Guest House
Encyclopedia
Guest House is a non-profit
, charitable organization
dedicated to the treatment of Catholic
priests, deacons, brothers, seminarians (and - since 1994 - women religious) who suffer from alcoholism
, other chemical dependencies
and other addictions
involving food and gambling. Opened in 1956 in Lake Orion, Michigan, Guest House is the oldest, continuously operating treatment center of its kind anywhere.
Guest House has 68 full-time and 61 part-time employees and an annual budget in excess of $7 million. Guest House operates two licensed and Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Facilities (CARF) accredited treatment centers. The one in Rochester, Minnesota
is for priests and male religious and the other, in Lake Orion, Michigan
, is for women religious.
Until early 1940s Ripley was battling his own crippling addiction to alcohol. As a recovering alcoholic, Ripley observed through priest acquaintances that Catholic priests were not succeeding in overcoming their own addictions. Ripley decided to devote himself to the creation of a treatment program that respected not only the religious calling of priests and other religious people, but also to preserve their dignity as human beings. First opened in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
in 1951, Guest House was founded on Ripley's profound belief that his program should "save the individual; save the vocation," and in precisely that order. Guest House eventually moved to Lake Orion, Michigan
.
Ripley re-opened Guest House on Pentecost
Sunday in 1956. The new location of Guest House would be the former home of newspaper magnate William Edmund Scripps
in Lake Orion. Built in 1927 at a cost of over $2 million, the Scripps mansion was isolated and had plenty of land which provided a peaceful environment for treatment. The purchase price of the mansion in 1956 was a bargain at only $185,000; however, Ripley did not have enough money to meet the purchase price. He was able to raise the money with the help of the Archdiocese of Detroit
, through various fund-raising activities and with additional help of the then Archbishop
of Detroit, Edward Cardinal Mooney. Mooney was deeply concerned about alcoholic priests in his own Archdiocese and had been favorably impressed when some had recovered through the Guest House process in Wisconsin. Ripley obtained the necessary funds required to make the purchase with a loan.
Ripley reasoned, correctly, that these clergy lacked the support of the Church hierarchy (who were, in the main at that time, punitive toward alcoholic priests), and that the average clergyman was better able to recover in the care of laymen, but among men of his own calling, education and lifestyle.
As the need for services grew, Guest House found that there were long waiting periods for admission. In the early 1960s, a routine operation took Rip to the prestigious Mayo Clinic
in Rochester, Minnesota
, which he felt was a great location for a second Guest House treatment center. In 1967, the ground was broken for the Rochester Treatment Center and it was opened in 1969.
The Lake Orion Center, originally housed in the Scripps mansion, is now situated in a new $3.5 million facility on the same property. The new 16-bed center has the latest features for the handicapped and for those women religious who suffer from ambulatory problems.
Guest House began a collaborative working relationship with the National Catholic Council on Alcoholism and Related Drug Problems (NCCA), whose offices were located to Lake Orion at the time. In 2007, Guest House and NCCA merged to assist NCCA with its efforts to be a resource for the Catholic lay recovering population, and to further Guest House's efforts in this regard.
Most recently, Guest House has also expanded its services, to include some cooperative ventures and working relationships with St. John Vianney Center in Downingtown, Pennsylvania
. There, "Guest House at St. John Vianney" sees Catholic clergy and 'male religious' who have dual diagnoses of alcoholism and mental health issues. As well, Guest House began in 2008 to sponsor "Friendship House" in Mangalore, India
, the only treatment center for alcoholic Catholic priests and male religious in Asia.
.
Priests, deacons, and male religious are cared for at Guest House's center in Rochester, Minnesota
(opened in 1969) where the organization enjoys a working relationship with the Mayo Clinic.
In Lake Orion, Michigan
, women religious receive services in a new, state-of-the-art center opened in 2007 and designed especially for sisters with ambulatory issues. Between the years of 1994 and 2007, women religious were cared for on the same campus but at the Scripps mansion.
Recently, Guest House has initiated some cooperative ventures and programs. Working with the St. John Vianney Center in Pennsylvania, there are now rehabilitative services to priests and religious who have "dual diagnosis
" issues of alcoholism and mental illness. Sponsored by Guest House, "Friendship House" in India provides state-of-the-art alcoholism rehabilitative services to Catholic priests and male religious.
and other chemical addictions
(such as to prescription drugs), to include care for religious with eating disorders and gambling/spending compulsions. All residents also participate in Alcoholics Anonymous
or other appropriate "12-step" programs
.
, or establish annuities
or trusts for "planned" gifts. Guest House also has a memorial gift program as well as a program for arranging Mass
for donors' special intentions.
The mission of the Guest House Institute is to promote health and spiritual well-being of Catholics by providing educational services related to alcoholism and other addictions, and by promoting and providing research into alcoholism and other addictions affecting the Catholic Church.
The Guest House Institute
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
, charitable organization
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
dedicated to the treatment of Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
priests, deacons, brothers, seminarians (and - since 1994 - women religious) who suffer from alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
, other chemical dependencies
Substance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
and other addictions
Behavioral addiction
Behavioral addiction is a form of addiction which does not rely on drugs or alcohol. Increasingly referred to as process addiction or non-substance-related addiction ) behavioral addiction includes a compulsion to repeatedly engage in an action until said action causes serious negative consequences...
involving food and gambling. Opened in 1956 in Lake Orion, Michigan, Guest House is the oldest, continuously operating treatment center of its kind anywhere.
Guest House has 68 full-time and 61 part-time employees and an annual budget in excess of $7 million. Guest House operates two licensed and Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Facilities (CARF) accredited treatment centers. The one in Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River, The city has a population of 106,769 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest outside of the...
is for priests and male religious and the other, in Lake Orion, Michigan
Lake Orion, Michigan
Lake Orion is a village in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,973 at the 2010 census. "Lake Orion" is often used to describe both the village and the much larger Orion Township, of which the village is a part....
, is for women religious.
History
Guest House was founded by Austin Ripley who was a nationally renowned mystery fiction writer and author of Minute Mysteries, a popular newspaper column featuring solve-it-yourself crime cases, which was syndicated in more than 170 U.S. newspapers.Until early 1940s Ripley was battling his own crippling addiction to alcohol. As a recovering alcoholic, Ripley observed through priest acquaintances that Catholic priests were not succeeding in overcoming their own addictions. Ripley decided to devote himself to the creation of a treatment program that respected not only the religious calling of priests and other religious people, but also to preserve their dignity as human beings. First opened in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
Chippewa Falls is a city located on the Chippewa River in Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 13,661 at the 2010 census. Incorporated as a city in 1869, it is the county seat of Chippewa County....
in 1951, Guest House was founded on Ripley's profound belief that his program should "save the individual; save the vocation," and in precisely that order. Guest House eventually moved to Lake Orion, Michigan
Lake Orion, Michigan
Lake Orion is a village in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,973 at the 2010 census. "Lake Orion" is often used to describe both the village and the much larger Orion Township, of which the village is a part....
.
Ripley re-opened Guest House on Pentecost
Pentecost
Pentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...
Sunday in 1956. The new location of Guest House would be the former home of newspaper magnate William Edmund Scripps
William Edmund Scripps
William Edmund Scripps was a noted newspaper publisher with The Detroit News, pioneer aviator; and one of the original founders of WWJ radio station.-Family:...
in Lake Orion. Built in 1927 at a cost of over $2 million, the Scripps mansion was isolated and had plenty of land which provided a peaceful environment for treatment. The purchase price of the mansion in 1956 was a bargain at only $185,000; however, Ripley did not have enough money to meet the purchase price. He was able to raise the money with the help of the Archdiocese of Detroit
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church covering the Michigan counties of Lapeer, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, and Wayne...
, through various fund-raising activities and with additional help of the then Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
of Detroit, Edward Cardinal Mooney. Mooney was deeply concerned about alcoholic priests in his own Archdiocese and had been favorably impressed when some had recovered through the Guest House process in Wisconsin. Ripley obtained the necessary funds required to make the purchase with a loan.
Ripley reasoned, correctly, that these clergy lacked the support of the Church hierarchy (who were, in the main at that time, punitive toward alcoholic priests), and that the average clergyman was better able to recover in the care of laymen, but among men of his own calling, education and lifestyle.
As the need for services grew, Guest House found that there were long waiting periods for admission. In the early 1960s, a routine operation took Rip to the prestigious Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a not-for-profit medical practice and medical research group specializing in treating difficult patients . Patients are referred to Mayo Clinic from across the U.S. and the world, and it is known for innovative and effective treatments. Mayo Clinic is known for being at the top of...
in Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River, The city has a population of 106,769 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest outside of the...
, which he felt was a great location for a second Guest House treatment center. In 1967, the ground was broken for the Rochester Treatment Center and it was opened in 1969.
The Lake Orion Center, originally housed in the Scripps mansion, is now situated in a new $3.5 million facility on the same property. The new 16-bed center has the latest features for the handicapped and for those women religious who suffer from ambulatory problems.
Guest House began a collaborative working relationship with the National Catholic Council on Alcoholism and Related Drug Problems (NCCA), whose offices were located to Lake Orion at the time. In 2007, Guest House and NCCA merged to assist NCCA with its efforts to be a resource for the Catholic lay recovering population, and to further Guest House's efforts in this regard.
Most recently, Guest House has also expanded its services, to include some cooperative ventures and working relationships with St. John Vianney Center in Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Downingtown is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, west of Philadelphia. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 7,891. Downingtown was settled by English and European colonists in the early 18th century and has a number of historic buildings and structures.-History:The town was...
. There, "Guest House at St. John Vianney" sees Catholic clergy and 'male religious' who have dual diagnoses of alcoholism and mental health issues. As well, Guest House began in 2008 to sponsor "Friendship House" in Mangalore, India
Mangalore
Mangalore is the chief port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about west of the state capital, Bangalore. Mangalore lies between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghat mountain ranges, and is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshina Kannada district in south western...
, the only treatment center for alcoholic Catholic priests and male religious in Asia.
Locations
Guest House currently treats priests, deacons, religious and seminarians in four different facilities located in Minnesota, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Mangalore, IndiaMangalore
Mangalore is the chief port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about west of the state capital, Bangalore. Mangalore lies between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghat mountain ranges, and is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshina Kannada district in south western...
.
Priests, deacons, and male religious are cared for at Guest House's center in Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River, The city has a population of 106,769 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest outside of the...
(opened in 1969) where the organization enjoys a working relationship with the Mayo Clinic.
In Lake Orion, Michigan
Lake Orion, Michigan
Lake Orion is a village in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,973 at the 2010 census. "Lake Orion" is often used to describe both the village and the much larger Orion Township, of which the village is a part....
, women religious receive services in a new, state-of-the-art center opened in 2007 and designed especially for sisters with ambulatory issues. Between the years of 1994 and 2007, women religious were cared for on the same campus but at the Scripps mansion.
Recently, Guest House has initiated some cooperative ventures and programs. Working with the St. John Vianney Center in Pennsylvania, there are now rehabilitative services to priests and religious who have "dual diagnosis
Dual diagnosis
The term dual diagnosis is used to describe the comorbid condition of a person considered to be suffering from a mental illness and a substance abuse problem. There is considerable debate surrounding the appropriateness of the term being used to describe a heterogeneous group of individuals with...
" issues of alcoholism and mental illness. Sponsored by Guest House, "Friendship House" in India provides state-of-the-art alcoholism rehabilitative services to Catholic priests and male religious.
Treatment
Guest House's annual graduates join nearly 2,300 living alumni worldwide, and are among the more than 7,500 cared for since 1956. Over 2,000 are still serving the Church as pastors, teachers, counselors, and missionaries. Guest House alumni enjoy a life-time recovery rate of at least 75% - which is a much higher percentage rate than their lay counterparts - and remain in ministry for an average of 20 or more years after treatment. Patients come from 165 Dioceses and 120 religious communities throughout the United States and 48 other countries.Primary care
As part of its principal mission, each year Guest House admits up to 125 priests, deacons, brothers, sisters and seminarians to either of its two licensed, CARF-accredited treatment centers. There, each client remains for a minimum 90 days of intensive counseling, education, medical and nutritional support, fellowship, recreation and spiritual renewal and growth. In recent years, Guest House has expanded its services to include diagnosis and care of religious with eating and gambling/spending compulsions.Expended programs
Guest House's programs have expanded from its original concentration on alcoholismAlcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
and other chemical addictions
Substance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
(such as to prescription drugs), to include care for religious with eating disorders and gambling/spending compulsions. All residents also participate in Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
or other appropriate "12-step" programs
Twelve-step program
A Twelve-Step Program is a set of guiding principles outlining a course of action for recovery from addiction, compulsion, or other behavioral problems...
.
Continuing care
Following their in-patient care, clients are also enrolled in "Continuing Care," a 21-month program centered on three, week-long return visits by the client to the center where they received treatment. In Continuing Care, there is additional counseling, education, fellowship and time for more spiritual renewal.Funding
Fully 50% of its annual operating budget comes from generous private benefactors through financial contributions from around the world or from special event fund raisers and annual mailings. Donors can provide outright gifts of cash and stock, remember Guest House in their willsWill (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
, or establish annuities
Annuity (US financial products)
In the United States an annuity contract is created when an insured party, usually an individual, pays a life insurance company a single premium that will later be distributed back to the insured party over time...
or trusts for "planned" gifts. Guest House also has a memorial gift program as well as a program for arranging Mass
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
for donors' special intentions.
Guest House Institute
A second mission of Guest House is the education of Church hierarchy in the realities of chemically based addictions, recovery and sobriety, and the spiritual aspects of these. Toward this end, Guest House Institute and Guest House, Inc. staff visit at least 50 dioceses and religious orders a year, provide two annual conferences, numerous workshops and seminars and maintain active websites.The mission of the Guest House Institute is to promote health and spiritual well-being of Catholics by providing educational services related to alcoholism and other addictions, and by promoting and providing research into alcoholism and other addictions affecting the Catholic Church.
The Guest House Institute
- Develops training and educational opportunities for Church hierarchy, clergy, religious and laity regarding addiction;
- Works with seminarians, universities and dioceses and religious institutions to facilitate on-going education and training for those who are studying for ministry;
- Engages in research to help prevent addiction among those who minister, as well as providing professional intervention while improving treatment for impaired clergy and religious;
- Offers retreats, seminars, and family seminars for those impacted by addiction;
- Provides resources for information, educational material, curriculum development - on-line, in printed form and audio-visual;
- Provides confidential consultation to those in leadership and ministry who are dealing with potential or actual addiction concerns;
- Works with those in parish ministry to implement programs that address the needs of parishioners, becoming welcoming communities for those afflicted by addiction;
- Facilitates the education and training of Catholic professionals who are faced with the complications of addiction in their work and ministry;
- Develops and implements affordable continuing education experiences for addiction counselors and ministers to improve their skills and understanding.