Epiphany Foundation is a sober living facility helping those who are recovering from drug and alcohol addiction in Kern County take one step at a time into a better future.
Epiphany Foundation Program Manager Demarquis Mitchell found one of those futures in the program. From being homeless and in jail to being on the road to recovery for 9 months and counting, Mitchell is turning his life around with the help of the new skills he learned through the Epiphany Foundation.
"I can be something in life as long as I get clean, stay sober, and just want more for myself, so I found the Epiphany Foundation," said Mitchell. "It was a great thing for me. I've been here, I want to say 3 months? And it's the best decision I've made in my life right now."
In his 3 months in the Epiphany program, Mitchell has become the program manager, as well as learning a set of skills to take out into the world.
"I'm good at doing electrical, drywall, plumbing," said Mitchell. "This - basically what we have here is a learning experience itself, so I've been learning a lot of things during the duration of time I have been in this program."
The project that Mitchell and the team are currently working on is an outdoor kitchen.
Epiphany Foundation founder John Sabovich says the program Epiphany offers can help keep the group sober while giving them the opportunity to learn skills necessary for a job in construction.
"I converted one of my rentals to a sober living house. They come in, they get free room and board, and they don't have to have any money. We have a recovery program to help them with their addiction, and that recovery program is that they go to 4 mandatory meetings a week. That is AA, NA, church service, and our counseling session," said Sabovich.
Sabovich says that for someone to get into the program, they are interviewed by all the men living in the house to ensure that the prospect is willing to live a sober life.
"What we really want to know is, number 1, are they really committed to that kind of recovery," said Sabovich. "Number 2, can you get along? We have a house with men and it's a male-only program, and so can you get along, and number 3, are you willing to work?"
Mitchell says that the men are also learning how to adapt to being around other people, as it is something that can be very difficult for a recovering addict. Living with other people is helping with that, and adding that the Epiphany Foundation has drastically changed his life for the better.
"Epiphany Foundation, they offered me a better chance to look at the way that I could communicate with others, the way that I could come out and show my work skills, and the way that I could really just have that self-control within myself to know that I could make better decisions," said Mitchell. "I could just be a better person myself within my health, getting my health in order."
Sabovich says they have had a lot of people come through the program, but one thing that can't be counted is the families they help bring back together by helping people attain sobriety.
For more information about the Epiphany Foundation and the work it does in Kern County, please visit their website.
