Mission and Values statements are sometimes a mishmash. Some organizations have really pithy mission statements. Others have long, convoluted statements about what they are up to. And values statements run the gamut, too. Some are clear, some are confusing, and some are just vague to the point of meaninglessness. And some of these sorts of statements are just plain bad.
But when you are an organization committed to helping people reclaim and maintain their sobriety, your mission and values statements better really mean something. We are proud to say that French Creek Recovery Center’s statements are clear and specific. They guide what we do and how we treat people—and as a bonus they are relevant in the lives of those in recovery from a substance use disorder.
Let’s take a closer look.
French Creek Recovery Center’s Mission and Values
First things first. Here are our mission and values statements:
Our Mission: Improve the lives we touch.
Our Values:
- Honesty: We work with integrity and fairness.
- Competence: We strive to be the best and hold ourselves accountable.
- Perseverance: We meet challenges with the resolve to succeed.
- Passion: We are passionate about what we do, each other, and who we serve.
- Respect: We honor the human dignity of everyone we work with.
- Teamwork: We succeed, and have fun, by pulling together.
It’s easy to see how these concepts apply to our work. After all, we serve people who are struggling with drugs or alcohol as well as with co-occurring mental health disorders like depression, anxiety, or an issue grounded in trauma. Obviously, we want to improve the lives of each person who comes to us for treatment. We take that mission very seriously.
The values might seem equally clear. Our work requires honesty because best outcomes are achieved when everyone understands the reality of a given situation. Our competence comes from high levels of training and years of experience—two factors that also make it possible for us to persevere when faced with a new challenge. We have passion for our work, and that passion is evident in the respect we bring to every interaction. And we know the value of working as a team.
Now let’s consider how those same ideas apply to your recovery journey.
Apply the Mission and Values to You
Our mission is to improve the lives we touch. And that is what you do when you get sober. First and foremost, you improve your own life. But you also improve the lives of your friends and family, your coworkers, and anyone else you regularly come into contact with. Your sobriety serves you and those you know well.
Each of the values applies to you and your recovery, too:
- Honesty: You had to be honest with yourself to seek out help—and you have to stay honest with yourself and others to protect your sobriety.
- Competence: You have learned some strategies and gained some resources to support your sobriety, and you can use those effectively.
- Perseverance: Challenges to your sobriety will pop up—perhaps more frequently than you would even expect—and you must persevere to maintain your recovery. You must also persevere if you experience a setback like a relapse.
- Passion: Sobriety allows you to feel passionate about the good things in your life again—and to use that passion to protect your sobriety.
- Respect: You honor your own human dignity by maintaining your sobriety—and you honor those around you who care about you.
- Teamwork: Your family and friends, your 12-Step (or other recovery program) peers, members of your faith community—all of these folks in any combination can serve as your sobriety teammates. They can help you get through the hard moments and can celebrate the successes with you. Not only that, but you can provide those same benefits to others in recovery when you think of yourself as a member of their team.
Let’s Get Started Improving Your Life
If you are struggling with drugs or alcohol, we want to encourage you to get help now. Put aside the fears or feelings of embarrassment or sense that you can turn things around on your own.
At French Creek Recovery Center—located in Meadville, Pennsylvania—we offer personalized treatment for substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health disorders. Our work is guided by the mission and values we have discussed above, and you can count on us to see you through medically supervised detoxification and a rehabilitation program that will prepare you to return to your day-to-day life. We follow that up with a commitment to a continuum of care so that you can feel confident that you have access to ongoing support and resources in the early days of your recovery.
Make it your mission to get—and stay—sober. We can help.