Recovery Rising: Winter 2024

Nexus Recovery Center is embarking on a five-phase capital campaign, Recovery Rising, so we can better serve women and their children as they rise up, regain hope, and retake control of their lives. In the latest issue of our quarterly Recovery Rising newsletter, we take a look at the current status of the capital campaign, get a sneak peek at renderings of the new Doswell Medical Building, and highlight Nexus alumna Crystal’s incredible recovery journey!

Rise Up

Recovery Rising Campaign Up to 85% of Phase 1 Funding

Nexus staff, board members, and supporters have been busy working to wrap up Phase 1 of the Recovery Rising campaign by the end of our fiscal year in August. We are now up to 85% of our $10 million goal for Phase 1 funding. In addition, we have put together a committee of board members and supporters who are well-versed in capital campaign fundraising.

“We are incredibly grateful for everyone who has supported Nexus so far in this campaign,” says Kristy Faus, Co-Chair of the Recovery Rising campaign alongside her husband, Raymond. “Thanks to our generous donors and our talented committee members, we will soon have a state-of-the-art medical facility for our residential clients.”

With the money the Recovery Rising campaign has raised so far, Nexus is ready to start the first phase of a complete campus transformation, starting with the Doswell Medical Building, which will serve as a new gateway for the Nexus campus and provide state-of-the-art Detoxification and Medication Assisted Treatment to women in recovery.

Please scroll down to the see the latest lists of our capital campaign donors and Recovery Rising committee members. If you are interested in getting involved, please email us at [email protected].

Current Recovery Rising Donors

Doswell Foundation
The Stallings Foundation
Anonymous
The Faus Family Foundation
The March Family Foundation
Susan G. Simon
Carolyn & Richard Waghorne
James & Gayle Halperin Foundation
Harold Simmons Foundation
HKS
Stephen Penrose
The Saxon Family Memorial Fund
Lyda Hill Philanthropies
Keely & William Cawley
Hope & Paul Schroy
Karl Nelson
Patty & Ken Kroviak
Beverly Barry
Ira & Lisa Kravitz
Anonymous
Jayme & Cameron Burk

Current Recovery Rising Committee

Kristy and Raymond Faus, Co-Chairs
Miriam Armijo
Louise Hallam Collins
Adam Greenup
Renda Mathews
Steve Penrose
Courtney Rottman
Melissa Stallings
Alison Watros

Regain Hope

Construction Starting Soon on Doswell Medical Building

After breaking ground on the Doswell Medical Building in October, Nexus leadership have been busy working with our architect HKS and general contractor MAPP to wrap up the permitting process with the City of Dallas.

The Doswell Medical Building will house an expanded admissions area, a waiting room that provides privacy and dignity, 16 detoxification beds with an adjacent nursing station, group counseling spaces for Medication Assisted Treatment, and state-of-the-art medical facilities for providers, all centered around a tranquil courtyard that will allow women and their children to recovery, with dignity, security, and community support.

With the playgrounds relocated and the site cleared, we expect to begin construction of the Doswell Medical Building in the next couple of months. In the meantime, we are excited to share the pictures of both the interior and exterior of the new building. Please scroll down to view the latest renderings!

Doswell Medical Building Renderings

Recover

Crystal Finds a Family at Nexus

Crystal never expected to deal with a substance use disorder (SUD). She says her life was pretty much happy and normal until about 2008 when she hurt her back at work and was prescribed a strong painkiller. Crystal was almost immediately hooked. At first, she was able to get extra pills from friends and family members who had extra bottles, but eventually she started going to different emergency rooms with fake injuries to obtain them.

As Crystal took more painkillers, she found the euphoric feeling was harder and harder to achieve. At that point, she concluded that she could either suffer the pain of withdrawal or take more drugs. Not wanting to be in agony from withdrawal, the drugs always won. When Crystal’s mother passed away unexpectedly in 2019, Crystal “kicked it up a notch” and turned to heroin.

“I was so ashamed of who I had become, I felt like I was slowly committing suicide because I just didn’t care anymore,” says Crystal. “I would sometimes pray to not wake up after using because I didn’t want to face the reality of my mom not being here anymore.”

There were a handful of people that knew about Crystal’s substance use, but most of them turned a blind eye to it. However, Crystal’s husband refused to give up on her. He had tried for many years to get her into recovery with ultimatums: threats of leaving and taking the kids. That alone should have been enough for Crystal to stop, but her substance use disorder had her in its firm grip. Still Crystal says was tired of sneaking around. She was tired of being sick and tired of being ashamed.

“I remember 3 days before everything came to a head, I was once again praying for God to help take me out of this situation, either by dying or by an intervention,” Crystal says. “I was desperate and hanging on by a thread and whichever resolution came first would have been fine with me.”

When Crystal’s husband came across her stash and confronted her about it, Crystal says was almost like her prayers had been answered. A weight had been lifted off of her shoulders and this time she was ready to start her recovery journey. It was early in the Covid pandemic, and many recovery centers didn’t have an open bed. Thankfully, Nexus did have room for her, and she entered detox on April 20, 2020.

“The first night was a little rough, but the staff there made me as comfortable as they could and got me through it,” says Crystal. “I’m here to tell you that even if you don’t have family, the minute you walk through those doors you WILL have a family. The staff, the counselors and even the clients will love you and you will not be judged or condemned for the things you’ve done in the past.”

After completing residential treatment at Nexus, Crystal moved on Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT). Crystal says that her life is 100% better, and that she appreciates feeling trusted again. She no longer has to worry about scoring a fix or suffering from withdrawal. Despite currently dealing with radiation treatment for cancer, Crystal has been able to stay in recovery.

“It’s the best feeling in the world and I owe it all to Nexus,” Crystal says. “Thank you, Nexus, from the bottom of my heart for everything you all have done and continue to do. We do recover!”