A few of the Game Night Committee members: FRONT: Trevor M. & Jenny S.
BACK: David H., Karina D. (RGW, RHC, and GD)

It may have been cold outside, but there was lots of enjoyment and laughter inside the Rosecrance Griffin Williamson Campus at the Alumni and Family Game Night.

Event attendees were a mix of alumni and family members from several sites, including our Crystal Lake IOP. Participants enjoyed several games, including foosball, chess, children's bowling, The Walking Dead and playing cards. "Game night was great and I loved the way it was organized," said Jess P. (Crystal Lake IOP) Jess enjoyed herself and she is excited about having similar events in the Crystal Lake area.

Living Life on Life's Terms with 12 Steps

by Shivani K.

Step two was a bit difficult for me. See, my mother comes from a small predominantly Christian town in southern Illinois, and my father comes from a Hindu background having lived in India until the age of 17. As children, my parents instilled in my sister and me the teachings of both Hinduism and Christianity. We frequently went to church and visited the temple, spent time doing activities immersed in both cultures, and we celebrated both religions' holidays. As we got older, our religious preference became more of our own decision. I decided to go with neither religion and in doing so, had very little faith in any type of Higher Power.

But then a strange thing happened. Two nights before I went to treatment at Rosecrance I was faced with my mother's question, “What are we going to do about this?” Now, I can say with 100% certainty that the words that came out of my mouth next were not my own. I did not say them. Rather, someone or something spoke through me as I said, “I don’t know. I can’t stop. I think I need help." I didn’t know it then, but that was my Higher Power speaking through me when I was unable to do it for myself.

After a few months having been sober, I realized that God as I understood Him had been a part of my life since the very day I was born and had not left my side since. It sounds funny to someone who has never had a faith of their own, but it is so rewarding and relieving to finally find power in something beyond yourself. We, as humans, are basically the ants of the world, so small and insignificant, surrounded by hundreds of thousands of other organisms, forms of life, forces of nature, and ways of the world.

Several alumni involved have shared how working with the younger clients takes them back to their own youth. Kyle R. (RHC alumnus) was one of them. He said, “I saw myself in every one of the kids at one point in my journey, which I was grateful for and frightened by at the same time. We all go through the same struggles.” The marathon meetings will continue during non-school days for the Griffin Williamson campus.

This Alumni Cafe meets every second Monday from 7 to 8 pm at the Community Christian Church (Yellow Box Church), 1635 Emerson Lane, Naperville, IL 60540.

This Alumni Cafe meets every third Thursday of the month from 7 to 8 pm at the Rosecrance Lincoln Park office located at 2835 N Sheffield Avenue, Ste. 209 (ring buzzer), Chicago, IL 60657-5083.