Friday, December 14, 2012

FIND AA MEETINGS IN PA.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Intergroup Association of Alcoholics Anonymous welcomes you to its official web site.  SEPIA covers the Southeastern Pennsylvania area, including the city of Philadelphia and the surrounding counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery.  Our primary purpose is to carry the message of recovery to the alcoholic who still suffers.  If you want to drink, that's your business; if you want to stop, it's ours.  We can help!  Please call 215-923-7900.
The S.E.P.I.A. Office Hours:   Monday thru Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.
ATTENTION TO GROUPS IN THE FIVE COUNTY AREA:  Please let the office know if your group is hosting an alkathon as we get many calls during this time and have little information about them.  Please call 215-923-7900 as there are many alcoholics who would benefit from this information.
The office will be close at 3 pm on Christmas Eve Monday, December 24th and it will be closed all day on Tuesday, December 25th, 2012 and Tuesday, January 1st, 2013 so the office staff can celebrate the holidays with their families.

Literature Order Form:

For your convenience, you can view our latest Literature Order Form, by clicking here Printable Literature Order Form
For your convenience, our monthly newsletter, Interviews, is attached:


S.E.P.I.A. EVENTS



January 4th - the INTERGROUP NOON meeting located on Fridays at the Intergroup Office will celebrate their 13th anniversary on Friday, 1/4.  Luncheon Buffet at 11:30am; Speakers (longtimer and newcomer) at Noon.  Food donations will be gratefully accepted.

January 6th - the SHARE-A-DAY PLANNING meeting will take place from Noon until 4pm on Sunday, 1/6 at the SEPIA office, 444 N. 3rd Street, 3rd Floor, in Philadelphia.  Want to help plan topics, food, workshops?  Come on down.  Food donations of desserts and soda will be appreciated.

February 17th - the SHARE-A-DAY EVENT will take place on Sunday, 2/17th from 11am until 4pm.  Registration will start at 10am.  It will take place at the University of the Sciences, South 43rd Street in Philadelphia.  This is a joint workshop between Intergroup and Area 59.  Food donations gratefully accepted.

April 12, 13, 14 - Save these dates of SEPIA's ANNUAL ROUND UP in Cape May, NJ at the Grand Hotel of Cape May, 1045 Beach Avenue.  More information will be forthcoming.


MEETING EVENTS

BUCKS COUNTY 

Sunday, January 27th - Last Sunday of the Month Breakfast Meeting - 8:45am to 11am at the Brookside Manor, 50 Bustletone Pike, Feasterville behind Somerton Springs Swim Club, County Line and Bustleton Roads - $13 (No tickets sold at the door).  Call for tickets to Steve 215-284-4546 or Barbara 267-496-0512 and held every last Sunday of the month (2/24/13, 33131 and 42813).

CHESTER COUNTY

DELAWARE COUNTY:    

December 24th - the FIRST THINGS FIRST group will host the MEDIA ALKATHON from December 24th at 6pm until December 25th at 6pm at the Media Youth House, 2 Youth Lane, in Media (19063)

December 31st - CHESTER PROSPECT will host an alkathon from 6pm 12/31 until 6pm 1/1/13.  Food, fun, fellowship.  Donations accepted. Their adress is:  34 S. MacDade Boulevard in Glenolden 19036.

Saturday, January 26 - COMBINED WORKSHOP hosted by Districts 32, 54 and 55 - spiritual principles for World Service - 1 to 5 pm at the Princeton Presbyterian Church 933 Baltimore Pike, Springfield - food, fun, fellowship - food donations gratefully accepted.


 

MONTGOMERY COUNTY:

Happy New Year 2013 -  The 309 UNITY CLUBHOUSE, 445 Bethlehem Pike (Rt. 309) in Colmar will bring in a sober New Year with a Dance from 9pm to 1am. There is a $5 donation for the dance. There will also be marathon meetings.  For more information, check out www.309unityclubhouse.com .
Happy New Year 2013 - the GLENSIDE CENTER, 276 N. Keswick Avenue in Glenside (19038) will have a sober New Year's Dance from 9pm to 1am (donation $5 at the door).  For more info, call Captain Bill (215) 659-3217.
Friday, January 18, 2013 - FRIDAY NIGHT BIG BOOK group will celebrate their 33rd anniversary at the All Saints Church, 1325 Montgomery Avenue, (at Gypsy Lane) from 8 to 9:30 pm.  Guest Speaker, fantastic food, fellowship.
Tuesday, January 22nd—the FIND HOPE group of AA will celebrate their anniversary on Tuesday, 1/22 at Church of Christ, 590 W. Valley Forge Road in King of Prussia. Eat: 6:30pm; Meet: 7:30pm. Food donations gratefully accepted.
PHILADELPHIA:
NOTE: Effective immediately, the Philly Zone meeting is now located at Local 32BJ, District 1201, 455 North 5th Street in Philadelphia (19123).  Philly reps please make a note of this change! 


December 14th - the PETS group of AA announces their 30th anniversary on 10/14 from 11am - 2pm at Mount Carmel Baptist Church, 5732 Race Street, Philadelphia (19139).  AA and Al-Anon speakers.  F-F-F.  Food donations accepted.

December 19th - the ONE PARKWAY group will celebrate their 15th ANNUAL HOLIDAY GRATITUDE MEETING on Wednesday, 12/19 from 6pm to 8pm at Arch Street United Methodist Church, Broad and Arch Street in Philadelphia (19107).  Bring a newcomer!  All are welcome!

December 20th - the UNIVERSITY group located at 4021 Walnut Street in Philadelphia will celebrate their 42nd anniversary at 7pm on 12/20.  All are welcome.

December 21st - the EARLY MORNING group will host a GRATITUDE MEETING on Friday, 12/21 at 35 W. Chelten Avenue in the Germantown section of Philadelphia from 9am to 11am.  Come out and express your gratitude.

December 26th - the NORTH PHILADELPHIA group will host their GRATITUDE MEETING on Wednesday, 12/26 at 7pm at East Bethel Baptist Church, 1333 West Erie Avenue (enter on Park Avenue). 

Monday, December 31st thru to Tuesday. January 1st - there will be a NEW YEARS 2013 12-HOUR ALKATHON at Falls Presbyterian Church, Midvale Avenue and 3800 Vaux Street in East Falls (19129) (between Henry and Ridge Avenues).  Food-fun-fellowship! Food donations gratefully accepted.  Have questions?  Call James C (215) 280-9189 or Allison O. (267) 977-8258.

AREA 59 EVENTS

  
December 15th - There will be a GRAPEVINE WORKSHOP held at the SEPIA office, 444 N. 3rd Street, 3rd Floor, in Philadelphia on Saturday, 12/15 from Noon to 4pm.  All are welcome.  Any questions, call Michael W, 215-917-9629.

 

OTHER EVENTS


January 18-20, 2013 - The Annapolis Area Intergroup will host their 2ND ANNUAL CONVENTION at the Double Tree Hilton at 210 Holiday Court in Annapolis.  $25 registration now or $30 after 11/30/2012.  Visit: www.annapolisareaintergroup.org.

February 14-17, 2013 - The women of Northern Nevada and the Sierra Nevada look forward to having you join them in the beautiful Sierra Nevada, for the 49th International Women’s Conference in Reno, Nevada, “The Biggest Little City”, .  Register online at www.internationalwomensconference.org.

September 5th - 8th - the SENIORS IN SOBRIETY EIGHTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE in San Diego, CA.  For more information, call (888) 231-4352 or email: sisconference@gmail.com.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED:
SEPIA is always in need of volunteers to help carry the message of recovery. You simply have to show up. Most committees do not have a length of sobriety requirement. There are several ways to get involved.
  1. Volunteer at the SEPIA office. We ask one year of continuous sobriety to answer phones at the office. If you have less than a year, there are plenty of things you can do to help. For instance, we can always use help putting our newsletter, Interviews, together toward the end of each month.
  2. Get involved with one of our 12 Step Committees (Click Here). These committees meet at the SEPIA office, 444 N. 3rd Street, 3rd Floor, Philadelphia at 7:00 p.m. (unless otherwise noted) on the following nights:


Recovery Connections: CLEARING A CRIMINAL RECORD IN PA

Recovery Connections: CLEARING A CRIMINAL RECORD IN PA: Pardon A pardon relieves an individual of the consequences, generally in the nature of legal disabilities, resulting from conviction f...

Surgery Destroys Parts of Brain’s “Pleasure Centers” in Attempt to Cure Addiction


A controversial surgical procedure being studied in China attempts to cure addiction by destroying parts of the brain’s “pleasure centers,” Time.com reports. The research is being conducted on alcoholics and people addicted to heroin.
The procedure risks permanently damaging a person’s ability to have longings and feel joy, the article notes.
The Chinese Ministry of Health banned the procedure in 2004. Some doctors were allowed to continue to perform the operation for research purposes. In a recent study published in the journal Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery, researchers called the surgery “a feasible method for alleviating psychological dependence on opiate drugs.” They note more than half of the 60 patients in the study had lasting side effects. These included memory problems and loss of motivation. After five years, 47 percent of participants were still drug free.
That compares with a 30-40 percent rate of significant recovery with conventional addiction treatment, the news outlet states. Experts feel the small increase in success rates with the surgery is not worth the large risk.
Patients are awake during the procedure, to minimize the risk of destroying parts of the brain involved in movement, consciousness or sensation. A surgeon uses heat to destroy cells in small sections of the part of the brain containing large amounts of brain chemicals called dopamine and endogenous opioids, which are involved in desire and pleasure.
Experts say they are opposed to using the procedure to treat addiction. “To lesion this region that is thought to be involved in all types of motivation and pleasure risks crippling a human being,” Dr. Charles O’Brien, head of the Center for Studies of Addiction at the University of Pennsylvania, told Time.com.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

The Partnership at Drugfree.org
"Knowing that every hit could kill me didn't stop me. I guess I didn't really care."

A young woman named Kimmie wrote those words. At 19, she's already been to hell and back.

Kimmie started smoking pot when she was 15. A friend got her to try meth, and soon, she was addicted. Then she got some news: "I found out I was four months pregnant, but by then I couldn't stop using." Luckily, she got a new probation officer who helped her get into treatment. She's in recovery, she's never been happier -- and she wanted us to tell you her story to prove that anyone can turn his or her life around.

The Partnership is building a massive online community called The Hope Share to help those struggling with addiction see the possibility of recovery. Can you donate $10 now to help us give hope to people across the country?


The last part of Kimmie's story was so moving that I had to share it with you. Here's what she said:
Getting sober was the best thing for me and my son. If I didn't choose a better life, I could have had a miscarriage, my son could have come out unhealthy, or CPS could have taken him from me. My life is so much better now, and my son is one happy, healthy, handsome little guy.
I had the privilege of reading Kimmie's story because she shared it as part The Hope Share. It's a nationwide story-sharing project -- an online space for anyone touched by substance abuse to tell his or her story and let others know they're not alone. One person's story can change someone else's life.

As a non-profit organization, we can't operate if we don't have donor support. And if we can't operate, we can't run programs like The Hope Share.

Help us save lives and broadcast messages of hope. Make a $10 donation today:

http://my.drugfree.org/hope-share


Today's Scripture
"Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God." Romans 6:12-13 NLT
Thoughts for Today
"You shall have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3). When sin controls our life, it becomes our god. And this happens all too often to everyone--including Christians. Sadly, the statistics on divorce, pornography, adultery, and similar behaviors are not that different in the lives of Christians. And then there are the everyday so-called "little" offenses: gossip, anger, lying. You get the idea.

Today's scripture warns us not to let sin control the way we live. When we give in to sinful desires, our body becomes an instrument of evil to serve sin.
Consider this … 
Jesus paid a great price to give us new life. Now we must give ourselves completely to God. Then instead of our body being an instrument of sin, it becomes an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.

How does your life look? Is it controlled by pornography or alcohol or drugs? An adulterous relationship? Anger? Perhaps it's gossip. Success at all cost. Gambling. Pride. Are you ready to let God regain control of your life? Are you ready to be free of the sin? Sin hurts you. It hurts those you care about. And most of all, it displeases God and separates you from him.

God wants to help you, but you have to make a choice. Will you ask for his help today?
Prayer
Father, forgive me for this sin in my life. I know I've let it take control. I am ready to give it up, but I need your help. In Jesus' name . . .
These thoughts were drawn from …
The Ten Commandments: Applying the Foundations of Living to My Personal Life by Jimmy Ray Lee, D.Min. Knowing that there are absolutes that define moral conduct and ethical decisions is essential for believers surrounded by relativistic values. This guide helps us understand God's boundaries. It shows how the Ten Commandments apply today. It also discusses the biblical laws on which the legal codes of every civilized society are based. This guide is written in a way that helps people see the Ten Commandments in light of today's problems. Note: This curriculum was written especially for small groups, and we encourage people to use it that way. However, it can also be used effectively as a personal study for individuals or couples.
 
 
PO Box 22127 ~ Chattanooga, Tennessee 37421 ~ 423-899-4770
© Living Free 2007. Living Free is a registered trademark. Living Free Every Day devotionals may be reproduced for personal use. When reproduced to share with others, please acknowledge the source as Living Free, Chattanooga, TN. Must have written permission to use in any format to be sold. Permission may be requested by sending e-mail to
info@LivingFree.org.

Where Bill W. Came From

Born behind the bar in his family's big red inn—117 years ago this week—Wilson's Vermont youth wasn't exactly bucolic. His encounters with early adversity show how the child was father to the man.

The Vermont inn where Bill W. was born photo via
11/27/12

Alcoholics Anonymous cofounder Bill Wilson was born on Thanksgiving behind a bar. His father’s family owned an inn, the sprawling red-gabled Wilson House on the south side of the village green in East Dorset, Vermont, a small town where quarrying and polishing local marble was the only industry. (His father, Gilly Wilson, was a quarryman.) Raised in these humble circumstances, Bill Wilson grew up to pioneer a movement that has forever enriched our view of addiction. It’s instructive to study Bill Wilson’s early years, because in ways that seem more than coincidental they prepared him for the role he would play in history.
Born in 1895, William Griffith Wilson was a dyed-in-the-wool Vermont boy. AA is deeply rooted in the rocky soil and granite traditions of New England, from its grass-roots, town-meeting democracy as Bill expressed it in the twelve traditions to its farm-boy practicality to its understanding of the limits of temperance. When Bill Wilson finally met Dr. Bob Smith, AA’s other cofounder, in a gatehouse in Akron, Ohio, when Bill was almost 40, one of their bonds was that they were both Vermont boys—Smith was from St. Johnsbury—and their broad vowels and dropped consonants sounded like home to each other.
Bill Wilson’s start in life was not promising. His mother, 25-year-old Emily Griffith, had a difficult labor, and the baby was finally delivered by primitive forceps, half-asphyxiated, “cold and discolored and nearly dead,” his mother later wrote in a letter to her son. “There is evidence of alcoholism” in the Wilson family, the authors of AA’s official history, Pass It On. Even now the Wilson House, still run as a hotel, has the extravagant architecture and colors that somehow reflect the generous, experimental attitude of a drinker on a good day.
Bill Wilson’s parents abandoned him and his sister, Dorothy, to the care of their stern Griffith grandparents.
By contrast, the Griffith House across the village green is trim and gray, and his mother’s family was all hard-driving teachers, lawyers and judges. “The first indication that the marriage was in some trouble may have appeared during Emily’s pregnancy,” wrote Robert Thomsen in his biography of Bill Wilson, Bill W. Emily suggested that her husband go out alone, and he began to do that more and more. By the time Bill was 10, his parents’ marriage had come apart. They both had other plans—Gilly got a quarryman’s job in the West, and Emily went to Boston to become an osteopathic physician. Bill Wilson’s parents abandoned him and his sister, Dorothy, to the care of their stern Griffith grandparents. Bill moved into the narrow Griffith House, a house so small that going downstairs, the awkward, lanky boy had to stoop to keep from bumping his head. At night if he wanted to stretch out in bed to read, he had to put his feet out the window to accommodate his height.
Bill W. grew up at a time when the temperance movement was sweeping New England. Groups like the Washingtonians and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union were advocating an end to drinking—a reaction to the previous century, when America had been the drunkest country in the world. As a boy, Wilson learned, in school and through observation, that drinkers cannot be legislated into people who do not drink. Vermont was a dry state, but “going to Cambridge” was the euphemism for crossing the border into New York on a liquor run. In temperance clubs, people who had taken the pledge held meetings to help each other stay away from a drink.
Arriving in adulthood, Bill Wilson was already a complicated, educated man.
Bill’s gruff, prosperous grandfather tuned out to be an ideal father-surrogate for the abandoned boy. In mourning for his own son when his grandson moved in, he was won over by Bill’s determination and charm. He gave the boy books, and encouraged his musical talent—Bill was an accomplished fiddler and violinist—and mechanical experiments. He enrolled the boy in a private school, Burr and Burton, in nearby Manchester, where Bill became a big man on campus, a promising student, the captain of the football team and the boyfriend of the local minister’s pretty daughter, Bertha Bamford. Arriving in adulthood, Bill Wilson was already a complicated, educated man who knew the forks and was also at home in the marble quarries of East Dorset.
What happened over the next two decades—Bertha’s death and Bill Wilson’s first serious depression; his engagement to Lois Rogers, an older girl who summered in Manchester; his Wall Street success and severe alcoholism—was certainly not what he would have wished for. Yet his Vermont roots and education, the resilience developed in the wake of his parents’ abandonment, his exposure to both the hardscrabble quarry families and the wealthy summer people of Manchester, all seem necessary stones in the foundation that helped him find a way to stop drinking, a way that has become a worldwide movement with millions of members.
East Dorset hasn’t changed much since 1895. Winter is coming on, the woodpiles are high, and fires are lit in the Wilson House. Nights are freezing, and there will soon be snow on the hillsides of Mount Aeolus above town. Christmas decorations are going up in front of the Town Office on Mad Tom Road. The sprawling, red-clapboard Wilson House and the trim, gray Griffith House still face each other across the green. 
Susan Cheever, a regular columnist for The Fix, is the author of many books, including the memoirs Home Before Dark and Note Found in a Bottle, and the biography My Name Is Bill: Bill Wilson—His Life and the Creation of Alcoholics Anonymous. She is a frequent visitor to the Wilson House and East Dorset.

Time to Talk: Get Help Talking to Your Kids about Drugs and Alcohol

Time to Talk: Get Help Talking to Your Kids about Drugs and Alcohol
The Partnership at Drugfree.org
Hi Joseph,

The holiday season is upon us! Before we gather for food and good tidings with family and friends, we at The Partnership wanted to wish you and your family a happy holiday season. Here's our card to you:

Give hope. Change lives. Make a difference.


We hope you'll take a minute of your time to give to The Partnership so our vision and "wish" that all young people will be able to live their lives free of drug and alcohol dependency can come true:

http://my.drugfree.org/help-make-a-difference

Happy holidays,

Steve J. Pasierb
President & CEO
The Partnership at Drugfree.org

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Council Masthead
  
 CERTIFIED RECOVERY SPECIALIST (CRS) TRAINING (54 PCB Credits) 

SATURDAY PROGRAM
Starts Saturday, January 12, 2013
Ends Saturday, May 11, 2013

Location:
Southern Bucks Recovery Community Center
1286 Veterans Highway, D-6, Bristol, PA 19007, 215-788-1718
Pre-registration is required 
REGISTER ONLINE BY CLICKING HERE

Registration Help Desk: 215-489-6120, ext 1
Class size is limited
        This condensed bi-weekly Saturday program provides the 54 hours of educational training required for the Pennsylvania Certification Board Certified Recovery Specialist (CRS) credential. The CRS provides community-based support to individuals through their life skills and recovery experiences while serving as a role model, advocate and motivator to recovering individuals.  
This Saturday Training Meets twice a month and includes Five Modules 
 
        Recovery Management -- 18 hours
        Education and Advocacy -- 12 hours
        Professional Ethics and Responsibility -- 12 hours
        Confidentiality -- 6 hours
        Additional Addiction Training -- 6 hours

        In addition, a three-hour segment on Saturday, May 11th, will be provided for preparation for the CRS exam.

Please visit The Council Web site to review the complete course curriculum.   
 Daily Program Agenda:
 9:00 am to 4:30 pm; training sessions are held twice each month 
There is a one-hour break for lunch

Instructors: 
Staff members of The Council of Southeast Pennsylvania with a history of more than
14 years of providing recovery support services.

Program Cost: $540
54 hours may be applied toward the PCB CRS credential 
PCB CRS Exam Fee: $100.00
REGISTER ONLINE BY CLICKING HERE  
Program Sponsorship and Accreditation:
The Council of Southeast Pennsylvania, Inc., is a PCB-approved provider and affiliate of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, serving the southeast region of Pennsylvania. PCB Education Provider #031.

Philadelphia Recovery Community Center organizing street cleaning on Jan. 21, 2013





VOLUNTEERSSOUGHT FOR MLK DAY OF SERVICE


PHILADELPHIA, Pa. —Dec. 12, 2012 — The Philadelphia Recovery Community Center (PRCC) seeks volunteers to help clean the streets of North Philadelphia on MLK Day, Jan. 21, 2013, a national day of service commemorating the life of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The cleanup is a community service project of PRO-ACT’s Amends in Action committee.

“For individuals in recovery, a day of service is an opportunity to make living amends by giving back to the community,” said Cheryl Poccia, volunteer coordinator for PRCC. “Our street-cleaning project is becoming an annual tradition here at the center, and we welcome community members to join us.”

Volunteer cleanup crews are deployed from the center, which is located at 1701 W. Lehigh Ave., Unit 6, in North Philadelphia. Last year’s cleanup efforts began at 8 a.m. and ran until 1 p.m.

The center also seeks donations of brooms, shovels, rakes, trash bags and gloves, as well as food items for the volunteers.

Interested volunteers should contact Stacie Leap, chair of PRO-ACT’s Amends in Action committee, at 215-385-3131 or email Stacie.leap@icloud.com.

About Philadelphia Recovery Community Center
Established in 2007, PRCC is a collaboration between Pennsylvania Recovery Organization-Achieving Community Together (PRO-ACT) and the City of Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual DisAbility Services. Programs and services include peer-to-peer recovery coaching, life skills workshops, housing and credit information sessions, health and nutrition programs, discussion groups, drug- and alcohol-free social activities and more.  

About PRO-ACT
PRO-ACT is the regional nonprofit organization working to mobilize and rally individuals in recovery from addiction, as well as their families, friends and allies in a campaign to end discrimination, broaden social understanding and achieve a just response to addiction as a public health crisis. PRO-ACT is hosted by The Council of Southeast Pennsylvania.

About The Council of Southeast Pennsylvania, Inc.
The Council of Southeast Pennsylvania, Inc. is a private nonprofit prevention, education, advocacy, and intervention organization, providing a wide range of services to families, schools, businesses, individuals, and the community. Founded in 1975, The Council serves the Southeast region of Pennsylvania and is a member of a nationwide network of National Council on Alcoholism and DrugDependence Affiliates. The Council has offices and Recovery Community Centers in Doylestown, New Britain, Bristol, and Philadelphia. For help with alcohol, tobacco or other substances, or for information on the disease of alcoholism and addiction, call 800-221-6333, toll-free, 24-hours a day. For more information, visit www.councilsepa.org.

Merry Christmas Lighthouse Network
Thanks to your financial support and prayer, Lighthouse Network was able to play a part in daily life-saving miracles like these:
  • Jennifer, new guardian for her 18 y.o niece who aged out of social service care, was overwhelmed with and couldn't handle her nieces acting out and destructive behavior, giving her 3 days to get out. In desperation, Jennifer searched the Internet and found the Lighthouse Network Addiction & Counseling Helpline number. We provided encouragement, hope, and answers which allowed her niece to stay a couple weeks then get into a longer term residential situation which her niece liked, Jennifer felt would meet her nieces many needs, and provided therapy and care for her nieces many traumatic past experiences in.
  • John calls our Lighthouse Network Helpline and we find and facilitate admission to a Christian residential rehab facility to finally halt his drinking and save his marriage and job. He is now a growing husband and father, reliable employee, started seminary classes, and wants to leave his white-collar job and go into ministry.
  • Alicia walked into school and quietly started cleaning out her locker. She didn't want her mom do it while overwhelmed after Alicia carried out her plan to commit suicide later that night. But while still in school, Alicia went to a school assembly and saw our unique documentary on behavioral health struggles many teens wrestle with daily, Shattered Silence. With new hope, Alicia went to a guidance counselor and is still living, encouraged, and getting treatment for her struggles.
  • Martha and Henry from California, parents of a 30 y.o. drug addict, heard our new nationally syndicated You’re Not Alone radio program and realized help was available. After calling our helpline, our Care Guide offered options for their son, while Martha and Henry are now using our new Parent Coaching Service to help them heal and equip them to make healthy decisions to interact with their son in a better way after his treatment is over and he returns home.
  • Exceptional and Uplifting! …. AWESOME and very timely. … ministered to my heart …. powerful yet simplified ... thought provoking … I needed this today … It made me cry, the joyful, not the sad kind … God’s truths, but you apply them to help us grow

Reflecting our tagline, Guidance through life’s storms, Lighthouse Network’s daily activity and mission is to help people whether they are experiencing acute storms, stuck in subacute choppy waters, or enjoying calm waters but are preparing for the inevitable next storm.
Highlights of 2012
  • 1. Our free national LN Addiction and Counseling Helpline served 6500 callers, a 25% increase from 2011.
  • 2. Our average month, we directly get 55 into residential rehab or inpatient care, and 40 into outpatient treatment.
  • 3. New professional website with free resources, videos, and helpful tips. Our web traffic is 3 times last year.
  • 4. Creation of a one-minute addiction focused radio program heard several times per day on 242 Christian radio stations around the country. Listen to a couple at http://lighthousenetwork.org/ln-radio-short-features/
  • 5. Developed the first Christian Addiction Rehab in the U.S. that will take HMO Insurances.
  • 6. In Gulu, Uganda, our team of 7 equipped and ministered to 483 children and their 50 mentors, victimized by Joseph Kony.
  • 7. Developed several new topical DVD resources for counselors, treatment agencies, and ministries, to use in various ways.
  • 8. Have 3 new books, 2 of them LN staff member’s transformation stories (see online: http://lighthousenetwork.org/books/ )
  • 9. Guest expert on many radio and TV programs bringing Biblical wisdom into social policy hot topics and problem issues.
  • 10. Now have many resources for parents of addicts, including a coach to give telephonic weekly coaching to heal and equip.
  • 11. Development of Shattered Silence, a documentary facilitating discussion about difficult issues teens face. Shown on GodTV to millions of homes and already and receiving life-impacting reviews.
  • 12. Rewind Life, a streamlined online and computerized version of our decision-making curriculum geared to teens won a $10,000 grant to automate the resource which will allow more opportunities for it’s use.
  • 13. Developed Weekly e-Newsletter to equip and inform our growing follower.  15% Budget growth in a depressed economy and difficult healthcare climate. Revenues from services, grants, and donors!
Major Goals for 2013 (as well as maintaining our usual activities) -
  • Help 7250 callers get answers to their desperate situations and pain.
  • Monthly, help 70 people get to inpatient/residential treatment and 50 to outpatient services.
  • Grow the radio program to over 300 stations per day and cover more issues like eating disorders, trauma, and suicide.
  • Develop 2 more Christian residential addiction programs, one that will accept Medicare and one for adolescents.
  • Speak and exhibit at 2 national Christian conferences.
  • Continue to grow social media outreach to inform and increase Helpline awareness.
  • Develop a monthly Christian Addiction Newsletter to educate, equip, and revolutionize addiction treatment.
  • Growth in our volunteers and staff.
You have been faithful and generous in the past and many struggling people need your support. These psychological struggles are great windows when people are looking for hope, answers, and truth, and we have the expertise to deliver that through the support and treatment options we offer them. See the opportunities and projects below and information on how to donate.
 
Specific Opportunities and Areas for your support (numbers are dollars):
 
1.     Addiction & Counseling Treatment Helpline "877' toll free helpline number: 75/month = $900/yr
 
2.     Email service for our Stepping Stones Daily Devotional: 90/month = $1080/yr
 
3.     Editing our one minute radio program: 100/each day, would like to develop 100 new ones in 2013 = $10,000
 
4.     Helping one person on our helpline: 60/call = $1070/day
 
5.     Weekly e-News: $100/week
 
6.     Monthly addiction newsletter: $350/month
 
7.     Exhibitor expenses for national conference: $7,500
 
8.     Grow Care Guide Staff for increased calls and Community Outreach: $36,000/yr.
 
9.     Publishing a Stepping Stones Devotional Book: $15,000
 
10.  Shattered Silence DVD Duplication – 1,000 copies: $1,500
 
11.  Year End Fundraising Goal = $20,000
 
 
Ways to Donate:
To donate you have 3 options:
  1. Send a check
    Made out to: Lighthouse Network
    Send to: 800 W. State Street, Suite 302, Doylestown, PA 18901
     
  2. Please click here and follow the prompts if you are getting this via email.
     
  3. Go to our website www.Lighthousenetwork.org and click the “DONATE” button on the top menu bar.
We also have beautiful Addiction and Mental Health Awareness Bracelets that make a great Christmas gift:   http://lighthousenetwork.org/store/jewelry/

Thank you for your continued support and prayers, we wish you all the best during this great CHRISTmas season, and may you have a blessed 2013.  
 
by HIS grace,

Karl Benzio, MD, and the rest of our Lighthouse Network family.
Our mailing address is:
Lighthouse Network
800 West State St
Suite 302
Doylestown, PA 18901

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