Locust
Pastor opens sober houses in Locust
to better help community
By Chris Miller
A
fter about seven years serving as
pastor of a non-denominational
church in Albemarle, Larry
Wilkins decided to change paths in 2017.
He wanted to find a more substantive
way to help those in the community--
especially those struggling with the opioid
epidemic that has already affected so many.
“As a pastor you deal with a lot of
demographics, a lot of different people
and situations,” Wilkins said. The people
struggling with substance abuse in the
county “needed more than an occasional
counseling session or an occasional
sermon. These folks needed a place to
live. There was actually a need in our
community to have a greater impact with
these men than what the current church
model could provide.”
Originally from Kalamazoo, Mich.,
Wilkins, 40, left his full-time position
as pastor in Albemarle and became a
certified substance-abuse counselor,
which he described as “new territory.” He
8
still is a pastor and gathers with a small
congregation for worship in a private home
each Sunday.
He spent two years as a lead counselor
at Bridge to Recovery’s treatment program
in Monroe. Bridge to Recovery is a faith-
based, clinical addiction resource center
that has short-term sober housing facilities
in Oakboro and Stanfield.
During his time at Bridge to Recovery,
Wilkins met in small groups with men in
treatment. He taught them the clinical and
spiritual aspects of recovery.
He said despite his lack of technical
training, becoming a substance-abuse
counselor involves “understanding human
behavior which is a broader field than just
addiction” and includes “hearing what
people are saying and sometimes hear what
they are not saying” and being empathetic.
Wilkins said his time as a pastor--where he
met a variety of people and often provided
counseling--also helped him in his new
profession as a substance-abuse counselor.
WEST STANLY – THE MAGAZINE | WINTER 2020
After receiving enough hours of
supervised work experience with Bridge
to Recovery, Wilkins became a certified
substance-abuse counselor. He created his
own non-profit group Gateway of Hope
Addiction Recovery Center, with plans to
eventually open a long-term rehab facility
for people in Stanly County currently in
treatment for drug addiction.
In November of 2018, Wilkins opened
his first sober house in Locust. About six
months later, he opened his second also in
Locust. He said they are the only two sober
houses in the county. Though Gateway of
Hope doesn’t own them, the houses were
were given to the organization to use rent-
free.
He officially left Bridge To Recovery
at the end of August when Gateway of
Hope received roughly $250,000 of a $1
million federal grant awarded to the health
department from the Health Resources and
Services Administration, an agency of the
U.S. Department of Health and Human