A Word From Our CEO, Mandy Baker – March 2023
Over the weekend, I had the privilege of attending the reestablishment of BRC’s monthly Saturday night speaker meeting. After three years without this meeting due to Covid, it was a wonderful time of fellowship and reconnection with BRC Healthcare’s primary purpose and Mark Houston’s reason for establishing this company back in 2006. I spent the evening reflecting on the “culture” of recovery and the beauty of fellowship between individuals who may otherwise not come together. What I remembered and understood at a soul level was how important it is for people to have a place where we feel we belong.
We are told when we enter a 12-step fellowship that we cannot let outside issues distract us from our primary purpose of helping the alcoholic/addict who is still suffering. That message is not qualified at all…it doesn’t say we help people who look like us, people who believe like us, people who share our political/religious/socio-economic beliefs. It simply calls us to show up for anyone that suffers from a hopeless state of mind and body caused by addictive illness and who has a desire to get better. Addiction is the great equalizer, and the opportunity for recovery, likewise, must be open to all. I am not perfect, and my “old ideas” creep in daily. But if I lean into the fellowship and learn to see past differences, I always find out I have more in common with people than I might think at first glance. We are responsible, with the help of Spirit, to create a place of belonging for anyone seeking recovery.
Addiction is a disease of isolation, and recovery stands boldly in a place of belonging and fellowship. All who have a desire to live a life free from the bondage of self are welcome. I know I was grateful for that opportunity when I needed it, and I wouldn’t have stayed if I didn’t feel I belonged. As I looked around Mark Houston Hall, I knew that I still belonged, and I knew that everyone there with me did as well. For that, I am truly humbled and grateful to participate in a bigger, brighter, and more inclusive world.
Mandy Baker,
CEO, MS, LCDC