getting McGlone through it, she said, was thinking about the syringe of methamphetamine she had in her bag.
But then Linton told her, “We will protect you. We will love and take care of you.”
McGlone said she immediately handed over her stash, filled out an application and was accepted that day. She said she hasn’t looked back in the three months she has been clean.
“All my relationships were broken,” McGlone said. “They seemed unfixable. But now I have sisters.”
She is referring to the five other women in the program, with whom she does everything; they share rooms, meals, Bible studies and, for 13 months, their lives.
But the program isn’t a free handout, Linton said. The women work hard to earn their keep, she said. After about two months in the program, the women are employed by corporations that partner with The Refuge, such as Benchmark Education, a Groveport publisher of educational materials.
Faith-based recovery is not for everyone, Linton said. But as a Christian, she said, she has seen it work wonders for the women who are willing to give it a chance.
The Refuge has been a good fit for MacKenzie.
“This is truly the happiest I’ve ever been,” she said, smiling as a tear ran down her face. “I came expecting treatment, but I found so much more.”