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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nGard was just one of the thousands of men Maddox helped through the nine-month program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe guys go to classes in the mornings and work during the day,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have various work sites where the guys go out and learn how to do a good day\u2019s work with a good attitude, and we know this work helps us provide them a place to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gard was one of the men who stood out in a positive way during his program, so he was asked to join the staff to lead other men during their fight against addiction. After five years on staff, the opportunity arose for him to move a little north to Lynchburg to replicate the program here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe had all the goods and all the training, and that has always been a treasure. So we sat him down and told him we think this would be a good step to take in this role, and we gave him a chance to pray about it,\u201d Maddox said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gard came back and said he knew in his heart that this was what he was supposed to do.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, he doesn\u2019t look back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s what brought me to Lynchburg. They thought that I would be the best candidate to be the program director here to run the paint sites and the program,\u201d Gard said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They partner with Thomas Road Baptist Church, who donated their recovery ministry to the Eagle\u2019s Nest program under contract. They also run a paint company to give the men jobs to fill and raise funds to allow the program to continue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This recovery program has been helping men in Lynchburg since August of 2021, and Gard said there are probably close to a thousand men who have benefited from his hard work and the program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere is really no number because you help one person, and that person helps two people, then four, so there is really no telling how many have benefited from this. But it is a lot of guys,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He felt grateful when he said there is really no better feeling than giving back to others who\u00a0may have been facing the same thing you went through in your own life.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are helping the community with addiction, with our paint company, and also helping to share the gospel,\u201d Gard said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He hopes this program will continue to help people in his community for a long time to come. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNow that I have learned from my mistakes, I can use my testimony to help other people who struggle with the same things,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n His advice to others who may have lost hope is to know they are truly loved and that his program is here for them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe all make mistakes,\u201d he said. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t make you a mistake. Realistically, I think anybody would be good for this program.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n He wants to see other men who have struggled with addiction look forward to something as fulfilling as a baby on the way, just as he is. At the end of the day, that is why he chose to lead this program. He said it is easy to feel hopeless, but recovery from addiction is possible, and he stands as the living proof. GN<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" THIRTY-FIVE-YEAR-OLD Branden Gard is in a happy, loving marriage, and his wife has a baby on the way in February. He was full of emotion as he admitted that 15 years ago, he never would have expected to be here, let alone starting a family, because of his crippling addiction to drugs and alcohol. \u201cMy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":20361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cover"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/lynchburg-va\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2023\/10\/5-1024x683.png\")
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