Success Stories
Back Into the Community
Moving from a community behind bars to one that is open and free is often a tough road. It’s a switch Phil Tinsley had to make. To help Phil with that move, he’s depended on Project Rehab’s Transitional Services. Its programs help clients return to the community after treatment and/or incarceration. Program Administrator... read full story
Improvements along the Road to Recovery
Former Project Rehab client Mae Davis says “The Women’s
A Good Reflection
“I started marijuana at ten, drinking at fifteen. Soon I was on cocaine. I lost my wife, kids, and possessions—the loss was immense. It was hell,” explained Robert Herringa, who recently completed treatment at Project Rehab. He continues, “There was no relief. I didn’t want anything to do with... read full story
Finding His New Focus
He was out of prison, living in a halfway house and it all started to come apart. Local law enforcement wanted to talk to him about a man who had been murdered. Eugene Shelton became stressed and started using drugs again. He called his Parole Officer (PO) and said, “I’ve got problems.” ... read full story
A Helping hand at Just the Right Time
Charles Eastman started to get into trouble with the law as a teenager. The trouble continued into his adulthood when he eventually had to serve five years in prison. While incarcerated, he thought about his life and about what he could do to turn his life around when he got out. He was... read full story
Understanding the Language of Recovery
He started using when he was 11-years-old. At 15 he was living on his own. He was a musician who ran with the grown-ups. By the time Benito Carrion was 18, he was addicted to heroin. For nearly 40 years he used treatment and detox to get back on his feet, just so he could use again. Decades... read full story
Giving Back His Time
“It was the only thing I knew,” says William Forbes. He was exposed to drugs since he can remember. William became part of the institutional system at the age of eight when he was taken from his parents who were using drugs. By the mid 1960s he was into heroin. By 1970 he was part of the... read full story
Connecting With People
You would probably call her a troubled youth. Rachel’s problem was something she didn’t talk about. She was in foster care and had problems, emotional problems that manifested themselves in cutting. At 17 she came into the Adolescent Recovery Program at Shiloh house, a long term treatment program.... read full story
Singing Songs of Praise
At his lowest point James Harverson contemplated suicide. It was a journey of the worst kind that brought him to that point. He was raised in southern ways to respect his elders. But his mother drank, gambled and eventually had a breakdown. James started using crack when... read full story
Helping the Suffering
Joseph Colon was in and out of recovery programs in Cleveland until he decided he needed more than what they had to offer. In 1998 he committed himself to recovery and accepted the opportunity to get treatment at Project Rehab’s Hispanic Residential Program, HRP. HRP is the only residential treatment... read full story
Still Learning Lessons
“How can I use and keep working?” That was one of Wilbur Watson’s thoughts as he started his journey to recovery back in 1986. His bumpy road ended at the doorstep of Bullock House in 1993. The usual ‘trail of tears’ was close behind; lost job, lost family ties, loss of trust and loss of self. ... read full story
Learning From Her Hero
Samika Pickens did not have a drug problem when she came into Project Rehab in 1993. Neither did her two older brothers. The three children joined their mother in Project Rehab’s FARP, Project Rehab’s Family Adult Recovery Program. Samika says, “it helped my mom get back into her role as mother.” ... read full story
Teaching Others What She Learned
“When I woke up in the morning I thought, ‘how can I get high and who can I use to get high?’” explains Orraina Rolland, a mother of five. Her addiction lead her to neglect her children and eventually to involvement with the justice system and a judge who gave her the choice of going to rehab or prison.... read full story
Courageous in Her Move Forward
In her mid-teens, Gloria Jones-Herman was ‘freebasing’ and using crack cocaine. At age 22, after the birth of her first child, things started to slip like her productivity at work and her parenting skills. Gloria was getting a reputation for herself and drawing the attention of the law. She also... read full story
Living Life Fully
In the late 1960s Project Rehab offered a troubled teen an opportunity that would change his life. “It wasn’t my time, I wasn’t tired of suffering.” Roosevelt Oliver explained that he preferred to ignore this opportunity and keep using. Then 20 years later, after a night of getting high, he was... read full story
Living Free and Enjoying Happier Days
Wyvon Gaddie is a Residential Care Counselor at Project Rehab. “I direct people through their routines,” as he puts it. Once upon a time though, Gaddie himself was a resident at Bullock House, 20 years ago, sentenced by the court to this program. His probation officer, he reveals, wanted him off... read full story
Moving Forward One Day at a Time
Julio Sepulveda was married with children and doing okay for himself. Then he started to have problems with drinking, driving, and the law. It was a dark period where the people he associated with were a big part of his problem. Julio’s problem is his addiction to alcohol. After a series of drunk driving... read full story
Serving God by Serving You
Abby (born Albert) Woods was the ninth of eleven children. He visited his first dope house at 14 and became addicted to drugs and alcohol. Each day became the same “some alcohol to get the hanks off” he says, “‘til I could score”. He would meet with his friends, figure out the hustle for the day,... read full story
Returning to the Stage
Addiction and trouble came early and fast for Smith Pettis. He was a gifted and curious child. By age 12 he had taken his first narcotic, at 15 while participating in an accelerated program at Michigan State University he found cocaine and heroin. By the time he was 17, he was hooked and well... read full story
Serving People Like Him
Tommy House was in the middle of the drug scene and riding high while in college. Tommy told his friends, “This is so great, I’m going to do this ‘til I die.” In his quest to get high he lost jobs, his family, relationships, and he broke the law. Tommy learned,... read full story
Passing On What She Learned
She was married very young and by the time Evon Jones was 23, she had three children and started to pick up a habit. Evon partied with a fast crowd while her mother and sister cared for the kids. Snorting heroin led to skin popping which turned into main lining which started her life on a downward spiral.... read full story
The First Graduate
In 1976 our country celebrated its 200th birthday. But there was another celebration going on that was a bit more personal, Cheryl Sapp’s graduation from Project Rehab. She was the first. One morning Cheryl woke up “sick and tired of being sick and tired.” In the 1970s, heroin ruled many lives,... read full story
Sharing His Knowledge and Life Lessons
In 1975 John Rhodes entered Bullock House (the former name of the Project Rehab’s treatment facility at 200 Eastern SE). Four months later he walked out the door in a solid state of denial. But what he was told while there stayed with him for fifteen more years of drinking and heroin use, until he was... read full story
Staff at Community Treatment Centers Go the Extra Mile for Clients
It helped having responsible understanding staff members who were willing to go the extra mile to assist in my transition. – TD, Renaissance Residential Reentry Center client
Project Rehab Client Appreciates Care
The Women’s Recovery Center is like I’m at home. They let me share with them what’s going on and then give me productive advice on how to deal with what’s going on. Without them, I know I would be dead. – Alana Hobby, client
I was feeling the love this place gives
As a young child in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Pablo and his younger brother were raised by parents with substance use disorders. By nine years old, Pablo became his brother’s primary caregiver. The two children would hang around the streets and arcades of Old San Juan. Pablo was forced to find ways to... read full story