"To whom much is given, much is required"
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Our mission is to refurbish
and maintain the Men's and Women's Drug and Alcohol treatment Centers for indigent patients serving the three-county area
of Lansing Michigan, the Glass House and the Holden House.
Our organization is modeled upon a commitment of shared leadership and individual empowerment. We encourage
our members to serve on our committees and our board and to provide a welcoming working environment to encourage others to
join with us in a spirtit of service.
We are a Michigan Corporation authorized by the IRS
as a 501(c)(3) Charitable Organization. All gifts and membership donations are fully tax deductable to the extent allowed
by law.
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Message
from our Founder - Taylor Swan
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Dear
Friends:
Thank you for joining
me and the Gratitude Group in our mission to provide equipment and the comforts of home in the two Lansing-area alcohol and
drug abuse treatment facilities for the indigent - The Holden House and the Glass House. Both of these facilities have suffered
State and Federal funding cutbacks over the past 20 years. Additionally, because of the current woeful economic conditions,
many good paying jobs have been lost in the local community, reducing contributions from the United Way and other not-for-profit
agencies that once provided funding to these facilities. At the same time, more and more people are seeking treatment for
more complex addictions such as Methamphetamine and Crack Cocaine - addictions that require new methods of treatment.
This reduction in funding and the increased
demands for treatment have forced the parent agency of these treatment centers, the National Council on Alcoholism, Lansing
Regional Area, to make some hard choices in how their dwindling dollars are spent. To their credit, they have chosen to spend
their limited resources on providing treatment to as many patients as they can serve. But other areas suffer because of lack
of funding - notably the facilities themselves. The buildings are nearing a critical state of dis-repair, needing painting,
plumbing and electrical repairs, fixture replacement, and roofing. The furnishings are aged and falling apart; mattresses
are stained and stink; linens are threadbare and full of holes; blankets are stained and torn; pillows are broken, stained
and stink. To fix the facilities would mean taking money from the treatment programs. In the face of this dilemma, The Gratitude
Group, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, was formed early this year with the mission to repair and maintain the facilities,
provide equipment where needed, and to bring the comforts of home to the residents. We’ve only just begun, but our efforts
are being noticed!
In 2001,
I came to the Holden House spiritually, emotionally and physically broken. I had been homeless for four years, locked
in the endless loop of addiction.
While a resident, I decided that "somebody oughta"
do something about the ragged and poorly maintained condition in which I found the house when I arrived. I was there
for thirty days of life-saving therapy, after which I returned to a useful and productive life.
After
a few years of enjoying the rewards of my new life, I decided that I was the guy "that oughta" do something about
the condition of these treatment centers and began to organize these efforts into the Gratitude Group.
I ask each person who visits these pages to show your gratitude for the life-giving work that takes place
within these houses, through the purchase of a tax-deductible membership, or the gift of your skills to help us refurbish
and maintain these facilities.
We need professional painters, electricians, roofers,
plumbers, carpenters, and craftsmen of every type. If you have skills in these areas, please call me at 517-488-9940.
You will make a difference in the lives of others and in your own.
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