Rachel Dowdell, Gilgal, Inc.
HomeAid Atlanta held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, October 1, 2021 to celebrate a completed renovation at Gilgal, Inc. in Atlanta. Gilgal serves women overcoming addiction, helping them to rebuild their lives. At the ribbon cutting event, Gilgal’s Residential Manager, Rachel Dowdell, who graduated from the program herself, spoke about how helpful and uplifting it is to have a bright and clean environment when recovering from substance abuse. “It means a great deal to me to witness the before and after. When I was here as a client, the kitchen was dark and gloomy. Now when I walk through the doors and look at the work that you have done, I feel it gives the clients the sense of peace that is needed to recover from addiction. Thank you again for spreading your love here at Gilgal,” she said. Here is Rachel’s story:
“In the spring of 2017, a shelter worker handed Rachel Dowdell, 51, a list of recovery programs near Atlanta. “I looked down the list, and I’d heard of all the other places, except Gilgal,” Dowdell said. When she called, case manager Deborah Moore explained that the 12-month program was Christ-centered and for women only. “Her voice is so kind. It’s like she wanted me here,” Dowdell remembered. She agreed to go, but while waiting for an opening, Dowdell relapsed into drug use.
Moore called back three weeks later and asked if Dowdell could come the next day. Dowdell remembers sitting in a friend’s house, smoking, struggling to make herself move: “God was saying to me, ‘Girl, get up.’ The devil was saying, ‘Sit. Smoke. We got more money: Get broke. Stay here.’” She got up from the chair, went to the door, then sat back down. But after a few tries, “I just forced myself out that door, and I never looked back.” She went home, took a shower, and packed for Gilgal.” - From World Magazine, by Charissa Koh, September 10, 2020