Letter From The CEO

There’s a passage in a particular book of recovery literature that sums up our work here at Cornerstone of Recovery nicely: “The message is hope, the promise is freedom: that an addict, any addict, can stop using … lose the desire to use … and find a new way to live.”

Since 1989, we’ve made it our goal at Cornerstone to carry that same message and fulfill that exact promise. We’re one of the largest drug and alcohol residential treatment providers in the state of Tennessee, as well as one of the largest private employers in Blount County, but our product is often intangible. It doesn’t roll off an assembly line in a new package, nor does it find its way to storefronts and retail outlets for easy purchase by consumers.

No, our commodity is people. They come to us broken, defeated and in more physical, emotional, mental and spiritual agony than many of us can imagine. Their decisions and actions while under the influence have led to more pain, which means their guilt and shame compounds their despair. They come to us at their lowest, sometimes barely able to cross the threshold without assistance, with only one surety: that they’re not ready to die.

For almost three decades it’s been our job not just to return them to health, but to help them see that life on the other side of addiction and alcoholism is one more fulfilling and vibrant than they can possibly conceive. Most of them have no idea what recovery entails or what a life without the substances on which they’ve grown dependent is like, but we do — and not just because we’ve been a part of the treatment field since 1989, but because the majority of our clinical staff, and many of our employees in roles across the company, are recovering addicts and alcoholics themselves.

We pride ourselves on employing the time-tested methods of traditional 12 Step recovery, alongside evidence-based psycho-therapeutic tools and therapies that are rooted in behavioral science, because we believe that both are necessary for the restoration of our patients’ minds, bodies and spirits. Our holistic approach to treating the biological, psychological, social and spiritual components of this disease has cultivated a national reputation across a number of industries, specifically with safety sensitive companies and professional organizations from across the country. In addition, our specialized treatment paths help individuals from those careers return to their chosen vocations unencumbered by the diseases of addiction and alcoholism.

As we’ve grown and diversified from our humble origins, so have the needs of the addicted population. We’ve striven to meet those needs as well, through the therapies we employ, the program paths we’ve designed and the facilities in which our patients live and learn. We’re constantly seeking new ways to better serve those who come to us seeking help, and we’re rewarded by the hugs we receive, the smiles we see and the individuals who come back to our campus every year for our annual Alumni Reunion Weekend.

Gone, we see, are the individuals who first came to us so broken and defeated. In their place are responsible, productive members of society, men and women of all ages, faiths, races and sexual orientations who have embraced the message of hope and discovered the promise of freedom. They have found the new way to live that recovery promises, and we find it profoundly humbling and inspiring to have been a part of their journey.

It’s a journey open to anyone who struggles with chemical dependency, and we look forward to walking it with you, or your loved one. Whatever hopelessness you may feel before you get here, it is my pledge to devote all of the resources we have to offer to help save lives, families and jobs.

Sincerely,

Steve McGrew

President and CEO