In 2006, when Reverend Jim Allred ’67 began his retirement from pastoring United Methodist churches, he had just completed a 15-year stint at Mount Pleasant United Methodist Church in Greensboro, N.C. He and his wife Judy moved to Stanly County (N.C.), where he had once been a commuting student at Pfeiffer College, majoring in religion with a focus on pre-ministerial studies.

Allred has spent much of his retirement doing what many retirees do: spending time with members of his family, including Judy, a member of the Pfeiffer College Class of 1970 whom he describes as “the love of my life of 58 years”; their three adult children (along with the children’s spouses); and their nine incredible grandchildren.

But that’s not all. Allred, ever the zealous adherent of Methodism founder John Wesley’s belief in “serving humanity whatever the needs might be,” identified a serious problem in his new backyard and did something about it.

The problem was Stanly County’s high levels of addiction and addiction-related deaths. Allred’s response — which he developed over a couple of years of monthly meetings with his sister, Doris Skeen, and a host of people from the community desiring to make a difference in the addiction epidemic — became Bridge to Recovery (BTR), an effective rehab program for which Allred serves as Board Chairman.

“There are always opportunities to help people who are struggling,” Allred said recently. “I’ve always felt God calls us to be a part of the redemption of the world, and my involvement with Bridge to Recovery reflects that.” 

In 2011, BTR began life in Oakboro, N.C, as a sober shelter for men to stay before being placed in a rehab program. By 2017, BTR had expanded to include a residential treatment center for men and women in Monroe, N.C. BTR aims to address what Dr. Lew Davis, its Executive Director, calls “two nightmares”: the addiction itself and the many barriers to rehab (such as cost, a shortage of beds, and rules that sometimes disqualify someone from entering a program).

For significantly less than many programs costing ten times more, BTR offers a 30-day rehab program that includes professional counseling and a 12-step AA recovery program. Scholarships are available for hardship cases, such as the homeless and the working poor. BTR survives on grants and donations from a range of generous supporters, who are also behind a building campaign at BTR that will triple its capacity.

There is also what Allred calls a “gentle Christian atmosphere” that aims not to force Christianity on anyone but to “help clients find a faith that will see them through sobriety to a life of fulfillment and productivity.”

BTR hosts student interns from multiple universities, including several Pfeiffer programs. Pfeiffer students from both the Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (MSOT) program, and the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program, spend time on the BTR campus observing clinical counseling interventions. This helps students understand the needs of individuals they might not have experienced before. BTR is expecting to expand these opportunities to include other Pfeiffer students in the near future.

Dr. Crystal Gaddy, an Assistant Professor in the MSOT program who serves as its Program Director, welcomed her students’ involvement in BTR as an effective way to complement the courses on mental health they take during the spring semester.

While observing BTR counselors, MSOT students learn that addressing addiction requires a holistic approach of which OT is a part, she said. She added that people with addiction issues often lose their ability to do everyday tasks and interact socially; occupational therapists “can create goals with individuals to help them get back to being fully independent,” she said.

Allred is a Duke Divinity School-educated son of a United Methodist minister who served small rural congregations throughout North Carolina. He credits Pfeiffer with playing a big part in the direction that his career and service in retirement has taken. While he was a student there, he became active in a pre-ministerial fraternity, and he benefited immensely from the mentoring of several greats among the faculty, including Dr. Roger Kusche.

During his ministerial career, Allred did not pastor communities in which addiction was a major factor. It was only during the early stages of his retirement that he began to understand more about addiction and fully appreciate the importance of providing a way out.

In what would become a pivotal moment for him, Allred learned of a frequently arrested addict who was given a choice: six months in jail or the opportunity to enter a drug treatment program instead. She chose the latter — and would blossom as a result. She finished her GED, enrolled in a cosmetology course, got a job, and became a mother for the first time. And Allred’s retirement plans changed.

“Anybody ought to have a chance to turn things around,” he said. “Her success became a catalyst for Bridge to Recovery, which is saving lives and showing God’s good work in the world.”