The silence was deafening … 15 pairs of eyes staring, arms crossed. I smile, no one smiles back. “Can anyone tell me, what makes a good news story?” Nada. My 10 minute PowerPoint seemed to last an eternity. “We are going to divide into two groups and do an exercise. Let's count off and move our chairs into two circles." No movement. Okay, so what else is new? They’re teenagers. There is nothing elaborate or flashy about Argenta Academy, an alternative school in North Little Rock. From the … [Read more...]
Still carrying the message … a new home for the Wolfe Street Center
In the fall of 1982, the newly-formed Wolfe Street Foundation, founded in Little Rock by Joe McQuany, Gene Walter and Bert Jones, leased an ex-funeral home at 1210 Wolfe Street and opened it up for meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon. Now more than 30 years later, the beloved but creaky old building on Wolfe Street has been sold to Children’s Hospital and retired. By providing meeting rooms, educational and prevention programs and just a place to go for those seeking recovery, it has, … [Read more...]
Vet Overcomes Addictions, Rides with “Stroker” Wiggs
When “Stroker” Wiggs, the “Bandido” bike rider who became a Christian minister, died in January in Little Rock, Neal Benschoff lost a dear friend and role model. Benschoff, also a former member of an outlaw biker group that terrorized the countryside was, like “Stroker,” a Vietnam War veteran. Thanks to inpatient care at Fort Roots, a Veterans Administration (VA) facility, and regular attendance at 12-Step meetings, Benschoff has been clean and sober for 12 years now. He is also being treated … [Read more...]
Note to the Homeless: Get a Life at Our House
At Our House, it’s the children who get people choked up. It’s the baby blissfully being rocked or a little girl, with tongue stuck out, concentrating on putting a puzzle together with a gentle prompt from a volunteer. Most of these children have been neglected and some abused, but today they are safe with a staff member or with a supervised parent who is trying to get well and learn how to be responsible. Our House, which has space for 110 people, offers separate housing for homeless men and … [Read more...]
Oasis Offers Top Treatment in Rustic Resort Setting
The Oasis Renewal Center, an up-scale treatment facility on 48 wooded acres in west Little Rock, is now accepting applications from up to 24 guests — men and women 18 and over — for its 30 day program and follow up. With its log cabin cottages, main lodge, private dining facilities and scenic walking trails threading through three pristine lakes, it looks more like a rustic resort than a treatment facility. And that’s fine with Carole Baxter, executive director of Recovery Centers of Arkansas … [Read more...]
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