Free at Last

Roy has been the facilitator of Galvanized, a men’s addiction support group, for 18 years. He can help men feel welcome when they come to the group. He can facilitate meaningful conversations about addiction. He can connect attendees with relevant resources.

But there’s one thing he can’t do.

“I can’t tell you if you’re an addict,” Roy says. “You have to do that yourself.”

Roy’s connection to support groups started on August 3, 2005, when he sought help for his own addiction. “I went to a little group that was studying a Christian 12-step book at a church,” he says. “Through a series of events, later, I ended up leading it!”

As a believer with a background in management at Fortune 500 companies, Roy made some changes to the format. “Where AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) says, ‘We admit that we are powerless over our addiction and that our lives have become unmanageable,’ we say, ‘We're powerless over the effects of our separation from God, that our lives have become unmanageable.’”

The new group’s structure started to come together, but one thing was still missing: a name. One of the group members was a metallurgical engineer, and he told Roy about an intriguing process. “Galvanizing has a couple of definitions,” Roy explains. “It can mean to startle or excite into sudden transformation, and in metallurgy, it means to treat metal with a process so that it ends up with a protective coating around it.

“At Galvanized, we say the world around us is the toxic environment that causes us to rust. And we get galvanized—this protective layer, so to speak—through our relationship with Christ. Without Christ, we’re like a nail in water, and left untreated, that nail will rust and disappear. But a galvanized nail doesn't rust.”

Helping hand to overcome addiction

Meeting in Middleburg Heights (Greater Cleveland), Ohio, Galvanized draws men from all backgrounds facing all kinds of addictions. “Over the years, we’ve seen everyone from pastors to the homeless, from doctors to guys living in treatment centers, from men in their seventies to teenagers,” Roy says.

“Men come and seek help from drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, pornography, gambling . . . whatever. Their marriages are suffering, their work is suffering, and their health is suffering. We're starting to see people with screen time issues. We call it ‘mental potato chips.’ They’ve just gotta watch one more video, then one more, then one more. It consumes them.”

When the scourge of opioids raged through Appalachia and the north Atlantic states, areas of Ohio saw shockingly high rates of addiction and overdoses. “At one point, Akron, Ohio, was an epicenter of the opioid crisis,” Roy says.

Partnering with Moody Radio

A Moody Radio listener, Roy was surprised and captivated one day when he tuned in and heard WCRF’s morning team talking about the subject of addiction. Then he heard something that made him pick up the phone and call the station.

“It was about six years ago, and they were not aware of some of the help that churches and Christian organizations were offering,” Roy remembers. “They were saying, ‘It's a shame that we don't have places for Christians to go to get recovery.’”

Waiting on hold for a chance to join the conversation, Roy was leaping out of his seat. “I was like, ‘We do! We do have places!’”

Roy thought he was next in line to hear, “Thanks for calling Moody Radio. What would you like to say?” Instead, he heard, “Thanks for your call, but we’re out of time.”

Roy immediately emailed WCRF. After exchanging a few emails with the morning show team, Roy made his first guest appearance on the program. He shared for five minutes. Later, he was back for 10 minutes. Then Mornings with Brian host, Brian Dahlen, asked if Roy would be available regularly to discuss the subject.

“Roy is a ‘fan favorite’ guest on the show,” Brian says. “His blunt discussions about battling and overcoming addiction are compelling. His honesty and sincere love for Jesus are palpable and humanize the struggles of those who are hurting. We can learn from people who are willing to admit they need help and have the courage to really make changes in their lives.”

Simply making a difference in people’s lives

Brian notices something else when Roy is part of the morning show. “Every time we have Roy on the show, someone responds. Whether it’s family members of those struggling with addiction calling Roy afterwards or someone showing up at a weekly meeting, his conversations on the show make a difference in the lives of people in our community.”

The men who come to Galvanized aren’t just part of the geographical community; they experience a new kind of community with other men who share the same struggles. And there’s no pressure to sign up for anything, commit to perfect attendance, or tell everyone your life story.

“You can just show up and check it out,” Roy says. “There’s always food, coffee, tea, or whatever. There’s always going to be someone at the door to greet you. And it's a roundtable setting, so you can choose a table with a couple of guys. All you have to say is, ‘I'm new here.’”

“What you can expect to see is people being very real,” Roy continues. “It’s a very safe environment to talk if you want to. What we generally find is that by the end of that hour-and-a-half meeting, the new person has heard somebody say something that directly relates to them. Nine out of 10 times, they’ll say, ‘I can't believe how relevant this is to my life.’”

‘Beautiful gatherings of men who love Jesus’

Brian Dahlen has seen firsthand the healing environment of Galvanized.

“I’ve had the opportunity to attend two Friday Galvanized meetings,” Brian says. “These experiences stand apart in my life as some of the most vulnerable and beautiful gatherings of men who love Jesus. They aren’t interested in hiding their brokenness. That’s an essential foundation for building a Christ-centered community. I deeply admire these men. The church could learn so much from them!

“I’ve seen some quiet, yet profound fruits from our shows advocating for those who are battling addiction. Virtually every time we appear at an event, a guy will quietly tell me he’s from Galvanized. It’s always shared with an enormous smile.”

While Roy maintains that he’s not an “addictions diagnoser,” he also knows that taking a serious look at behaviors and thinking can be a start to getting help for addiction. He sometimes refers people to an AA-designed pamphlet called “Who Me?” that suggests self-focused questions. Though the pamphlet is geared toward the abuse of alcohol, it could apply to many addictions.

The pamphlet features questions like:

• Have you ever decided to give up drinking but only manage to last a fixed period of time?
• Have you ever had memory loss?
• Do you often want to continue drinking later after your friends or family have said they’ve had enough?
• Do you crave alcohol and have a sense of relief once you've had it?
• Do you drink to make yourself feel normal?
• Do you get to the point where you forget or don't care about the negative consequences?
• Have you ever tried to control your drinking?

The issue of controlling your addiction always stands out to Roy. “You don't try to control something that's not out of control. If you're attempting to control your drinking, then clearly your drinking is out of control. That's just the way it is. It’s a good indicator."

Reaching Phil

The realization that his habits were out of control brought Phil* to Galvanized about a year ago. In his 40s, Phil has been in and out of more than 20 treatment centers for his methamphetamine addiction. Through friends who knew other friends, Phil ended up attending a Galvanized meeting.

“Phil will openly admit that he believes in a God,” Roy says. “But he told me, ‘I'm not sure about all this crazy stuff you say about this Jesus guy. Some of those stories are a little far-fetched, if you ask me!’

“I told Phil, ‘I'm not going to push God on you. I'm going to present Him to you, and I'm going to wait for it to be undeniable, for you to recognize Him.’ We’ve been praying for Phil, that it will be like the story of Gideon’s army (Judges 7), that it will be undeniable that this was done by God.”

Now clean for eight months, Phil texted Roy recently. He told Roy, “I’m on vacation, and I'm standing in the ocean. I've never been in an ocean in my whole life! I've always wanted to do this. So right now, I'm standing up to my ankles in the ocean, and I'm talking to God the whole time!”

Recovery is possible and sustainable. Help is available in and beyond the greater Cleveland area. Visit the Galvanized website at Galvanized.life or email Roy at info@galvanized.life.

* pseudonym