Introduction to Emafini

The Big Picture

1. Opening

We have many new projects happening here in Willis, Virginia. The property is really starting to glow, classes are producing real fruit in our clients, and the future is looking bright for Emafini Mountain Lodge.

Our goal this week is to continue familiarizing the guys with how we do things here, finalize the interior and exterior of our main building, and continue to spread the word about what we are all about here: helping guys grow out of the destructive lives they used to live and into a meaningful life of sobriety, all while holding onto their own personalities and the individual characteristics that make each one of them so special.

2. This Week Around the Property

Grab your hardhats and work gloves—we are in full swing here, making this place shine. We’ve got pressure washers going, skid steers paving, tractors pulling, pushing, and plowing, and boom lifts helping us reach all of the hard-to-reach places on this beautiful property.

Most of this week has been spent pressure washing our home. As we wrap up the waterworks, we will start work on the exterior painting. We’re also in the process of cleaning up our ponds and wooded areas to make the property visible from the road (thank the good Lord for heavy machinery).

As for the inside of the building, we are in the process of decorating. We are working on gathering wall paintings, new light fixtures, and other household décor to make the living space feel more homey and, well… lived in!

We have posted signs around the facility reminding clients to be themselves during this tough season. We know that, in communal living arrangements, the temptation to suppress who they are in order to fit in might come into play, so we are doing what we can to avoid this.

Creating structure is also very important to us, so we’ve implemented rules and regulations around the property to help keep clients safe and get them used to a routine. The guys have stated that they really feel as though they’re a part of something bigger than themselves here, which has helped to instill hope and inspiration in those who have been far removed from those emotions for quite a while.

3. Within the Program

As we continue to develop a curriculum that truly helps to heal these men, we are excited to share with you some of what has been happening inside the classroom.

This week, the focus has been on an exercise that we like to refer to as “Houses.” This exercise consists of the client writing down a list of around one hundred memories. Not all of these need to be significant or related to trauma or addiction. We ask that they write down any and every memory that comes to mind so that we can help them identify patterns of behavior throughout their lives leading up to the time they arrive at Emafini.

We try to incorporate this exercise into a man’s program within the first thirty days of treatment in order to get him comfortable with opening up and sharing in front of a group of peers. The exercise commonly ends with the client recognizing a theme throughout his life that he may not have seen otherwise.

We also have processing groups, allowing each man to share about the day-to-day emotions that come up throughout treatment. While teaching an established curriculum does have its place in recovery, we’ve found that men sometimes just need a safe space to open up and be heard. Not every day does someone need to hear “the solution” to their current struggle. Sometimes, the best practice is to allow a man to spill his heart out, and often, we will find that he comes to recognize the solution himself, which, in the long term, is crucial to maintaining sobriety after graduation.

This week, we have really dialed into establishing structure and routine in our men’s day-to-day lives. As addicts, it is commonplace to wake up without any real plan for the day ahead. Mornings are filled with chaos and anxiety that persists well into the night.

At Emafini, all of this changes peacefully. No chaos, no urgency, no drama. Simply put, we start by being still, we advance by being strategic, and we finish by being grateful.

4. Building Community

Being a part of something and feeling like you belong is important, but to those coming out of addiction, it is absolutely crucial. Most addicts have spent years in isolation, whether they were physically alone or alone in their own heads in a room full of people.

Here at Emafini, establishing an environment where the men feel like family is one of our top priorities. No one should have to go through recovery alone.

Some ways that we try to do this are by spending every meal together at one single, large table. Many of the guys haven’t sat down for a family dinner in decades; some maybe ever! Eating together inspires trust and a real sense of belonging, and we do this over curated meals prepared by our in-house chef. Stay tuned for some photos of the meals we’ve been enjoying together!

We also try to build a community by learning how to live alongside one another through the struggles and conflicts that come up. We believe that conflict, if handled correctly and with love, has great potential to breed intimacy with those whom a client might not have been willing to work with before.

We do this because most addicts tend to “write off” those who’ve wronged them in the past, adopting a “trust no one” mindset—which contributes to feelings of loneliness and isolation. We work hard here to change that.

5. Looking Ahead & Expansion

We are looking for new ways to spread the word about what we are doing here, and this blog is the first step toward that. We’re currently conducting video interviews with our staff members here, so be on the lookout for those! We have many ideas for media expansion, including said interviews, podcasts, and a YouTube channel focusing on the myriad of ways we’ve all tried to get sober in the past—what has and hasn’t worked. We’d also like to interview different voices throughout the entire recovery landscape to get a better understanding of how the path of recovery may look different for people of many different socioeconomic conditions, including but not limited to race, economic statuses, religious backgrounds, neurodivergent differences, and LGBTQ+ lifestyles.

Everyone deserves to walk down the road of recovery. Here at Emafini Mountain Lodge, you can rest assured that you will be loved and included.