OUR STORY

“Why do you do what you do?”  At Neartown, we get asked that question often.  For us, the answer is always, “Because someone did it for us!”

Neartown’s story is one of those stories that you read about in a book.  It is one of those stories that if you did not know that it was true you might question it.  Like most good stories, the main characters are the underdogs.

Although Kenny and Jereme, Neartown’s founders, did not know each other until they got into recovery, their paths were much the same.  They both started using drugs and alcohol at an early age.  They both became addicted to drugs and alcohol.  They were both unable to quit using drugs and alcohol on their own.  Kenny lost a successful business.  Jereme lost a family and his freedom.  They both lost it all.  Drugs and alcohol became their master!

But then… something changed!

For many, the loss of a successful business, the loss of a family, the loss of freedom, and the right to vote sound like a terrible thing…but not to them.  Those events are just what they needed.  Those events were the catalyst to the beginning of a new life. 

Through a series of events, they both wound up with the same twelve-step sponsor.  The recovery program that they practice defines a “Spiritual Experience or Spiritual Awakening” as a change in the way you think.  They both had just that.  As they began to do something differently, they began to get something different.  The application of the twelve-steps led them to a change in the way they think that led them to a change in the way they act!

As the years passed, they both opened our homes to people in recovery.  Kenny hosted twelve-step meetings and housed people in need.  Jereme and his family opened their basement to those struggling.  After having a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, they both tried to carry the message of hope to others.  They had dreams of someday opening a home just for people in recovery.

In 2014, their dreams became a reality, Neartown Sober Living was born.  They opened their first facility in the “Little Yellow House”.  With eight beds, they began to give men who completed a short-term residential recovery program a place to call home.  A safe place where they could practice the principles of recovery and learn valuable life skills in a healthy environment.

Since then, Neartown has grown.  They have started a state licensed short-term residential program, an intensive outpatient program, outpatient services, and a women’s sober living program called Hertown.  As the programs evolve and change, one thing remains the same: the desire to help people get sober.

Neartown’s hope for you is simple:  We hope that you find a design for living that works.  A design for living that leads to peace, joy, and freedom.  A design for living that includes both self-care and service to others.  A design for living that makes your community a better place because you are in it.  We sincerely hope that you have a change in the way that you think that leads you to a life of meaning, purpose and fun!  And some day, “May we meet on the road to happy destiny.”