A Recipe for Recovery

The business of recovery is the business of mastering the self.  It isn’t simply about no longer drinking or using drugs, it’s about learning the skills necessary to live life without them.  If those in recovery don’t learn new ways to deal with their difficulties, they are destined to repeat the patterns of old (relapse).

At Father Alfred Center our residents have the opportunity to spend a full year of their lives addressing these issues of the self.  They are encouraged to unlearn the old habits and attitudes that have served them poorly in the past & to look closely at preconceived assumptions about themselves and others.  With guidance and love, they are shown how to live life, on life’s terms.

Saint Francis said that the greatest gift we are given is the ability to overcome ourselves.  Through realizing our own divinity, we can move away from our self-destructive habits, and become the greatest version of ourselves that we have ever imagined.

That’s a lot easier to say than to do.  It takes hard work, discipline and the courage to love ourselves as we deserve to be loved; unconditionally and completely.  Sometimes we can’t get there on our own.  We need somebody to show us the way, because we are lost.  St. Anthony Foundation strives to be that helping hand.  Come on in.  We’re here to help.

Angelo Bottoni is the head chef at St. Anthony’s Father Alfred Center. The Father Alfred Center provides voluntary, free, residential alcohol and drug treatment programs for people in need.

Our rehabilitation program offers on-site support including counseling, employment coaching, and 12-step meetings. This holistic and community oriented program has guided hundreds of people through their first steps of recovery and into successful and stable lives.