The overall New Reality of Recovery Program has 4 distinct program stages or phases. The men who do not leave the Mission directly following graduation from the classroom portion of the program can become involved in one of 3 post graduation opportunities. The program stages are illustrated in the diagram below. They will be described in general terms in this summary section and detailed in the subsequent sections of this program binder.

The Discovery phase begins once a man indicates that he would like to become a part of the Mission's New Reality of Recovery Program. This period is designed to determine if a man could benefit from the Market Street Mission's life change program, provide him necessary information for a decision, and begin the process of assimilation.

One Mission resident described the Discovery phase as one of "settling down"; the man and the Mission get to know one another in order to begin a new relationship. The man becomes acquainted with the routines and procedures at 9 Market Street, and the Mission staff and residents try to evaluate the man to see if he is appropriate for the program.

The three week Discovery Period is the gateway and "living waiting list" for the New Reality Program. Many rehabilitation programs leave individuals on their own while they wait for entry into the program.

At the Market Street Mission, a man sleeps on the chapel floor and gets to know the Mission before formal entry into the next phases of the life-change program.

The goal of the Work Therapy phase of the Market Street Mission's New Reality of Recovery Program is to provide, through the use of work, an environment and structure for the individual to foster ongoing sobriety. This is the time for individuals to sober up their bodies and minds and to bring some structure into their lives.

The average resident in the Mission's program has had little or no work experience. Even those who have held jobs have normally been unemployed for a considerable amount of time. The fact that these men have come into the program and have signed contracts to improve themselves signifies that their lives have become unmanageable. Realistically they have no place else to go. Their self-esteem is very low.

Every man is unique -- unique in his history, unique in his needs, and unique in his rehabilitation. Although the Mission espouses a holistic approach, i.e. viewing the person as a whole with many simultaneous problems, a man can expect a sequential process in recovery.

The primary focus of work therapy is threefold:

• To strengthen the body through physical exercise.
• To develop a knowledge of what is needed to work in a structured environment and begin putting that knowledge into practice so that each man can develop his own work ethic.
• To apply Christian values in the workplace.

This is not to suggest that physical, mental/emotional and spiritual rehabilitation should be in sequence, but rather that normally the body recovers more quickly than the mind.

The Classroom Instruction phase is central to the Market Street Mission New Reality of Recovery program. After having progressed through the Discovery and Work Therapy steps, the individual is a candidate for classroom instruction.

It is here that men can really come to grips with the problems in their lives and deal with them. The class topics reflect the Mission's emphasis on recovery from drug and alcohol addiction with a Gospel Mission perspective. Mission staff and local clergy teach courses in chemical dependency and addiction and their consequences, group therapy, and Bible classes.

The four objectives of the Classroom Instruction phase are:

1. To help the chemically dependent person to understand the actual problem of chemical dependency.
2. To help him to understand why he has physical, emotional, and spiritual problems, and how these three factors interrelate and affect his life.
3. To learn the wholesome knowledge of the salvation of God in Jesus Christ.
4. To help him to learn the techniques, skills and knowledge needed to live a full, productive Christian life for the glory of God.

The overall theme of this phase can be found in II Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."