MEDFORD, Ore. — A Rogue Valley church is partnering with a new recovery center to fight addiction in the community.
The Rock Recovery Center opened its doors today at the Grace Point Fellowship in downtown Medford.
Doug Gould, the Executive Director of the new center, says only 8 percent of churches provide addiction recovery services nationwide. It’s why they’ve made it their mission to unite faith and recovery services here, to help a surrounding community it says is desperately in need.
“You want to fix a problem? You go into the lion’s den…,” said Paul Aragon, Clinical Specialist for ROC. “You don’t stand outside the lion’s den and say hey, come here, you go into the lion’s den and you fight.”
12 and a half years ago, Aragon was sitting in a jail cell waiting to be sent to prison.
“And I got on my knees and asked God to reveal himself to me,” he said.
It was after that, he says, he was granted a second chance at drug court. Aragon took that chance to not only reform his own life, but the lives of others fighting addiction.
He’s now volunteering at Rock Recovery Center, a new center partnering with local church, Grace Point Fellowship, to fight addiction in Jackson County.
“There’s no judgment, there’s no blame, there’s no shame, there are open arms with God’s love into their life with our coaches and our staff,” said Doug Gould, Executive Director of the center.
Gould, a recovering alcoholic himself, says part of fulfilling the center’s mission is being where the problem is.
“If we could give someone hope that they can change, that we can start over, then I think it’s all possible,” he said.
But the center’s most valuable resource?
Gould says it’s their dedicated staff and volunteers. People like Aragon who have overcome the grips of addiction and are ready to fight for the lives of others – showing them it can be done.
“A lot of them… everyone shies away from because they’re scared of the unknown, but I know the unknown. I’ve been there,” Aragon said.
The center will be open for walk-in counseling from 9 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday.
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