YES! Ashes to Glory Foundation is a tax exempt, not-for-profit organization under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

We provide financial assistance to families to help them afford treatment for a loved one struggling with addictions. Addiction creates a crisis for any family, especially those without the means to afford the quality treatment that serious addiction can require.

We are not a treatment center. Our mission is financial. You might think of us as providing “scholarships” to those who cannot afford the cost of a premium treatment program. Rather than operating a treatment center, we help families find and afford exceptional treatment centers that meet the following criteria: 

• Must be Christ-centered 
• Must be for a minimum of 90 days
• Must have highly trained professional, Christian staff with a low patient to counselor ratio 
• Must involve thorough counseling for the family as well as the individual, where applicable

We help with all areas of addictions. At our founding in 2011, we adopted a mission around drug addiction. However, we soon learned that drug addictions are often closely related to trauma, sexual, pornography, alcohol, video gaming addictions, and eating disorders. Frequently, where there is one addiction, there are others that the family does not even recognize. The visible addiction may be the tip of the iceberg. We work with facilities that manage all these addictions.

We have heard many stories from families about what happens when the individual is released after 30 days. Many programs are for only 30 days and insurance is often not helpful with longer programs. From experience in our own family, talking to many others, and much statistical data, we realize a person struggling with addiction is at their most vulnerable state at the 30-to-40-day mark. While substances are finally out of their system, emotions are raw, and the person has not yet dealt with or worked through the underlying root issues that lead to addiction.

As a result, the individual often is soon back into addiction and then says, “I have been to rehab. It does not work!”  30 days are a band-aid on a major wound that needs surgery! Healing takes time and so does change. The addiction did not happen overnight and neither will the recovery.

For instance, a 2012 NIDA study shows that relapse rates decrease the longer someone remains in residential treatment. After 3 weeks in treatment, an individual has about a 10% chance of remaining sober. After 45 days, the individual’s chances increase to about 35%. At 90 days, the individual’s chances of remaining sober increase to 60%.  The longer an individual is in treatment, the higher the ‘success’ rate.

Addiction is exploding in our country. No one is immune. This scourge hits stable and unstable families, Christian and non-Christian families, home school and public and private school families, local and missionary families, rural and city families, and rich and poor families; all are dealing with addictions.

We wish we could share all the stories from the families that have been helped. Lives have been redeemed through Christ! In cases where the individual does not experience salvation, the individual is in a much better place following treatment to allow God to work through him or her in the coming years.

We continually update a list of centers that meet our criteria. High quality centers that are completely Christ-centered and of the highest professional counseling are rare. There are a few quality secular places that do a good job but miss a major component – Christ. There are also a number of Christian programs, but many are extremely light on the counseling. We have found that combining the best of both is the preferred way to go. Contact us for information. We will keep everything confidential.

This is the most challenging task for our board. We first have applicants complete an online application providing the details of the person struggling with addiction and the family support system. We often follow up asking parents for a brief history of their own life and their relationship with Christ. If the parent is the one struggling, we ask similar modified questions. In addition, we request two years of tax returns and a net worth statement. After we receive this information, we follow up with a lengthy phone call and then often request references by phone from their support system.

Our board focuses primarily on the following two issues:

Is there a financial need? While we do not expect a family to strip their last dollar before receiving assistance, we do want them to have a personal stake. We also inquire about the availability of immediate family support from parents or grandparents.

Is there a support structure surrounding the person struggling with addiction? We look to determine if there is a solid support structure in the immediate family or church family, knowing support will be critical for success when an individual leaves treatment.

The programs we will support have full time licensed counselors on staff with a very low patient to counselor ratio. They are highly trained and highly committed. The programs also include a minimum of 90-day room and board at a facility which completely relocates the individual, far from their own reality. Each individual is certainly not in 8 hours of counseling each day, but the counselors are on staff with activities, down times, work, and recreation times. It is amazing the progress that can be made over lunch, on a wilderness trip, or during work time. The places to which we prefer to help also have intensive programs for the rest of the family.

One of the most valuable times for our family was a very intense family week after which we said to each other, “I wish every family could experience family week!” We receive many comments on how families and marriages are restored in addition to helping the individual battling addictions.

The stories of families and marriages restored and the types of families we have helped! Even when it is a teenage child getting help for addictions, the quality programs provide the entire family with intense counseling. I often hear, “not only is our child doing so much better, but our marriage has been restored. It saved our marriage!”

Applications for help come from all demographics:

• Missionary and pastoral families
• Families whose children are struggling with the complexities of adoption
• Families that have chosen to go the public, private, and homeschool route
• Men AND women who are actively involved in church who are fighting sexual addiction
• Children of divorced parents
• And many other common scenarios

We need your prayers! We appreciate your financial help! Help us spread the word about the need. Invite us to make a short presentation to your church. Like our Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn pages.