Faithventure Forum

Addiction is a tough enemy for people rebuilding lives in our employment training businesses. And in Colorado, it’s clearly getting harder with the growing culture-wide celebration of drug use from the recent legalization of marijuana. It saddens me to see the apparent rising relapse rate for people in our program. A couple of thoughts: Relapses are infectious. When one person succumbs to addiction in a community of people, it raises the odds of others following. It increases the need for employment-training social enterprises to have firm drug policies with testing and clear consequences. Relapse rates decrease when individuals understand the rules. Relapses cause stress for others in the program. No one likes to see another fall. When it happens, leaders must be sensitive to the anxiety it causes. They must take special steps to set a positive and encouraging atmosphere. People need to be reminded that individuals do overcome addiction, that God restores lives. When relapses ...

Over the last week, all of us at Bud's Warehouse have been reminded how difficult it is to serve people rebuilding lives from addiction. Sometimes, sadly, drug abuse ends badly. And when it does, individuals who are dedicated to helping others often take it very hard. There's never easy answers when someone so very young with a lot of promise leaves behind two young children.  A couple of thoughts: Addiction is a terrible foe. It takes both individual choice and God's grace for someone to overcome the grip of drug abuse.  It saddens me that at the same time deaths from drug abuse seem to be rising, my state, Colorado, is in the midst of a group celebration of the legalization of marijuana. While this drug may not be as dangerous as others, do not be fooled into believing that its legalization will not damage lives in Colorado. Some will try this drug who otherwise would not have and will slip into other types of abuse. People who use marijuana will get hurt on the j...

It is much harder to work with an individual rebuilding a life from addiction and homelessness than someone trying to reenter the workforce as an ex-offender. That's been my experience over the last 13 years employing and job training individuals seeking a new start from homelessness, addiction and prison in our various faith venture businesses at Belay Enterprises . Conventional wisdom tells employers to stay away from ex-offenders because they can not be trusted because of past mistakes, they are unmotivated, and they can be very difficult to work with on a daily basis. But I have found that to be completely untrue. People entering the workforce after prison tend to be highly motivated with a deep desire to succeed in order to rebuild relationships with their families and to restore their life. They just need someone to give them a chance and an environment that allows them to thrive on the job. The most challenging client we work with in our various transitional employment busin...

You've been given a gift. Carefully, I sometimes say that to someone sharing that they are struggling with addiction.  Spent time in prison? You've received a gift. Dealing with a broken relationship? Facing an illness? Gift.   On the face of it, these things are awful. God never wants us to experience the pain of addiction, prison, broken relationships, and illness. But we live in a broken world. A world where our single-minded pursuit of self-- a what's in it for me world-- has tragic consequences for all of us. When we come face to face with our own brokenness, we experience our need for God and the forgiveness that comes through Jesus. Today, it's possible to miss our fundamental brokenness and need for someone to save us. We are the wealthiest nation in the world...and if you earn more than $10 a day you are richer than 80% of the world. We can bury our inherent need for God under the trappings of our success, pleasures, food, relationships, homes and pursui...