Prison Fellowship

  • DONATE
    • One-Time
    • Monthly
    • Angel Tree
    • Other Ways to Give
  • GET INVOLVED
    • Volunteer
    • Subscribe
    • Angel Tree Christmas
    • Start a Fundraiser
    • Pray With Us
    • Justice Action Center
    • Share on Social
  • STORIES
    • Stories
    • Blog
    • Videos
    • The Restoration Series [Videos]
  • WHAT WE DO
    • Why Help Prisoners?
    • What We Do
    • In-Prison
      • Prison Fellowship Academy
      • In-Prison Programs
      • Hope Events
      • Inside Journal
      • Women’s Ministry
      • Create: New Beginnings
    • Angel Tree
      • Register your church or group for Angel Tree
      • Prison Fellowship Angel Tree
      • Angel Tree Christmas
      • Angel Tree Camping
      • Angel Tree Sports Camps
    • Justice Reform
      • Justice Reform
      • Second Chance Month
      • Sign the Justice Declaration
      • Get a Copy of Outrageous Justice
    • Warden Exchange
    • Church Partners
    • Corporate Partnerships
    • Preparing Prisoners for Reentry
  • RESOURCES
    • Subscribe to Our Email
    • Support for Friends and Family of Prisoners
      • Resources for Friends and Family of Prisoners
      • Coping with Incarceration
      • Resources for Prisoners
      • Resources for Children of Prisoners
      • Supporting Successful Prisoner Reentry
    • Resources for Churches and Volunteers
      • Resources for Churches and Volunteers
      • In-Prison Ministry
      • Reentry Ministry
      • Family Ministry
      • Justice Reform
      • Mentoring Ministry
    • Resources for Angel Tree Coordinators
    • Resources for Chaplains
    • Resources for D.O.C.
    • Justice Reform Resources
    • Share on Social
    • For Media Outlets
  • ABOUT US
    • Leadership
    • Chuck Colson
      • About Chuck Colson
      • The Charles Colson Hope Awards
    • Our Beliefs
    • Financials
      • Financials
      • 2022 Annual Report
    • Employment
    • Contact Us
    • In The News

Prison Fellowship and Celebrate Recovery Working to Curb Overdose

August 22, 2019 by Grayson Pope

Thousands of people die each year from drug overdose. But Celebrate Recovery offers hope.

prisoner prays with volunteer

Drug overdose causes an estimated 190,900 premature deaths in a year. The problem is most acute in North America, which continues to experience the highest drug-related mortality rate in the world, accounting for 1 in 4 drug-related deaths in the world.

August 31 is International Overdose Awareness Day, a global event held each year that aims to raise awareness of overdose and reduce the stigma of a drug-related death. It also acknowledges the grief felt by families and friends remembering those who have died or had a permanent injury as a result of drug overdose.

In more than 40 years of prison ministry, we have seen how prisoners and their families are impacted by narcotics and overdose. Most incarcerated people in the U.S. suffer from substance abuse or addiction—something Danny Duchene knows all too well.

PRISON FELLOWSHIP AND CELEBRATE RECOVERY PARTNER BEHIND BARS

Danny is the national director for Celebrate Recovery Inside, the team that trains and helps local Celebrate Recovery programs take the Christ-centered 12-step program to prisons and jails around the world. Since Danny participated in the program when he was incarcerated in 2003, Celebrate Recovery has exploded throughout the prison system.

There are now Celebrate Recovery Inside groups in more than 700 prisons and jails throughout the country. Celebrate Recovery also has teamed up with Prison Fellowship® to bring its successful program to 90 of our Prison Fellowship Academy® sites. And Celebrate Recovery now promotes Angel Tree® through its 30,000 meetings nationwide. Because of their generosity, 5,807 kids in 39 states received a Christmas gift last year on behalf of their incarcerated parent.

What makes Celebrate Recovery so effective at helping prisoners overcome addictions?

The Celebrate Recovery environment 'allows me to open up and share a little more freely. It allows an atmosphere of trust.'

WHY CELEBRATE RECOVERY WORKS

"For one thing, Celebrate Recovery is very faith-oriented towards Jesus Christ as our higher power," says Danny. But then there's what Danny calls "the secret sauce": the healthy relationships formed in the groups.

"In Celebrate Recovery, we have what's called a 'no fixing guideline,'" Danny explains. "That means that I get to come into the group and be my normal broken self, and it gets to be OK for me and the other group members to not be OK. In that environment, it allows me to open up and share a little more freely. It allows an atmosphere of trust."

That environment helps set people free from negative lifestyles and reorient them to more positive, Gospel-centered ones. But unfortunately, not everyone breaks free from addiction before it's too late—a harsh reality Danny recently experienced.

CLOSE TO HOME

"Somebody that I recently counseled died of an overdose just a few weeks ago," Danny says. "This was a young man whose grandparents brought him into my office. … He was out on bail, and he knew he was going to have to go inside. So, they brought him, and he spent some time with me."

Danny counseled the young man, who was incarcerated soon thereafter. The young man's tolerance for narcotics decreased drastically while he was incarcerated. He died from an overdose shortly after his release.

The man's family called to tell Danny. What do you say to someone in that circumstance?

"Sometimes, our deepest hurts and our worst failures are the very things that God uses to qualify us for ministry."

HELP FOR THOSE WHO HAVE LOST A LOVED ONE TO OVERDOSE

Sometimes that worst thing you can do for someone who loses a loved one is talk too much. "Someone can come alongside a family of an overdose victim and just be with them and express their heart for them without advice or without being preachy or having all these Christian platitudes—that 'God will work it out for the good,' and things like that," Danny explains.

"They may not be ready to hear that. But they may be ready for just a warm-hearted soul to come alongside them."

Those who are left behind after a loved one dies from an overdose might feel like their lives are over, too. But they don't have to be without hope. Danny says,

Sometimes, our deepest hurts and our worst failures are the very things that God uses to qualify us for ministry. The families of those that have gone through this eventually can find that God will use their hurt on behalf of other families or on behalf of others that are at risk. … If the families can be part of that voice and be part of that compassionate outreach to other families and addicts, then perhaps their voice will make a difference."

HELP THOSE AFFECTED BY OVERDOSE

International Overdose Awareness Day spreads the message that the tragedy of overdose death is preventable.

Thousands of people die each year from drug overdose. They come from all walks of life. Do you recognize the signs and symptoms of overdose? What is the impact of drug use and overdose on family, friends, and those experiencing it? Visit OverdoseDay.com today to learn more about identifying signs of substance abuse and preventing overdose deaths.

If you are interested in participating in Angel Tree with your Celebrate Recovery group, please contact customer support by calling 1.800.55.ANGEL (26435) or emailing info@pfm.org. For more information on volunteering with Prison Fellowship, please call 1.800.251.7411 or visit our volunteer page.

DID YOU ENJOY THIS ARTICLE?

Make sure you don' t miss out on any of our helpful articles and incredible transformation stories! Sign up to receive our weekly newsletter, and you' ll get great content delivered directly to your inbox.

Your privacy is safe with us. We will never sell, trade, or share your personal information.

Filed Under: Feature Stories, Prison & Prisoners, Prison Fellowship Academy Tagged With: Celebrate Recovery, Prison Fellowship Academy

SELECT A TOPIC

  • Advocacy & Reentry
  • Angel Tree
  • Families of Prisoners
  • Feature Stories
  • From the CEO
  • Hope Events
  • Inside Journal
  • Press Releases
  • Prison & Prisoners
  • Prison Fellowship Academy
  • Prison Fellowship International
  • Prison Fellowship News & Updates
  • Reentry
  • Second Chance Month
  • Uncategorized
  • Video
  • Warden Exchange

MOST POPULAR

Prison Fellowship Responds to Inaction on Crack Cocaine Sentencing at Close of the 117th Congress

December 20, 2022

Criminal Justice Reform Achievements

December 16, 2022

Prison Fellowship Applauds Congressional Lawmakers for Passage of Law Enforcement De-escalation Training Act

December 15, 2022

LATEST VIDEOS

WATCH ALL VIDEOS

JOIN OUR ONLINE COMMUNITY

FACEBOOK
TWITTER
INSTAGRAM
YOUTUBE
LINKEDIN
PF®
PFM®

RECOMMENDED LINKS

  • Ways to Donate
  • Inspirational Stories
  • Angel Tree Program
  • Prison Fellowship Academy
  • Justice Reform

RESOURCES

  • For Families & Friends of Prisoners
  • For Churches & Angel Tree Volunteers
  • For Media Outlets

JOIN RESTORATION PARTNERS AND WITNESS GOD RESTORE LIVES

Restoration Partners give monthly to bring life-changing prison ministry programs to incarcerated men and women across the country.

 

JOIN NOW
  • CONTACT US
  • EMPLOYMENT
  • PRIVACY
  • FINANCIALS
© 2023 PRISON FELLOWSHIP®

Angel Tree®, Angel Tree Camping®, Angel Tree Sports ClinicTM, Angel Tree Sports CampsTM, and Warden Exchange® are programs of Prison Fellowship®.