Former Pathfinders residents who have moved on to a
life of sobriety and independence and return frequently to the
house to share their experience, strength and hope with
newcomers.
Eric Z., the Pathfinders program coordinator, noted recently that two
former residents-one with 22 years of sobriety and another with
23 years of sobriety-were still coming back to work as sponsors
with new Pathfinders residents.
Recovering alcoholics with a firm grip on sobriety have an important role
in the social model of recovery which Pathfinders pioneered more
than half a century ago. What newcomers see in the "old-timers"
is a way of life that sustains a personal commitment to
sobriety.
Pathfinders remains a leading example of the social model of recovery-a
model in which authority is based on experience rather than
professional degrees. From the day they enter Pathfinders,
newcomers are among other alcoholics measuring their recovery in
days, months or years.
The annual Pathfinders Homecoming-on Sept. 22 this year-is an event that
celebrates the link between former residents of Pathfinders and
those who are just beginning their sobriety there.
The invitation to "Keep Coming Back" reminds those who began a new
life of sobriety at Pathfinders that there are two reasons why
the door swings both ways. "I need to touch base with this
house periodically for my own benefit," says one old-timer who
began his sobriety at Pathfinders. "And I've never forgotten how
much it meant to me when I was new and people with long-term
sobriety would come to meetings here."
Pathfinders began in 1950 as a way for sober members of Alcoholics Anonymous
to practice the 12th Step of their program, which calls on them
to carry the AA message to the alcoholic who still suffers.
These early members of AA pooled their resources to open a
refuge for sobriety-seekers on San Diego's Skid Row. Their
storefront evolved into a residential program that now provides
room and board for 40 men in three residences in a neighborhood
near Balboa Park.
