From the Heart
The Houston Recovery Center Blog
Physicians Need to Play a Role in Substance Use Disorder
“Every person entering recovery should have an ongoing relationship with a primary care physician who is knowledgeable about addiction recovery,” says Bill White, emeritus senior research consultant at Chestnut Health Systems, in his July 11 blog post based on recent...
Do You Look the Homeless in the Eyes?
by Vicki PowersDo you make eye contact with the homeless who stand near your car window? It might make you feel uncomfortable if you’re not offering assistance, but Rev. Michael Gott, Unity Church of Houston, suggests it as a better option to donating money.“Make eye...
From the Street: What a Homeless Man Taught Me and My Dog
by Vicki Powers Urban living is a new experience for me after living in the Houston suburbs 20+ years. Walking my dog on the streets around my home reveals new things such as bus stops and homeless people. Not that there weren’t homeless people in the suburbs, but my...
Six Years of Impact
Houston Recovery Center opened its doors April 13, 2013, at its ribbon cutting ceremony with Mayor Annise Parker. The nonprofit’s focus was helping the city reduce the number of public intoxicated people in jail by providing a safe place for these individuals to...
Embracing Safety as a Core Value
When you bring people from all walks of life into a shared space (Sobering Center), there must be rules and guidelines to ensure safety not only for clients but also employees. Safety is an important core value at Houston Recovery Center, just as much as compassion...
Compassion: More Than a Core Value
Compassion is a core value and at the heart of everything we do at Houston Recovery Center. After all, the two hearts in our logo reflect the spirit of our brand. But compassion goes beyond an image or words on a page. One of the ways that Houston Recovery Center...
The Empty Chair
The empty chair. It’s a term used in the recovery community that references a relative or friend missing from the dining table during celebrations due to their substance use. In my case, I had a family member who periodically passed out in their chair during family...
Making Rock Bottom Less Rocky
“Houston is ground zero for DWI fatalities.” That’s the conclusion of Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg in a recent Houston Chronicle article. Drunk and drugged driving has caused more than 3,000 fatal traffic wrecks in the Houston area over the past 16 years, far more than any other major metropolitan area in the country. This tops all major metropolitan areas by 1,100 deaths.
Compassion and Recovery
We’ve all seen others struggle. Sometimes we ignore it. Sometimes we feel sympathetic. And sometimes, our sympathy drives us to action. Compassion has the power to open the door that leads to personal change. In the case of our clients, that means supporting them as they face the consequences of their actions while using alcohol and other drugs, even when doing so can be personally horrifying.
It’s All of It
Working with problematic substance use is like this toy: one box with many shapes or associated conditions. Although the box is the same for every client, the combination of conditions surrounding their substance use is unique to their life.