Stories
Our Clients’ Stories & Testimonials.
Daniel
Before I came to Baldy Hughes, I had hit rock bottom. I was homeless, hopeless, and I didn't see any way out. I woke up in the hospital one day after having my skull fractured and that was the day, I woke up in the hospital one day after having my skull factured and that was the day, I had seriously considered treatment. I had been dipping in and out of addiction for many years, so I knew I needed a long program. I came to Baldy Hughes broken but with a new hope. Learning different recovery tools, doing the 12 steps and being part of a community of great people showed me a new way to live. My life before Baldy Hughes seems like a bad dream, so very distant from the life I have today.
Ryan
After 26 years of trying to do this on my own, I had given up and the world seemed black and white to me. My amazing family was the only thing I cared about, but I kept hurting them. They gave me the courage to try treatment. I agreed because I had no more excuses or moves left, other than dying. Thanks to Baldy Hughes Therapeutic Community I now have hope, faith and more love for life that I could have ever dreamed of. This place has a design for living and gives you the tools to go out into the world and regain your life. The staff really show that they care about us. I am now at peace myself and the world and I owe it all to Baldy Hughes.
Richard
Jesse
My time at Baldy Hughes has been an emotional roller coaster. At the end, I started levelling off and I could see a light at the end of the tunnel. I want to thank all the staff for their warmth, kindness and patience. I have a new lease on life. Thank-you.
Josh
From the plane to the bus, then the front gates of Baldy Hughes, I was broken. I thought I was misunderstood. When coming to Baldy Hughes, I felt welcomed right away. The clients, and staff made me feel apart of something. Through my months here, I never made so much progress to improve myself like I have here. I felt like part of a community, and connected to everyone around me. My life has changed because of Baldy Hughes
I have experienced many things while I have been under the care of Baldy Hughes, from endless winter nights, to brotherhood, to basking in the beautiful wilderness all around this place. I came here a broken man and have come out the other side not mended, but tempered and changed. Under the yoke of daily work therapy and extensive inner work with the aid of several fantastic facilitators I can say with confidence that I am no longer the person I was. It was not what Baldy did to me but what I did while I was here that has filled my heart and mind with the burning passion and zeal for life I had so pitilessly squandered. It would be one thing to say they held me up while I repaired myself and got a semblance of life back but it is altogether different to say that I took what they had to offer and with their blessing flourished into what I am today. As white hot steel is hardened by the inky depths of quenching oil, I too was tempered by what was available here at Baldy Hughes. In closing I will say that Baldy Hughes is an experience that has irrevocably changed the course of my previously bleak existence. I cannot express in words how grateful I am to have been able to be a part of this thriving institution.
Ryan
I am proud to say that I am in recovery. One year ago today I was living with no hope, faith, and self-esteem; I was at the crossroads of life or death. After 26 years of trying to do this on my own, I had given up and the world seemed black and white to me. My amazing family was the only thing I cared about, but I kept hurting them. They gave me the courage to try treatment. I agreed because I had no more excuses or moves left, other than dying. Thanks to Baldy Hughes I now have hope, faith and more love for life that I could have ever dreamed of. This place has a design for living and gives you the tools to go out into the world and regain your life. The staff really shows that they care about us. We all work together and contribute something in our own way to make this place run smoothly. I am now at peace with myself and the world and I owe it all to Baldy Hughes. Thank you all for being a part of my recovery.
Gregg
Baldy Hughes gave me a chance to get my life back on track. Some people of the world think addicts and alcoholics are just bad people. What I can say for ones like me, is that we are some of the most talented and hardworking I have had the pleasure of knowing at Baldy Hughes. I made it into this program because someone just like me worked their 12th step on me. Someone was out there after they got clean and sober, caring and helping others. Had they simply gone on with their lives and forgot about people like me who were still out there using and suffering, I wouldn't be here today. My gratitude begins with that fact. It's with this gratitude in mind that I reach out to others and give back what was given to me, a change to live a happy and fulfilling life.
Alex
Baldy Hughes has shown me a way of living, that before I could never have comprehended. I came to Baldy Hughes with a hopeless view of myself and of life. I had no social skills, no self esteem. I was full of fear and no concept of sober living or sober fun. The first thing I noticed at Baldy Hughes was the unity and kindness of the staff and clients. I then threw myself into the work and remarkable things followed. My social skills improved, along with my sense of unity and purpose, followed by a much better work ethic thanks to the Work Therapy Program. I later began co-facilitating the 12 steps groups. Through doing so, I gained self-esteem being able to help the newer guys. I got a full understanding of my condition and learned how to be helpful to others like me. I got in touch with myself, my emotions and the essence of life around me. I would write pages more about what I got from my time at Baldy Hughes. Overall, I am forever thankful to Baldy Hughes Therapeutic Community & Farm!
Darren
I am proud to have completed the program at Baldy Hughes. Baldy Hughes encourages clients in the community to face their addictions, and to be accountable and responsible in all areas of their lives. The program is 12-step based, which I had done several times before, but this time, and for the first time, I was rigorously honest with myself and others and believe I had and continue to have a spiritual awakening / experience. Some of the benefits for me have been a dramatic change in my behaviour, emotions and feelings - I now have sound judgment in my affairs. The staff at Baldy Hughes provides structure, resource, counselling and programming to change lives - not just to be sober, but to have true recovery, a complete change in how I can live my life. I have been shown and taught the path to lasting recovery, now it is up to me to walk it, live it. I now have the necessary tools. Thank-you, Baldy Hughes. I will be forever grateful.
Peter
Before going to Baldy Hughes I had no feelings or hope. It was like a vehicle at a Pick and Pull. That had been stripped and was ready to be sent away for scrap metal. No tiers, rims, breaks, gas tank or even a gas cap. The windows, doors and seats where gone. I felt there was nothing to protect me from the elements. No steering wheel to point me in the right direction. Baldy Hughes helped me change all of that. It was a complete overhaul. One piece at a time. I still make mistakes and say the wrong thing. We all do. But today, I have the tools to keep me on the road. I can reach out and ask for help. I thank everyone at Baldy Hughes for all the guidance and for the people who believed in me when came through the gates many years ago. Today, I am 4 years 7 months and 9 days clean and sober.