St. Francis Recovery Center in Auburn celebrates 40 years of rebuilding lives this month.As a male residential treatment facility and co-ed outpatient program for chemical dependency, we have seen all too many people walk through our doors and, thankfully, we have seen them walk out with the tools they need to rebuild their lives. It is our privilege and in keeping with our mission, as a program of Catholic Charities, to help the most vulnerable populations here in Maine.

As we mark this milestone, our staff celebrates the success of our clients during the past 40 years who are thriving because of the treatment they have received here. Men like Charlie (name changed to protect his privacy), who shares below his personal account in hopes that it will inspire others suffering with the same or similar addictions to seek help and start anew, as he did.

“I first arrived on the doorstep of St. Francis Recovery Center one early December and was cordially greeted and shown to a room that would serve as my sleeping quarters. After briefly settling-in, I then attended my first ‘group meeting’. The group meeting was comprised of 14 clients and two staff members. So, there I sat, in a room full of strangers, nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking-chairs. I was asked by one of the staff members to briefly introduce myself to the group, which I awkwardly did. The meeting then was focused on understanding the negative effects substance abuse has on daily living. As I attended more meetings (about a week’s worth), I began to feel the sincerity of the staff member’s approach. The staff at St. Francis is formidably schooled in substance abuse issues and possesses a genuine passion for their work. My nervousness began to calm. I began to listen. I began to learn.

“As my weeks of sobriety became more, I began to take account of and responsibility for the negative actions/character traits I had developed. I also knew, in my heart, that I needed to re-establish a relationship with God, who I had all but ‘closed the door’ on. He is the cornerstone of my success for sober living.

“By the first week of January, I completed the extended shelter program. I left Saint Francis Recovery Center for residency at a local shelter in Lewiston. The Center is a vibrant and wonderful establishment, indeed an asset to the Lewiston-Auburn area. I’m certainly thankful it was there for me.”

St. Francis has seen many changes during its 40 year history – stronger drugs, younger clients and a rise in prescription drug abuse, just to name a few — but the one constant is that lives can, and do, change for the better when people ask for help and seek treatment.

It is our job if a client comes in broken and scared to calm their anxiety and get them on the path to empowerment so they can become the person they want to be. There is no shame in getting help, only in allowing drugs and alcohol to rob one of a life lived to the fullest.

For anyone who is battling alcohol and drug addictions, know that there is help and there is hope. Please give us a call at (207)784-2901 or email us at FrancisInfo@ccmaine.org. We’ll be here when you need us, ready to take the first step together.

Janine Champagne is assistant director of the St. Francis Recovery Center in Auburn.