True Stories

For more than 40 years, Cenikor has helped thousands of people break the cycle of addiction and begin healthy, happy lives. Dwayne a Cenikor graduate tells his story about his life before and after treatment.

"I was mentally, physically, and emotionally abused throughout my childhood. I longed so badly to be loved rather than scared all the time...I was [on] a path of self destruction. I went into a nine-year addiction that caused me to do things I would have never thought possible. I was incarcerated for 10 months... I thought it was the end. Later I realized I had an opportunity for a whole new beginning.

I heard about Cenikor when I was in jail. It sounded too hard so after my release, I decided to go to another program. But I soon relapsed. I needed some serious help. I came to Cenikor... and I knew I was where I needed to be... I found myself developing some self-esteem... I began to like myself. I've been in the program almost 13 months and today I love who I am. Cenikor gave me the tools and the opportunities to change. Thanks to this program I enjoy waking up and I know I am going places I never dreamed possible."

- Resident in Recovery

"I honestly owe a great debt of gratitude to the Cenikor Foundation for many reasons, which has given me a chance to live a life free of alcohol and drugs, being behind bars and being a prisoner within myself. The program offers anyone who has the desire to change their life the tools for recovery and a better life... The groups at Cenikor have allowed me to express myself in a safe, comfortable environment where I can let go of the unnecessary baggage that has held me down for so long... When I heard about Cenikor being the toughest long-term program in the nation, I knew it was where I needed to be. I was among the worst of the worst. I am now becoming the best of the best. I owe more than words can ever tell to Cenikor... If I can do it, so can anyone else. Cenikor teaches people how to help themselves get through any situation without the use of drugs.

- Resident in Recovery

Without a strong male figure in his life, Richard turned to the streets for acceptance, what he calls "the beginning of the end". He joined a gang when he was 15 and never looked back, immersing himself in a lifestyle that would land him in prison with serious drug, alcohol and anger problems...

"I hit the lowest point of my life during one of my last run-ins with law enforcement for dealing drugs and breaking into a house... The different phases at Cenikor build you up as a person and teach you to be respectful and work with a team. My fellow residents and I are learning that there is a way other than prison and that there are other ways to handle problems."

- Resident in Recovery

"Drugs filled a terrible void in my life. I became dependent on the chemical because, initially, it eased the pain and soothed anxiety. But eventually use became necessary to my emotional and physical survival. The emptiness I felt without my drug was vast and overwhelming - I couldn't live without it, but I would die if I continued to use. I was in agony - isolated, afraid, ashamed and hopeless. It was during this, a time of utter darkness, that someone showed me a new way to live."

- Resident in Recovery