VALPARAISO | When Rodney Sass first encountered the Moraine House, it wasn't as the program's director, where he sits today. It wasn't as assistant director, where he found himself last year. Sass came into the mens' home through a judge's order. He was a client.

"I came here in January 2003, out of jail, having been through a lifelong substance addiction," said Sass, who has been clean and sober for more than three years. "As part of my plea bargain, I was assigned to the Moraine House."

Sass says he had tried to quit his addiction to alcohol and cocaine a dozen times, but always went back, until he found the help of the Moraine House, a halfway house for 13 men who get the 12-step support, housing, and guidance they need to learn how to live.

"My life fell apart every six or seven years," Sass said. "I'd run away and get around people who didn't know me and I'd fool them."

Even though Sass detoxed his body while serving a sentence of four months, it wasn't until his court-ordered program at the Moraine House that Sass was able to detox his spirit and point his life in another direction.

"Before this place, I had no idea what my principles were," said Sass. "I thought that alcohol and drugs were the problem, but really my character defects were the problem."

The Moraine House has been around since 1976 when it was founded to help men who had gone through the medical detoxification period, but were unable to get the critical life help they needed after this process.

The home on Lincolnway in Valparaiso provides a residence and support. The men who live in the home must pay rent and remain clean and sober.

"Many people think, 'Hey, you made your bed, now sleep in it,'" said Sass. "And because these are men, people think that they're the ones who have done their kids wrong, their mom wrong, or their wife wrong. But for chemical addicts, there is no help for men, so it just goes on. The men go out and cheat and steal to get dope and think no one will help them. Before this place, they stuck us in institutions and gave us frontal lobotomies," says Sass.
The Moraine House is supported by United Way of Porter County

"I have fought with alcoholism my whole adult life and and have tried every possible avenue on my own. My ways just did not work. I trusted and respected no one, not even myself anymore. I was at a point in my life where I was physically, mentally and spiritually bankrupt, living a dark existence, and seeing no way out. The Moraine House helped change that for me. I was given a structured environment and learned to accept responsibility for myself. I've learned to love, respect, and understand myself as well as others. And the Moraine House has helped me to get back to my Higher Power, which I choose to call God. The Moraine House had a big part in the foundation of my recovery. I no longer have to live in that dark existence. I have a choice today to live a sober, happy life."

Roy M. 

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09 November, 2008

After 35 years of drinking and using narcotics, I embarked upon probably the wisest decision I have ever made in my life.  I entered the Moraine House on April 12, 2008.  Wading in a pool of desolation and desperation, I came here because my life had long been unmanageable and I was powerless over my addiction.  I made a mental commitment to myself and my family to reside here for six months, the recommended program time.  I had nothing left to lose and knew wholeheartedly that this was very probably my last chance at a normal life.

I was welcomed with open arms into an environment filled with hope and future, along with an extremely successful program of recovery.  I coexisted with 12 residents and 3 staff members.  A bed in a 2-3 person room with a desk was provided, along with access to the kitchen for breakfast and lunch as well as a prepared sit-down dinner that was almost always surprisingly good.  I was given free access to the local YMCA and the local library is just a few blocks away.  The Moraine House hosts a total of 9 Alcoholics Anonymous/Narcotics Anonymous meetings per week and there is a large variety of outside meetings, many within walking distance.  A number of inside and outside meetings are required, as is attendance to other weekly classes and events that cover everything from the 12 Step program to relapse prevention.  Our day is started with a morning meditation attended by all residents.  Rules and assigned chores instill a sense of both community and responsibility.  This is definitely not an environment for individuals who refuse to follow a structure, but I am now convinced that men of this sort will eventually have to compromise their unmanageability should they ever wish to recover.

The Moraine House provided me an invaluable opportunity to minimize or alleviate much of the baggage that associated itself with my addiction.  I felt it important to utilize my time and activities here constructively in order to leave here a different person from the one who arrived.  As I write this, I will be leaving Moraine House in two days.  I know that I owe my sobriety and probably my life to this house.  It gave me a safe home to reside within while providing me with the tools necessary to improve my life and support my progress.  The staff and residents made me feel welcome and, much more importantly, helped me realize that I am not alone.  I came here convinced that I was the most despicable person in the universe.  I found out along the way that I am merely a person with a disease that, although incurable, can be treated.  For anyone seeking salvation, I strongly recommend the Moraine House.  If alcohol or drugs have beaten you to your knees and you are ready to take your life back, come on in.  If you have the desire to quit, you won’t believe the good things that can and will follow, if you’ve only a mind to allow them to happen.

Gerald J.

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8/3/09

My name is Joseph W. and I’m an alcoholic.

I came to the Moraine House earlier this year in terrible physical and mental shape asking for help.

For awhile I knew I had a problem with alcohol, but I didn’t know how to do anything about it. I had tried to quit drinking numerous times with various methods, but in the end I always found myself drunk again, causing irreversible damage to my body and mind and my personal life.

But lucky I was accepted as a client of the Moraine House. I entered through the door of the house beaten by alcoholism, clinging only to the hope that if I gave this program an honest effort, that I might receive the help I needed so badly.

The Moraine House offers a safe environment, comprehensive understanding, structure and rules needed to rebuild your life, and the tools to move forwards with your life once it’s rebuilt. The close family-style atmosphere of the House guarantees that there will always be someone close-by to talk with who is going through the same struggles as you. Several times a week there are AA/NA meeting held in the house, in addition to other house meetings such as Relapse Prevention and Back-to-Basics.

The Moraine house along with the fellowship of alcoholics and addicts has changed my life. They taught me invaluable Knowledge of spirituality, the 12 steps of AA/NA, and how to live a life without drugs or alcohol.

The camaraderie of the guys in the house is an integral part to everyone’s recovery. The friendships I formed there I will take with me for years. The Moraine House saved my life and I’m eternally grateful for the time I spent there and the knowledge I gained. If you think you have a problem with drugs or alcohol, the Moraine House can help you overcome it you follow their instruction and apply yourself. A life dominated by mind-altering substance is not a life at all. The key is a happier and sober life is as simple as the phrase:” Keep coming back, it works if you work it sober”!