Helping Up Mission’s Spiritual Recovery Program is a one-year residential addiction recovery program for men at the Men’s Center in Baltimore, Maryland. The program serves men experiencing homelessness and addiction, combining the latest scientific understanding of addiction treatment with intensive spiritual development in a therapeutic community setting. Helping Up Mission has been serving Baltimore since 1885 and holds CARF accreditation, providing approximately 550 nightly shelter beds and 1,650 daily meals across its broader operations.
A Four-Phase Residential Program
The Spiritual Recovery Program is structured across four phases over twelve months. Phase One covers the first 45 days and focuses on initial stabilization, with professional clinical counseling, support and accountability meetings such as Alcoholics Anonymous, spiritual foundation through Bible studies, chapel, and discipleship, and a work therapy assignment. Phase Two runs from days 46 through 105 and shifts toward life skills development, healthy living habits, and enrichment activities including choir, therapeutic art, and hiking, with measured outside contact introduced. Phase Three spans days 106 through 195 and opens opportunities for GED preparation and trade school, along with deeper work in relapse prevention and personal growth. Phase Four covers days 196 through 365 and focuses on preparation for external employment, continued spiritual counseling, and addressing non-emergency medical and dental care needs ahead of graduation planning.
Holistic Approach and Program Services
The program takes a holistic approach that addresses physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs. Residents receive shelter, meals, clothing, and personal care items alongside the recovery curriculum, with 12-step principles integrated throughout. Helping Up Mission also provides additional pathways into the Spiritual Recovery Program through its Overnight Guest Services, which offer dormitory beds, meals, and showers for homeless men with an interview pathway into residential programs, and its Veteran’s Services, a short-term transitional housing program in partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs from which veterans can transition into the Spiritual Recovery Program. The Men’s Center also offers a Spanish-language curriculum through its Hispanic Services for non-English speakers pursuing recovery.
