Life's Beacon Foundation

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Introduction

Life’s Beacon Center

Life’s Beacon Center is a structured life skills home for men in recovery. We offer a cost-effective home for those in need of support and instruction in life. Any man, 18 years or older, with the desire to rebuild his life through working a recovery plan will be considered for residency regardless of age, race, creed, color, ethnicity, marital status, sexual orientation or religion. The goal of Life’s Beacon Center is to provide a drug and alcohol-free environment where residents can experience a positive, healthy, and productive lifestyle. The residents practice responsible living skills to strengthen their individual growth, spiritually, physically, emotionally, and mentally.

The majority of our residents are on state parole, county probation, court-ordered drug court but not limited to those conditions. Most are transitioning from prison, a community correction center, or treatment rehabilitation program. We offer them a safe, structured, drug and alcohol-free environment in which to learn positive life skills which will break their chains with the past and promote personal growth for a more productive, healthy life.

Life’s Beacon Center programming affects the individual at the critical moment where constructive change can and does happen. Our staff strives to meet each resident where they are in life and works to restore human dignity. We assist the resident in developing obtainable goals concerning personal recovery, obtaining employment, financial management, time management, family and social activities, and meeting individual responsibility, accountability, and dependability.

Restoring Human Dignity
Our residents are bankrupt in many different areas and have burned most bridges during their life’s journey. Life’s Beacon Center gives each resident a second chance by restoring trust in each of our residents. The Golden Rule is being about what you say you are about. While we appreciate each individual’s personality, the one common virtue must be honesty. Staff points out correction immediately when a resident’s word does not coincide with his behavior. We treat this correction as a learning lesson and look to the resident to implement the changes necessary to bring about a character change within himself. Staff is available to help residents focus on realistic expectations, manage negative emotional experiences, and develop self-control, problem-solving, and coping skills.

Personal Recovery
Residents take an active role with staff in the development of their individual probationary orientation plan. This plan is a set of goals which the resident commits to and is reviewed on a monthly basis to monitor progress and make changes when necessary. This plan includes, but is not limited to the following: attendance of AA/NA meetings, out-patient counseling, individual counseling sessions, itinerary communication, curfew, utilizing an AA/NA sponsor and/or mentor, church attendance, study group attendance, AA/NA Twelve Step Work, and weekly one hour session with Life’s Beacon Center Director.

Obtaining Employment
Each resident must work whenever possible. Life’s Beacon Center Staff assist each resident in obtaining a PA Photo ID and/or PA Drivers License, and a social security card. We provide assistance with the development and/or updating of a resume and job search plan. We assist residents in obtaining and filling out job applications and scheduling job interviews. We help the resident develop a transportation plan to and from work. We provide transportation to and from work when possible.

Financial Management

Each resident must turn in all income. Most residents have little or no money management skills, having lived from paycheck-to-paycheck or crime-to-crime. The need for planning with purchases, bills, rent, car, food, clothes, etc. is something that can be very overwhelming and difficult to handle alone. Budget management is not designed to control the resident’s money but to help them learn how to plan for their financial future. Planning is one of the more intricate aspects of the recovery process that people in early recovery have a hard time doing. Financial planning is the first step of learning how to plan for the future. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail!

Time Management
This tool is invaluable for the resident to track his daily activity and determine whether there is a balance in his life or where he needs improvement to help establish a balanced lifestyle. Too often, residents will overcompensate for their misgivings from the past and try to make up for lost time all at once. This manifests itself in workaholics, recovery addicts, etc. Though the intention is good, the results can be just as devastating as the addiction.

Family and Social Activities
Each resident has the difficult task of coming to terms with how healthy or unhealthy their relationship is with family and friends. Staff will help residents determine a plan of action designed to meet this situation. We hope that each resident will develop healthy interpersonal relationships with his family and social friends.

Responsibility, Accountability, Dependability
Life’s Beacon Center holds each resident accountable, responsible, and dependable for their behavior. A resident must report his daily activities with staff and make a weekly itinerary. This tool is for residents to utilize and plan their weekly activities. By listing appointments, meetings, and planned activities, the resident has the ability to organize his week. Residents often have a difficult time planning their time and remembering their commitments; this tool helps them to learn how to plan their time and is a reminder to the commitments that they made. Anyone who fails to plan, plans to fail! Through regular meetings and monitoring, each resident must hold themselves to working a personal recovery plan and following all probation, parole, or court-ordered stipulations, and Life’s Beacon Center rules and regulations. A resident must pay child support, fines and cost payments, restitution payments, rent, parole and probation supervision fees, etc.

About Us

Life’s Beacon Foundation financial means will be met through caring individual tax-deductible donations, fundraisers, and help from the local business, church, and community leaders. Our existence, our continued development and our growth depends largely on your very important donation. Our Board of Directors is dedicated to their efforts to ensuring that the resources available to Life’s Beacon Foundation will effectively reach the community at large. We can promise you that your support, regardless of amount, will make a difference in the life of someone seeking a second chance. We provide our services to those willing to utilize a hand up rather than depend on a hand out.