(ORLANDO, FLA.) – Admitting to your wrongdoings is a difficult task, but it is the first step to spiritual healing. Accepting your past is a big pill to swallow, but it is necessary for self-healing. Fred Wilcox, a former resident at The Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center in Orlando, knows these two challenges all too well. He sat down with us to share his story of hope, salvation, and rehabilitation.
Six years ago, Fred was faced with the consequence of his years of alcohol abuse. “I lost everything, my wife, my home”, he shared. Like many young adults with promising futures, the art of peer pressure led him down a path of destruction. “I started drinking when I was 13,” Fred revealed, “we did it because we like the way it made us feel.”
For years, Fred let his addiction control his way of life. He recalls the times when he was sleeping on his friend’s couch. He reminisces on the times he would sit around drinking, but something shifted in him. “I just was tired of not being able to support myself, I knew at that moment that something had to change,” Fred shared.
The Journey to Rehabilitation
For that reason, he decided to turn his life around and regain control of his destiny. “I moved to Daytona Beach to try and get help, and they referred me to the ARC in Orlando.” The Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center in Orlando is where Fred began his journey to self and spiritual healing. Upon arrival, Fred was embraced by a supportive team with a mission to heal, revitalize, and uplift his spirit. “They had group, individual, and work therapy, and a twelve-step program that really helps you,” he shared. After two years of hard work and self-discipline, Fred was rehabilitated, working, and providing for himself. His word of advice to those struggling with drug & alcohol addiction is this… “Don’t worry about doing it for other people, do it for you!”
The Salvation Army’s Adult Rehabilitation Centers (ARC) provide spiritual, social, and emotional assistance for men who have lost the ability to cope with their problems and provide for themselves. Each center offers residential housing assistance, work, group, and individual therapy, all in a clean, wholesome environment. The physical and spiritual care that program participants receive prepares them to re-enter society and return to gainful employment. To learn more about the ARC in Orlando, visit www.SalvationArmyOrlando.org or call 407-295-9311. Click here and subscribe to our YouTube Page for more powerful testimonies.
Watch Fred’s full story of Hope, Salvation, and Rehabilitation:
Want to share your story of how The Salvation Army Orlando Metropolitan Area Command helped you? Contact our Majorie Pierre at majorie.pierre@uss.salvationarmy.org.
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