Greenhouse Recovery: The vision that was laid out for us
Who we are
In our Vision for 2024 blog post we said we were launching Greenhouse Recovery. What is that? It is a separate non-profit but managed and run by the same people who run Greenhouse Project. Greenhouse Recovery is now a branch of Greenhouse Project.
Greenhouse Recovery is designed to specifically support men overcoming life-dominating addictions by providing safe sober living housing with a full accountability program that equips them to create a new path in life.
We have two houses that can house up to 17 men. Our houses have brand new renovated kitchens, and bathrooms. We want these men to have a really nice and safe place to live.
Last year we were able to get both houses licensed from the Department of Drug and Alcohol Procedures (DDAP). They have the best interest of the individual at heart and don’t license easily. We are proud to be licensed through them and we want to go above and beyond even their standards by providing the best option for recovery men.
The people that do the best post recovery are the people who have skin in the game. The “old model” is to let people live for free post recovery, the “new model” that we follow is to have people contribute to their recovery housing. In addition to providing excellent recovery housing we are also the lowest cost recovery house in the area to help people get back on their feet.
Vision that was laid for us
Greenhouse Recovery isn’t something completely new though. This is a continuation of a nonprofit organization that has been around for almost twenty years. Everything we are doing with Greenhouse Recovery is because someone else laid the foundation. They even donated a recovery house to us.
The original nonprofit (TAG) was founded by Charles Knuckles in the early 2000s. He recently joined our board and you can read more about him HERE. Knuckles has the highest licensing recovery counseling anywhere in the world. Kent Henry took over the ministry in 2010 and ran it until 2023 when it was turned over to Greenhouse Recovery.
Both men were extremely influential in my life and laid a foundation to turn over this ministry to us.
Let’s talk about the vision these men had that helped us get here.
History of TAG
Back in 2000 Charles Knuckles was in the process of teaching about relapse prevention at CityTeam Chester after he graduated from the program himself. It is crucial to help break the cycle of addiction so that people don’t go right back to where they were before recovery. Some programs included instruction on physical, social, and mental recovery but didn’t include the spiritual. All four components are equally important.
Knuckles said, “I started to gather some other graduates…I had read about Nehimiah who had gathered people who were like minded. We would come back [to Cityteam] and preach and teach.”
Around 2005 The Alumni Group (TAG) was founded as an official nonprofit. It was designed to be after care for people who had completed recovery. TAG was renting a house for post recovery men to live in, after a while they received some grants to be able to purchase the house.
The whole idea with having the recovery house was to help men break out of the institutionalized mindset. Henry believes “there’s a certain comfort level in it. Which I believed was one of the reasons people tend to relapse is because it’s scary. To go so abruptly from the institutionalized to on your own.”
As compared to an institution or larger organization, TAG was individualized. Part of the intake process was for the men to set their goals. They would set their goals, and people at TAG would make sure they stayed on track. Henry said, “Whatever their goals are, we would give them an opportunity to meet their goals.”
What did TAG specifically do? They had weekly post recovery meetings, classroom instruction, and held weekly Bible studies. They would fast and pray for 24 hours. They would mentor one-on-one. Men who came to the recovery house had individual mentors. While CityTeam was designed to help with group recovery, TAG was focused on the 1-on-1 relationships.
Multiplying Disciples
The goal of this nonprofit was to reproduce disciples. Their mantra was “each one teach one, each one reach one.”
Matthew 28 unfolded for this group and how important it is to go out and make disciples. It’s important to not just learn but to share what you were learning with others. Everyone has people they can reach that other people might not be able to. Different backgrounds and experiences help reach different people.
Knuckles said, “Not only did it start to multiply, the recovery rates were almost 100% success recovery rate. Everybody that was involved in the nonprofit contributed. We contributed our time, we contributed our money. Back then $20 a week (or month) went a pretty long way. We didn’t keep the money in our treasury. We donated checks to CityTeam. We helped about once a month doing breakfasts for them.”
All the alumni in this group would teach at CityTeam. They taught about being faithful, being reliable, and being strong. It grew in number and other men wanted to join. It became contagious. They viewed it as success when men moved out of the recovery house and got their own place to live but still came back to help others.
Knuckles said, “One of the things we did that created unity and strength was on Saturdays we would go out to the most troubled neighborhoods and set up a stand and preach the gospel. This brought more men off the street.”
Knuckles said when he talks to a man coming into the program, “I usually say, ‘Hello neighbor, we've been waiting for you.’ I say this to immediately demonstrate that I consider the person who is seeking help with high value. You see, once I read Jesus' account in Luke 10 about who is our neighbor, and how we should treat them. I realized that I should and could help my neighbor.”
Challenges and new life
As with any nonprofit there are challenges. TAG went through a difficult time. Henry said, “one of the things in this business especially for us, no one is getting paid, all the money we were raising is going toward the program, it's difficult to maintain positions when you’re not paying people so two people ended up doing everything. It's easy to get burned out.”
Knuckles said, “Greenhouse [Recovery] taking over the TAG house is going to breathe new life into it. It was dying. There was no more multiplication, if you don’t have the multiplication element it dies. I had lost hope when I saw it going down hill. I can see that it will multiply. I now have hope that the vision that I had will come to fruition and surpass that - surpass what I had hoped to do. Pastor John is all about making new disciples. I see the way that he operates…and he has been strengthening people. I see the newsletters and the different success stories. I think that Greenhouse [Recovery] is going to multiple disciples through the TAG building.”
When TAG changed hands to Greenhouse Recovery, Henry said, “I believe that what Greenhouse Project was doing recovery wise was exactly in line with what TAG was doing. I really felt like it was such a natural transition. It seems like it was exactly what was supposed to happen. It was exactly what we had envisioned. John was being led by the spirit, he felt like he was being led to get involved with TAG. I called him and asked him about taking over TAG. I could not be more happy about how this worked out. I love what they’re doing, I couldn’t be more pleased.”
We at Greenhouse Project are so thankful to be able to take the torch from TAG and carry on the work that they envisioned. Excellent post recovery care is crucial to allow men to learn and grow as they navigate life and get back on their feet. We don’t want anyone to relapse.
We’re very transparent about who we are and what we do. You can read everything on our new website and men can even apply right on the website. If you’re interested in learning more about Greenhouse Recovery please check out the new website HERE.