RECOVERY ALIVE HOME:
Pathway to Peace hopes to fill a need in Johnston County
By RANDY CAPPS
S
ELMA — Tisha Temple’s email signature looks like most anyone else’s. It simply reads, “Tisha Temple, CADC; Chief Resource Officer; Recovery Alive, Inc.” The “CADC” means that she’s a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor, and the rest is self explanatory. She was the point of contact on the press release announcing the ribbon cutting ceremony for Recovery Alive Home: Pathway to Peace, “a Christ-centered recovery home for men in Johnston County.” Recovery Alive Inc. is an initiative from Temple City Church in Selma that already supports the community through its Dream Center and outreach programs — including a home for women who have been victims of domestic violence. While Temple’s education and training would have taught her about the potential benefits of a home for people recovering from substance abuse, she learned it in a more practical way. After growing up in Henderson, she started abusing drugs and alcohol in her mid 20s. She wound up addicted, homeless and even turned to prostitution to help feed her habit. “After I came out of prison for the third time, there were no connections to care,” she said. “The first two times there were no connections to support group meetings. I was given the
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opportunity to get an education while I was living in sober housing, so I went. “Oxford House (a recovery house program in Wake County) is the house that built me. I went into that home and was given the support that I needed to not only remain clean and sober while I was there, but to be able to take care of myself when I came out. I started going to school, got a degree in substance use counseling and I'm registered with the board for North Carolina.” A supportive environment is key, Temple says, for learning how to live on your own again. “Peer-to-peer living works in sobriety,” she said. “This is not a managed care facility. It's not a business. It's not an entity. It's a residential home where eight men are going to come together. They're going to live here together, but they're given guidelines … so that they can hold each other accountable for the rent getting paid, the lights getting paid, going to work on time, going to meetings or going to outpatient care if they need that level of care.” The home, located in Selma, seeks to provide “a safe and nurturing environment for individuals recovering from substance use disorder. (The) faithbased approach offers leadership, accountability, friendship, support, encouragement and, most importantly, the opportunity to experience life-changing transformation through Jesus Christ.” Recovery Alive Inc., under the direction of Pastor John Eklund,
is the parent organization for more than 60 ministries across the country, and while the overall mission is a constant, individual approaches vary by the community being served. In Johnston County, one of those areas of focus is community outreach. And that’s where Joey Boykin, who helps direct the organization’s outreach programs, comes in. He’s a big part of the weekly Recovery Alive meetings at the church (and online) and, like Temple, has real world experience to share with those in need. He was a Christian, but running a successful business gave him plenty of opportunities to celebrate, or commiserate, with alcohol. “I went through a divorce and, not long after that, I went through 2008, which was a trying time,” he said of the country’s economic downturn. “But you know, at that time I would pray to God to help me get through this. But just as soon as I would see a little light, I would just go right back to my old ways. … I was straddling the fence. I was going to church, but I was still living out here in the world.” The turning point for Boykin came after one night of coping with a stressful real estate transaction. He drank too much, wound up back at his office and just happened to park in view of the security camera. “Well, I fell out of the truck,” he said. “When they opened the door, I never moved. I just (fell out). And the next morning, my wife told me, she said, ‘Joey, I want you to look at something.’ She showed me that video. And she told me, ‘you're gonna kill yourself. You're going to kill somebody.’
She looked at me just like I'm looking at you, and she said, ‘you're better than this.’ Those words sparked a change in him, and ignited a desire to serve and help others. “I just see that people need hope and they need to understand that somebody loves them, Jesus loves them, and we're there to share with them and tell them that,” he said. If you ask Temple, the parking lot tells the story of Recovery Alive and of Temple City Church itself. “The parking lot is still not paved,” she said. “So when we go to church every Sunday morning, you know, some people might not notice it or you might. (You might think) ‘they're doing all this stuff over there, but they’ve still got rocks in the parking lot.’ But we’ve got a recovery program where people are finding freedom through Jesus every Friday night and every person that comes through the door that can't afford to eat gets to eat.” And with the addition of the Recovery Alive Home: Pathway to Peace, even more people are being fed.
