His Joshua House to be welcome place for men with addictions
DANIEL CLIFTON • EDITOR
MARBLE FALLS — Kevin Pool recalled the day a man basically stumbled into his auto body shop.
“It was 36 days ago today,” Pool said, standing in a vacant building he and a group of others have envisioned as His Joshua House. “He was just a mess from his addiction. But he checked himself into a treatment facility.”
For the next 35 days, the man underwent treatment for his addiction, but after completing the session, he was back on the streets. Now, the man needs followups to ensure his recovery is successful.
“That’s why we need this now,” David Biegel said.
Pool agreed.
“I hate to say there’s a sense of urgency,” Pool added.
His Joshua House isn’t a halfway house but a place men with addiction issues or other problems — such as returning from incarceration — can go to learn skills to help shape them into productive members of the community. Scooter Sanders, a man who knows too well the problems men face after prison, remembered the night in July 2013 that God woke him with the vision of His Joshua House.
“It’s basically about the book of Joshua, where God gives his people a second chance,” Sanders said.
And that’s the crux of His Joshua House: to give men who want it that second chance — or even a third, fourth or more.
Sanders shared his vision with other people such as Biegel and Pool as well as several churches. The response was overwhelming, he said, as several Highland Lakes congregations offered support.
“This isn’t just one church but churches from across the Hill Country coming together,” Biegel said.
The mission of His Joshua House is to give struggling men a place to live for a period of time as they overcome their addictions while learning skills that help them operate and succeed in society. Biegel pointed out that some of the board members have battled through their own addictions and demons to become business owners, community leaders and contributors to society.
That’s one of the keys behind His Joshua House.
“We want to give these men a second chance,” Sanders said. “Teach them how we did it. Show them that it can be done.”
Biegel said His Joshua House will use a variety of methods to help the men including 12-step programs and teaching money-management skills. All, he said, are faith-based.
Biegel pointed out that men coming out of prison or jail often end up right back in the environment that got them into trouble in the first place. His Joshua House is a way to break that cycle. A residential program is designed to provide a safe, loving and Godly place to give these men a chance at a new life.
There are rules for the program and admission criteria, one of the biggest being the desire to change.
The acquisition of a building in January was a big step toward the realization of His Joshua House, but there’s still work to be done. Sanders said the building needs renovations and furnishings. And with any program such as His Joshua House, ongoing support will always be needed.
However, Biegel and the other board members believe His Joshua House fills a gap often overlooked by the criminal justice system and other programs.
“The system is what it is,” he said. “But it’s really set up for these men to fail. We want to give them a place they can learn the skills and abilities to succeed, to break that cycle many of them find themselves in.”
The board is looking for support and funding to transform the building into a residential facility with beds, a living area, educational tools and other items. Anyone interested in supporting His Joshua House or who want to learn more about it can go to joshuahouserecovery.org or email joshuahousetexas@gmail.com.
“We understand where these men are in their lives,” Sanders said. “We want to show them that there is a better way.”
daniel@thepicayune.com