National addiction expert to speak this week

A Sioux Falls ministry is bringing nationally known author Jack Alan Levine to Sioux Falls to raise awareness about drug addiction in the city.

Levine’s presentation is the featured event of Sioux Falls Rising – The meeting to end addiction! The event Friday, organized by Washed Clean Addiction & Recovery Ministries, will run from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Belbas Theater at the Washington Pavilion.

Levine speaks at 2:25 p.m. The event is free to the public, but registration is encouraged.

Levine has written 10 books, the latest of which is “The Addiction and Recovery Handbook: Unmask Addiction, Unchain Recovery!”

Washed Clean Ministries founder Craig Nichols discovered Levine’s books during his own recovery from drug addiction. He later connected with the author and brought him to Sioux Falls last year.

Levine learned more about the drug addiction challenges in the city during that trip. Nichols brought him back for Sioux Falls Rising to draw attention to the problems here and offer a way out for people in addiction and their families.

“He thought the need to come back was huge because of what he has seen in our community,” Nichols said.

Washed Clean also is building toward a fundraising campaign. The nonprofit operates a 15-bed residential facility for men, most of whom are either just released from prison or jail or were incarcerated in the past.

Most of the clients are in recovery from methamphetamine abuse. Treating meths addicts is a long process, Nichols said. The men who come to Washed Clean often are facing their last chance for recovery and a real life.

“Most addicts want out of their addiction,” he said.

But it’s a hard road, one that the addict has to be ready to take. Nichols said he’s less concerned about having all 15 beds full than he is helping men who are ready to be helped.

“Ultimately, we can provide the place, but if they aren’t really broken and ready to surrender, then it’s not going to work,” he said.

Washed Clean Ministries takes a different approach to sobriety from most treatment centers and programs, believing that no one can truly recover without first opening their hearts to God.

Nichols said that’s based on his own experience. It’s that experience that connects him to the clients in a way that maybe traditional counselors cannot. It’s very personal.

“That was my pain. That was my struggle,” he said. “I understand them on that level because I have walked in their shoes. They are encouraged by my past and my journey. It gives them hope.”

Right now, Nichols runs the whole show with his wife, Nikki. He recently hired someone to help out.

The center at 2701 E. 15th St. is more like a home than a treatment center.

It opened in early 2018, and Nichols estimates that 150 to 200 men have gone through it.

There is a $250 move-in fee. After that, it’s $600 a month to stay. There are options for financial help if the person can’t afford the initial fees.

So far, Washed Clean has survived through the support of a few local churches. Community Outreach helps some of the clients individually, and it recently received a small grant from the state of South Dakota.

Volunteers help operate two thrift stores at 3209 S. Summit Ave. and 3422 S. Minnesota Ave.

But more fundraising is required to help expand services, particularly in job training. Nichols said he’s working with a local company to set up program that would have clients work a few hours a day and still have access to treatment and resources.

Going right back into the job market usually doesn’t work.

A lot of our guys have felonies,” he said. “There aren’t too many job opportunities for felons, and the ones that are out there, everybody is doing meth and getting drunk. They are still not strong enough yet. If they go to work with someone who is doing meth and drinking, they just fall back into it in a month or two.”

Nichols aspires to serve women as well.

Sioux Falls Rising and the insight from Alan Levine are steppingstones on that growth path.

“I struggled with addiction for 35 years,” he said. “God called me into ministry to help others struggling with addiction. We just took off from there.”

To register for the event, click here.

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