My Nonprofit Reviews

Recovery Ventures saved my life. It is as plain and simple as that. When I was desperate, living on the streets of Newark, NJ, detoxing from heroin, they welcomed me with open arms. It is not your typical drug rehab. It is more like altering experience which not only addresses the addiction but the life choices that lead me there.

RVC is by far the most challenging, physically and emotionally, thing that I have ever experienced in my entire life. I should me what I was capable of. I was willing to do what ever it took when I was chasing my next fix, so when I was offered a chance at a sober life, I found that same willingness. Were there times that I had to work long hours with not a lot of sleep? Of course. I still have those days today. I can honestly say that if it wasn't for this program, I never would have thought that I have the strength to have a full time job, full time single mom and a full time student in the Bio-Medical Engineering Program at NAU. I am up with my son at 7am, class till 11am, then I get to come home to do house work/home work then off to work from 5pm to 1am. What people need to realize that in this program you have to work for your recovery. You have to work for the clothing on your back, the house you sleep in, the food you eat and the training that goes into the ones who conduct your groups. Also, it is a voluntary program. You are told what to expect and what the rules will consist of.I was one of those residents that was extremely hard headed and stubborn. I spent 162 days straight in restitution. That meant 164 days were spent either working or on the move at the house. It was nobodies fault but my own. And it was the first time that I was held accountable for my own actions. I grew up in a comfortable home where I never had to face a real consequence. The program did not kick me out, instead they provided me a lesson in accountability, humility and acceptance. I could have left at any point. But the life I knew was utter hell compared to what I was facing there. It came down to one question, did I want to live or die?

No where on the web site or in the intake process does it promise to be easy. After being at RVC, I have a relationship with my family. I have been able to keep steady employment where I am in a management role. I am able to cope with life on life's term without putting a needle in my arm to do it. I have remained heroin free going on 8 years this January. If you want recovery served to you with a silver spoon, patted on the head and told it is all o.k., not your fault, this is not the program for you. If you have hit your rock bottom and are willing to do what ever it takes to remake yourself, then it will do just that. At some point in my addiction I lost what it meant to be a productive, law abiding person. RVC gave me my humanity back. It was my second chance at life.

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