As a mother watching my son on his journey of recovery and working my own recovery program in Al-Anon and ACA (Adult Children of Alcoholics), Alpha 180 has been the guide to catapult our family’s healing:
My son has found his home at Alpha 180. A place where fellow young-men dealt the same hand of cards, addiction and alcoholism, come together to support one another in recovery. A brotherhood so beautiful to witness. They have each other’s backs, call each other out, laugh, cry and learn how to have fun as a community. The young men I have had the pleasure to know at Alpha 180 are some of the finest souls God has put on this earth. Our family has also found so much support and friendship from the many Alpha 180 families we have come to know. Living with the disease of alcoholism and addiction can be so overwhelming and lonely. Having family friends going through the same thing you are is so comforting. My son and our family always have a place to go in Austin for Thanksgiving or the Holidays or anytime.
The staff at Alpha are the best I have ever seen at any organization let alone the treatment world. Their knowledge of the disease and especially how it effects young men is hands down some of the best in the country. The family weekends are amazing, but the weekly sessions and communication is where the real work and progress of recovery happens. Alpha 180 provides so much guidance, support and frank, direct-sometimes uncomfortable but necessary feedback when we need it.
The emphasis on recovery is of the utmost importance at Alpha but education runs a very close second. The overall GPA of Alpha is 3.6 at the time I’m writing this, which is astounding considering what these students have been through. My son needed to not only learn to take responsibility for the life he wanted but also to own the direction he wanted his education to go. Having help doing that with educational experts, tutors and counselors allowed me to get out of picture and let him take over. He has done incredibly well and is becoming the student he always wanted to be.
The way Nico Doorn and all the staff at Alpha handled to recent COVID lockdown crisis was beyond impressive. They managed to find a bed and breakfast in the Texas Hill Country to quarantine where the guys could focus on their recovery and finish their second semester classes online. This is the type of “out of the box thinking” and creativity that is a staple at Alpha.
The audacity of Alpha 180 to open smack dab in the middle of a college campus in a former fraternity house telling the world “we are here, we are proud, we are strong, and our guys can do anything they want with their lives” is something our family is so very honored and humbled to be a part of. My son has been a part of the incredible Alpha 180 community for a year and a half. He is now part of the growing Alpha 180 Alumni program. A strong group of thriving young men in recovery who are there for each other but most importantly are there for the new guys coming in. They all recently took a ski trip together. This type of camaraderie is a daily event at Alpha. When you see others flourishing in recovery, you want to be a part of that. My son has grown tremendously since arriving at Alpha. He is doing all kinds of cool things like running again, sponsoring other kids, doing yoga, he took a job in recovery and is taking college classes. All of this is possible because my son decided he wanted a different life for himself and embraced recovery and is doing the necessary hard work that comes along with that, but Alpha 180 was the example that it was all possible.
Looking back to the hell we were living to now the grace recovery has shown us. I will be forever grateful the platform and path Alpha embraced our family with. The miracle of recovery is not to be missed, it shines brightly at Alpha 180.
In gratitude,
Cheryl G.
