BUCYRUS — Kris Burns’ dependency on drugs and alcohol began at a young age.
He lost his mother when he was only nine years old and was then raised by his alcoholic father.
“He did not take care of us properly, so me and my sisters ended up in foster care,” Burns said.
As he bounced from foster home to foster home, Burns developed his own dependency on drugs and alcohol.
“I have never felt like I belonged anywhere. I was so lost, until now,” Burns said. “I feel like I belong to a family which I never felt before. This program is helping me get the structure and discipline I need.”
Burns is one of a group of three men that are the first to move into the Taylor House in Bucyrus. The other two men have similar stories of how they became dependent on drugs and alcohol.
“We were donated the big house in front and this smaller house,” Margie Maddox said. “The property, which includes a single-family house and a duplex, was donated to us by the Karen Miller family and we are so grateful.”
Margie and her husband, John, are the founders of one of the most successful treatment programs for addiction in Crawford County, the Alpha 12-Step Recovery program. It is faith-based and focused on creating structure for people trying to beat addiction and live in recovery.
The couple also founded the Jericho House on North Sandusky Avenue that houses women that are making the transition from addiction treatment or incarceration to living a life in recovery.
“We needed a place for men to stay,” Margie said. “Many do not have any place to go which was the case with Kris.”
Margie received a phone call from the Bucyrus Police Department that a man was there who was homeless and wanted to stay clean.
“He had been 90 days out of rehab and said he wanted to stay clean,” Margie said. “I left him there for about three hours. I did not know him so I needed to make sure he was serious about wanting our help.”
That man was Burns, and because he waited for Margie, he was able to move into the house and continue his sobriety of several months. The same is true for the other two men, Kalib Hord and David Agin.
“Kalib had been at Teen Challenge for nine months but when he came back here, he had nowhere to go so I decided to put him in the house,” Margie said of Hord, who had been addicted to crack and heroin then replaced them with alcohol.
Margie said Agin had been in jail and was working through the court with Judge Sean Leuthold.
Agin’s addiction started as a teen but was amplified when he was seriously injured during a wrestling match.
“I had to walk with a cane for a long time,” Agin said. “The doctors had me on a lot of painkillers and they weren’t enough so I turned to other drugs.”
Hord said he needed a place to go after Teen Challenge where he could stay clean and be with people who are also focused on living a life in recovery.
All three men have young children and say that they want to be good parents and role models for their children after beating addiction. The Taylor House and the programs they are enrolled in are set up to help them succeed.
“The men have been in the house for about two months,” Margie said. “Just like the ladies at Jericho House, they have had their well checks, been to the dentist, they are in an exercise program, education program.”
She said all three men are working toward enrolling in the adult education program at North Central State College at the Crawford Success Center in Bucyrus.
Margie said the men helped with the renovations that needed to be done to the Taylor House.
“They have helped a lot. We were able to get all of the materials at cost from Lowe’s because of Taylor Etzinger’s dad. He works there,” Margie said.
Taylor Etzinger sadly lost his battle with addiction in July 2015.
“We wanted to honor Taylor by naming the house after him,” Margie said.
There is room for one more man to stay in the Taylor House. The main larger house eventually will be available for 12-15 people to reside.
“I have been told that the renovations for that house could take up to $150,000 to complete. We need foundation work completed along with many other renovations. At this point, we refer to it as the Lowe’s House since they are giving everything to us at cost,” said Margie, who operates all of her programs on donations and grants from organizations such as the Community Foundation for Crawford County and United Way.
Margie said Brenna Quinn, daughter of the owners of Quinn’s of Bucyrus, completed an architectural project on the main house.
“We will be using her drawings and information to try to restore the house back to its original state as much as we can,” Margie said.
She said that Brenna attends college in Michigan and completed the project for one of her classes.
To get the larger house renovated and ready for people to occupy it, Margie said monetary donations are needed along with donations of material and labor.
“We can’t start any other work in the house until we get the foundation fixed,” Margie said.
For more information, contact Margie or John Maddox at 419-689-1412 or visit the program’s website.