Daily Schedule

This is where the week begins. It is an open, supportive space for group members to talk about their weekend, plans for the week, or anything else that is weighing on them. There is no set curriculum here, it is guided by whatever the group brings in that day. For a lot of guys this becomes one of the more meaningful parts of the week, because it is simply a space to be heard before diving into the more structured work ahead.

Anxiety, depression, compulsions, racing or intrusive thoughts all frequently sit right alongside substance use, sometimes as a cause, sometimes as a consequence, often as both. This group is where we dig into that connection directly, giving group members real language and understanding for what they are experiencing. Rather than treating mental health as a footnote to addiction, we treat it as core to the whole picture, because for most of our clients it is.

Each week we introduce a specific, practical recovery topic and skill, things like understanding the stages of change, or prelapse versus lapse. What makes this group distinct is who is leading it: a member of our leadership team who is in long term recovery himself. Clients are not just learning concepts secondhand, they are learning from someone who has lived it and can speak to what actually works.

Getting sober and staying sober are two different things, and a big part of staying sober is learning to actually feel and manage emotions without needing to escape them, as well. Many of the young men in our program spent years using substances to avoid, numb or manage difficult feelings. This group is where they build the emotional skills that make sobriety sustainable, not just achievable. Weekly topics from our Emotional Sobriety curriculum walk through emotional sobriety principles such as guilt, regret, resentment and forgiveness.

Each week PF mentors bring in guest speakers who share their own experiences with recovery, mental health and relationships. These conversations are honest, relatable and sometimes emotional, because hearing someone else’s real story, someone who has been where they are and made it through, can open doors that a textbook or a lecture never could. It reminds group members that recovery is not theoretical, it is something real people are actually living.

Nobody comes into adulthood knowing it all, and for young adults navigating active addiction, mental health challenges or learning differences, some of those basic adulting skills can get missed along the way. This group covers practical, concrete ground: setting and working toward goals, exploring career paths, building a budget, understanding health insurance and healthcare systems, and other skills that support genuine independence. The goal is that when a client leaves our program he is not just sober, he is equipped to run his own life.

Relationships can be some of the most healing and most complicated parts of recovery. This group gives clients space to look honestly at which relationships in their life feel supportive and safe, and which ones feel challenging or even harmful, and to think through what kind of emotional support each one calls for. For many young men this includes examining family dynamics, romantic partners, friendships tied to their past substance use, and new relationships they are building in recovery.

Dharma Recovery is a peer support approach grounded in Buddhist principles like mindfulness, compassion and acceptance of the present moment. It is not a religious practice, but a practical way of understanding craving and suffering and finding a path through them. Rather than centering on powerlessness, this approach emphasizes each person’s own inner capacity to heal, walked alongside a community doing the same work. For a young man who feels disconnected from more traditional recovery language, this group can build mindfulness, self compassion and a sense of steadiness that supports sobriety long after he leaves.

We like to close the week the way we opened it, with reflection and connection. This group gives clients time to process everything that came up during the week, both in and out of group, and to think through their plans for the weekend ahead, including how they will manage any anticipated challenges. It is also a chance to slow down, have some fun and build community with therapeutic games and a shared lunch, a reminder that recovery is not just hard work, it is also connection, laughter and belonging.