Forsyth County's No Longer Bound expanding ministry

No Longer Bound, the ministry on Pine Grove Road in Forsyth County that gives addicts a chance at redemption through self-help and prayer, is expanding its operations and making room for more 12 more clients at the same time.

Jeremy Edmondson, director of operations at No Longer Bound, is understandably proud of the newest addition to the South Forsyth campus, a 6,000-square-foot thrift store that will be yet another pillar of self-sufficiency to the non-profit organization.

"The new structure will provide low-cost items – mostly furniture and clothing – for the community and at the same time broaden our footprint," Edmondson said. "We get other items donated from time to time such as tools and construction materials. The sale of these items will go to helping us be more self-sufficient."

At the same time, the former thrift shop, a house donated and moved to the campus, has been turned into a new dormitory to provide room for 12 more men to enter No Longer Bound's program.

The steel structure was donated several years ago. Another $250,000 has gone into finishing the building that its architect estimates will have a value of $450,000. It will join a number of other small businesses that provide work for the clients as they make a contribution and regain self-worth as they work through the problems created by their addictions.

In addition to the thrift store is a greenhouse operation that produces 75,000 plants for sale each year, an automobile shop and a print shop.

The men work, eat and sleep together while they spend most evenings in Christ-centered therapy. More than 40 men live on the campus as they go through the program. The 12 beds freed up by the addition of the new thrift shop quarters reduce the waiting list of men who want to come and regain their lives, Edmondson said.

Clients pay $2,000 to enter the 10-month program that does not come close to paying for the $15,000 cost of their stay.

"What we have found, though, is that we double our success rate by requiring this fee," Edmondson said. "When we charged nothing, two-thirds of the men would drop out. Our graduation rate has more than doubled when we started the fee.

"It's like most things. People value something if it costs them something. If it's free, then people think it is of no value. If they have to invest in the program, they put more into it."

Next on the agenda is a $10,000 expansion of the dining room.

"But when you look at the men who put their lives back together, return to their wives and families. You can't really put a value on that," Edmondson said.

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