Oyarifa Oxford House

The Hopeful Way Oxford House located near Accra is maturing and currently has seven residents who run the house pretty much on their own. Over 30 persons have stayed in the House since it was opened June 20, 2009. Most of the residents did not find employment while at the house but worked on their recovery by participating in 12-step based programs in the house and by leading AA meetings in hospitals and the University of Ghana. An evaluation is currently being conducted to see how the House could be adjusted to better meet the recovery needs of Ghanaians who don’t have ready access to 12-step meetings. It is likely that a simplified version of Recovery Dynamics will be taught at the House by clients who have successfully completed three-month stays at the House of St. Francis. Another Big Book Study may also be conducted at the Oxford House in March. 

More from a Resident of House of St. Francis

STEP BY STEP

1.       There’s a road to a river I must cross,

To get from this point of powerlessness

To that yonder point of POWER.

As I move on I may get lost or backtrack,

But there’s a bridge

 With 12 STEPS I must tread,

And step by step, day by day

It would get me there.

Don’t know why, don’t know when

But when I get there,

I will KNOW,

Because I’ll take it day by day,

STEP BY STEP

 

2.        The road is rough and rugged,

Danger all along the way,

Rabid dogs lying in wait

But I won’t let my spirit fail me

Will strive to get to my destination

I’ll call on my Higher Power,

And take it day by day,

STEP BY STEP.

 

3.       I wont give up,

Keep on moving won’t stop

I may be hurting,

I may be bruised

But I won’t let the bad times get to me,

I’ll take it day by day

STEP BY STEP

 

4.       I won’t give up,

Holding on to what I found in NA/AA

I’ll get to my destination.

Clinging on to my HIGHER POWER,

I’m going to take it day by day,

And make it there

STEP BY STEP.

Byron Merriweather Report

The Ghana Report

This is Byron Merriweather reporting on my third tour of Ghana. My mission is to continue to expand Oxford Houses by establishing a chapter of at least three houses; increase the number of 12 step meetings in Ghana and develop a rehabilitation treatment center to assist in meeting the aforementioned goals. I arrived in Ghana April 16, 2012 to partake in establishing the House of St. Francis in Ashaiman, Ghana (a 40 bed capacity three to six month programed facility). With the help of several Oxford House members including Gustavo Marco from Sweden, in May of 2012, we partook of the task to first do the physical cleanup of the dust ridden facility. This process took one month to complete.  The initial opening was scheduled to be June 1, 2012 but because of delays in finalizing the MOA between HWF and the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra, the House of St. Francis didn’t open until August 1, 2012. On that day we had our first client. By the end of August we had three clients. I was solely responsible for the day to day tasks of performing the administrative duties, doing the interviewing and intake assessments of clients, providing counseling with clients and presenting the Recovery Dynamics curriculum to the clients. Thank God my help came in late September. By the end of 2012, the HSF had received 20 clients. Currently, I have a stipend volunteer staff comprised of 3 cooks, 1 utility workman, 1 security man and 4 Recovery Dynamics presenter/counselors, including myself and volunteer support from graduate students in Clinical Psychology through the Narcotics Control Board Demand Reduction Unit and two volunteer social worker/psychologists affiliated with the Addictive Disease Unit at Korle Bu Hospital that are assisting clients with individual counseling and group counseling needs.

As of February 2013, there had been three clients who successfully completed the 3-6 month program. One (the first client admitted) has stayed on staff to become a peer mentor presenter/counselor; another has been transitioned into the Hopeful Way Oxford House and another is in After Care while living at his family’s home. The Board of Directors for the House of St. Francis has finally been established and there now is a collaborative effort towards adjusting and improving on what has been started at the House of St. Francis.  The Oxford House at Oyarifa is currently at 9 members thanks in part to the House of St. Francis.  More will be revealed.

Back at the ranch in the US, I had the pleasure of visiting the Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery (CSAR) at Texas Tech University in Lubbock TX. I had the opportunity to talk with various faculty members regarding internships, family programs to implement, and ideas regarding the pursuit of funding and donors for our projects in Ghana.  I also had the pleasure of being the quest speaker at the Celebration of Recovery meeting at the center.  

During the next two months in the US, I plan to visit various facilities and persons on the east coast to propagate the recovery movement in Ghana and try to gain some support from these institutions and private individuals in long term treatment of recovery. I plan to return to Ghana mid to end of April 2013 to continue my mission work of recovery with emphasis on establishing a women’s Oxford House and treatment section or center for women.  In closing, I am truly grateful for the opportunity to be of maximum service to God and in position to help other people help themselves.

From House of St. Francis

COME BACK HOME

 

I was using,

And in my thinking,

All the world was hating.

So I kept hurting

When life had stopped hitting,

Kept running

When no one was chasing,

Kept feeling the pain,

When I should focus on my gain,

Till out of breathe and scared,

I hit a wall and was forced to stop.

Fearfully I turn around and realize in shock,

My Higher Power had been with me all along,

Running with me and calling softly…

 COME BACK HOME.

Narcotics Control Board - Ghana

The Narcotics Control Board sponsored the January, 2013 visit of Larry Gaines to Ghana and is expected to facilitate similar visits in the future.  It is also expected that NACOB will sponsor the training in June of three Ghanaians at Serenity Park in Little Rock, Arkansas.  Mr. Sylvester Adu of NACOB received training at Serenity Park in 2012; he currently spends one day a week at the House of St. Francis leading sessions in Recovery Dynamics.  Nine recently employed psychology graduates and employees of NACOB also spent several days at the House of St. Francis to study its operations.  We expect the NACOB to make use of the HSF as part of its efforts to reduce the demand for illegal drugs in Ghana. 

Oxford House in Ghana

The Hopeful Way Oxford House aka "Bill Moore House" located near Accra is maturing and currently has seven residents who run the house pretty much on their own.  Over 30 persons have stayed in the House since it was opened June 20, 2009.  Most of the residents did not find employment while at the house but worked on their recovery by participating in 12-step based programs in the house and by leading AA meetings in hospitals and the University of Ghana.  An evaluation is currently being conducted to see how the House could be adjusted to better meet the recovery needs of Ghanaians who don’t have ready access to 12-step meetings.  It is likely that a simplified version of Recovery Dynamics will be taught at the House by clients who have successfully completed three-month stays at the House of St. Francis.  Another Big Book Study may also be conducted at the Oxford House in March. 

Ghana 2012 & 2013

Recovery Africa/Hopeful Way Foundation Summary for 2012

 Proposals for 2013

by Dan O’Laughlin

2012 Summary

 

1.      The “Fifth Report to the Hopeful Way Foundation Oversight Committee” was submitted on 26 March, 2012. 

2.      From 18 May – 3 June, Hopeful Way Foundation (HWF) hosted a visit to Ghana of eight students and four staff members from Georgia Southern University and Texas Tech University. 

3.      Byron Merriweather trained for one month in Recovery Dynamics at Serenity Park in Little Rock, Arkansas. 

4.      Memorandum of Agreement signed in September by the Hopeful Way Foundation and the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra.

5.      Dr. Eugene Dordoye completed his-ten month study program at Johns Hopkins University in June.

6.      Sylvester Adu of NACOB studied Recovery Dynamics at the Kelly Foundation and studied recovery at Willingway Hospital and The Healing Place.

7.      Dan and Agnes were in the U.S. from June – November, 2012, and plan on being in Ghana from 12 December, 2012 to 12 August, 2013. 

8.      Met Archbishop Palmer-Buckle Msgr. Stephen Adu-Kwaning, Kristen Harper and Debbie Dungee in New York City on 20 June regarding the House of St. Francis and Oxford Houses in Ghana.

9.      A Fundraising Committee was set up in Washington, DC in November, 2011 and has been tuned into “Recovery Africa” in support of recovery in Ghana and perhaps other countries.  It currently operates under the 501(c)(3) status of Dr. Al Moony’s Willingway Foundation.

10.  The 27 September House of St. Francis gathering at the Embassy of Ghana in Washington, DC was successful and resulted in donations of $5,337.00 (net $2,500), half of which will help fund Byron’s return to Ghana in 2013 and half will go towards the running expenses of the House of St. Francis (HSF).

11.  Dan attended the Oxford House Convention in Oklahoma City from 13 - 16 Sept.

12.  Dan & Agnes studied the Daytop Therapeutic Community International training program in Rhinebeck, New York form 22 - 24 October. 

13.  Dan & Agnes studied the Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery (CCAR) in Bridgeport, Connecticut on 25 - 26 October.

14. Numerous new contacts were made in the U.S. in 2012, including the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Texas Tech University, Fr. Martin’s Ashley, DePaul University, Howard University, World Federation of Therapeutic Communities, Daytop Village, Connecticut Community for Addiction and Recovery and the Office of National Drug Control Policy. 
15. The House of St. Francis began taking in residents on 1^st August, 2012.
16. In November, Dr. Shawn Reynolds produced a draft of his research conducted with the assistance of Hopeful Way Foundation and GNAT on “Alcohol Use, Stigma, and Understandings of Policy among Public School Teachers.”

2013 Proposals

1.      Identify and train a Ghanaian manager and staff for the HSF.

2.      Register HSF as an NGO and work with the board of directors appointed by the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra.

3.      Assist Catholic Archdiocese of Accra develop a recovery structure in support of the HSF.

4.      Larry Gaines to visit Ghana in late January to train House of St. Francis personnel in Recovery Dynamics.

5.      Establish a Fundraising Committee to put in place a permanent source of funding for the HSF.

6.      A fund-raiser and proposal writer, Matthew Brown, to visit Ghana to assist HWF/HSF/Catholic Archdiocese of Accra to develop a funding strategy and campaign. 

7.      Baseline research to be conducted in Ashaiman to obtain data to be used for evidence-based results produced by the HSF.

8.      Work with the Narcotics Control Board and others in ways that will further the HSF and recovery in Ghana.

9.      Byron to end his ten-month stay at the House of St. Frances in February. 

10.  Byron to return to Ghana in April to begin a one-year stay in Ghana to promote Oxford Houses and the House of St. Francis. 

11.  Official Opening of the HSF.

12.  Work towards opening an Oxford House for women.

13.  Obtain a vehicle for the use of the HSF. 

14.  Assist with the formation of an Oxford House Chapter in Ghana.  Help strengthen the Came to Believe Oxford house in Kukurantumi. 

15.  Dr. Al Mooney to visit Ghana for about two weeks in May.  He will be available to assist with training of healthcare workers, peer counselors and others.

16.  Dr. Shawn Reynolds to visit Ghana for approximately two weeks to assist in conducting further research about addiction and recovery among teachers as related to the employee assistance programs (EAP) and the HSF. 

17.  Kristen Harper, two faculty members and seven students from Texas Tech University to visit Ghana from 16 – 29 May.  Hopeful Way Foundation to assist in arranging their program of work with the likes of HSF, Addictive Diseases Unit, Chosen Rehab, Msgr. Bobby Benson in Koforidua, Catholic Archdiocese of Accra and Dr. Cyril Fayose in Ho.

18.  Emily Eisenhart, a faculty member of Georgia Southern University and about five of her students to visit Ghana for the entire month of July to assist in recovery efforts at the HSF, Ankaful Twelve-Step Rehab Facility, Mercy Center and University of Cape Coast.

19.  Enable two Ghanaians to participate in the Oxford House Convention to be held in Washington, DC in September.  Visit Daytop Therapeutic community in New York.

20.  An industrial cooker to be sent to Ghana by Recovery Africa for use in the HSF. 

21.  Enhance collaboration in with the likes of Pantang Therapeutic Community.  Ghana Health Services, Ghana National Association of Teachers, religious organizations and others.