By By Melissa Cason
Yesterday, the Russellville Dream Center opened its doors to both its first group of disciples and to the community.
The Dream Center is a recovery center that teaches men and women how to cope with life by using the Bible rather than drugs, alcohol and other destructive crutches.
Center Director Shawn Reathford began working on the Dream Center in August, after completing a similar program in Phoenix to overcome his own drug addiction.
Shawn openly admits that he fought his addiction to drugs for 10 years before surrendering to God and letting Christ change his life for him instead of trying to change it on his own.
When I first met Shawn, his cause struck a cord with me and I immediately wanted to help by getting the word out about his program. After just an hour or so, I began to believe this center could really make a difference in the lives of many people, therefore, making a difference in our community.
One of the things that impressed me most about the program is that the individual has to commit to six months of Bible school, cleaning, working and learning in order to enter the program. All the rules are stated up front, and the individual entering the center signs a form saying that he or she will follow them.
If a person is not ready to get clean, they will turn around and run the other way.
Another thing that impresses me about the Center is that it's director was a drug addict.
Who better to help a drug addict than someone who has been in their shoes?
Russellville, Franklin County and Northwest Alabama need this center because our biggest problem is drugs.
Regardless of why a user started using drugs, or how long they've been clinging to them, there is now help available – and it's absolutely free.
I hope that the beds in this facility are filled quickly and that residents find better ways to live and better things to do with their time than to use drugs. I encourage everyone to visit the center to learn about the program before any judgments are made. For an addict, this program might just be the light switch at the end of a very dark hall.