LUMBERTON, Miss.—Fourteen months ago, David Dikes arrived at Damascus Road Recovery Center hoping to rebuild his life. 

He said the program gave him the opportunity to step away from his circumstances, reflect on his decisions and begin recovery. 

“I knew that I had to get to a place to reevaluate my situation and just get to a place of life recovery,” Dikes said. 

He said the first weeks can be especially difficult. 

“When we first stepped into the program, we were so discouraged. We don’t know which way is up. Things in our life are not going right,” Dikes said. “The first step is always the hardest, right? Admitting that you have a problem and then making the decision to do something different.”

After completing the primary program, Dikes remained at Jacob’s Well Ministries as a resident staff member. 

He said his experience helps him relate to residents beginning their own recovery journeys. 

“I’m able to encourage them because I was encouraged,” Dikes said. “I get to see their aha moments like I had. That’s what keeps my spirit renewed is being able to see those things.” 

Residents participate in counseling, group therapy, recovery activities and life skills development. They also gain work experience through community partnerships and vocational opportunities. 

Clarence and Teresa Tilghman, directors of Damascus Road Recovery Center, said employment helps residents build responsibility but should never become the focus of the program. 

“A lot of the people they work to get work-minded. They don’t get recovery-minded,” Teresa said. “We have to have the work, but recovery is more important than the work.” 

Clarence said residents also spend time outside the facility exploring career opportunities and reconnecting with everyday life. 

“Spirit, soul, body. Total healing. So, we don’t just stick them in a classroom all day,” Clarence said. 

Moving to a New Town

After operating its men’s recovery program in the Poplarville area for 15 years, Jacob’s Well Ministries has relocated its Damascus Road Recovery Center to Lumberton. 

The new facility at 890 E. Main Ave. provides 50 beds for men enrolled in the ministry’s six-month residential recovery program. The program combines faith-based counseling, life skills training, accountability and career opportunities intended to help residents prepare for life after recovery. 

JC Roberts interviews David Dikes, a former resident and current staff member at Damascus Road Recovery Center in Lumberton.
RHCJC reporter JC Roberts interviews David Dikes, a former resident who completed the recovery program and now serves as a resident staff member at Damascus Road Recovery Center in Lumberton. RHCJC Photo by Gerome Webster

Jacob’s Well Ministries also operates a men’s campus in Kosciusko. 

Organization President Susan Johnson said finding a new location was challenging because communities often support addiction recovery efforts in principle but hesitate when recovery facilities are proposed nearby.

“Everybody wants recovery. Everybody wants people to get recovery. They just don’t want it in their hometown,” Johnson said. 

Johnson said the program focuses on helping men address the issues that led to addiction rather than treating substance use alone. 

“Drugs and alcohol are people’s solution. It’s not their problem,” Johnson said. “Our goal is to go to the root cause to find out what happened in their life that made them start dealing with drugs and alcohol.” 

Working Through the Courts 

Jacob’s Well Ministries receives referrals from judges, probation officers, attorneys, drug court programs, the Mississippi Department of Child Protective Services and other state agencies. 

Johnson said some referrals come when agencies recognize that treatment may better address the underlying issues that continued involvement in the criminal justice system. 

“That agency will see, this is not a crime problem, this is not a criminal. This is a person that is stealing,” Johnson said. 

A room with multiple beds, each with a side table and lamp, plus a small dresser at the foot of the bed
Jacob’s Well Ministries recently relocated its Damascus Road Recovery Center to 890 E. Main Ave. in Lumberton. The 50-bed facility provides a six-month residential recovery program for men. RHCJC Photo by JC Roberts

Dikes said the goal is not simply completing the six-month program but creating lasting change after residents leave. 

“They’re seeing changed men,” Dikes said. “The person that stood there six months ago is not the person that’s standing there today.” 

For Dikes, the new facility represents an opportunity to help more men begin that journey. 

“Your mess can be a message,” Dikes said. “All I could think about was the completion of this facility and how many lives that it’s going to change.” 

This article first appeared on RHCJC and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Gerome Webster, a native of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, is a University of Southern Mississippi student majoring in communication studies.

The Roy Howard Community Journalism Center, housed at The University of Southern Mississippi, is dedicated to enhancing the media landscape in southeast Mississippi by prioritizing impactful, issue-oriented, and people-centered reporting.

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