High on Life Recovery is the newest addiction support group in Great Bend.
The group was started by David Crawford, who has been sober for 36 years. David and his wife Patty recently bought the former St. Johns Episcopal Church building at 2701 Adams St. (17th and Adams), where the group meets. They rent part of the building to the Crosswinds of Kansas Bikers Church.
The open, non-smoking meetings are at the following times:
• Monday at noon
• Tuesday and Sunday at 7 p.m.
• Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.
“The last Sunday of each month we have a birthday night where we recognize people who’ve grown in the program,” Crawford said. They can receive birthday tokens that celebrate the years since their “sobriety birthday.” The front of each coin has a number representing the years and the “Serenity Prayer” is on the back.
“We’re a little different,” Crawford said of the group. “We’re not specifically AA, we’re not specifically NA; we’re both.” It’s a support group for all types of addiction, he stressed.
This is not an “anonymous” support group that doesn’t have affiliations with outside organizations, Crawford said.
“It’s not a silent thing anymore,” he said.
“You need to be out in society. Growth comes from being open and honest with yourself. I’ve been on the program 41 years and I always thought that we should be more involved in our communities, rather than hiding behind four walls, because that’s where your growth is.”
Even after years of sobriety, Crawford said he still learns from the things others share at meetings.
“We affiliate with the Oxford Houses, and there’s quite a bunch of people that are really doing well in recovery. When they share around these tables, everybody listens. You can tell it’s right out of their heart.”
Crawford said Identifications, Mark’s Custom Signs and Carr Auction Real Estate deserved a special mention for the help provided to the High on Life support group. High on Life is nonprofit organization and donations are welcome. Visitors are welcome, too, he said. “Anybody can come see what we have.”
For more information call Crawford at 620-617-1063.
