Stone County, Mississippi Program Now Serves Women Only

A church out in Mississippi changed its recovery program recently just for women. The Church of Turning Points in Stone County split its Life Recovery Program to create a women-only meeting. The group gathers each Thursday evening at 6:30 at the Sunflower Community Center in Wiggins.

The program takes in women with addictions or are involved with Child Protective Services, domestic violence and other life challenges. Staffers connect participants to inpatient treatment, and community organizations while helping incarcerated women transition home after release.

Women-Only Recovery Groups Work

Life Recovery didn’t start this way. It began as group therapy for men and women. Founder and pastor Marc Calvert decided the format needed a revamp.

It makes sense. Trauma is often based in domestic violence and abuse that informs adult women’s substance use. Women have freedom to voice their concerns and experience, which allows genuine healing to begin.

Trauma First, Substance Second

The curriculum is a Christian 12-step track based on the Life Recovery Bible. Each step takes about a month of Scripture study and group discussion. It’s all based in trauma-informed practices.

That framing reflects modern dual diagnosis care. Treat the substance use and the underlying mental health conditions or else the drugs come back. Programs like this one have grown in Mississippi as community complements to formal mental health treatment facilities. They keep women connected alongside clinical care.

Removing Practical Barriers

Volunteers provide child care during meetings so mothers can participate. Meetings are free and open to anyone, even those referred through local Drug Court and other intervention programs.

It’s not just Mississippians who need assistance. More than 50 million U.S. adults identify as being in recovery from a mental health or drug condition.

Support For All

To be clear, programs like this one aren’t substitutes for clinical care. Women who need detox or treatment for co-occurring disorders still require licensed providers, and the Life Recovery Program helps coordinate treatment into integrated programs.

Peer groups like this one are free and often the lowest-pressure entry point into recovery.

There are similar programs all throughout the country. To get started, browse our directory for facilities that treat substance misuse and mental health conditions. 

You can also dial 800-908-4823 (Sponsored) for help finding the right level of care alongside a live expert.

Author

Courtney Myers, MS

Read Bio

Courtney Myers has more than 15 years of experience in online writing and editing. Since graduating from N.C. State University with an MS in Technical Communication, she’s helped clients improve their visibility and reach through expert-level content creation. She specializes in addiction recovery and behavioral healthcare topics.

Editor

Peter Lee, PhD

Read Bio

Peter W.Y. Lee is a writer and historian of American history during the Cold War. His primary focus is the relationship between youth and popular culture and its impact on U.S. society during the twentieth century. He has published widely on how the public has used popular culture as a mechanism to address political and social shifts throughout time