A community in
downtown Atlanta
Telephone 404-291-2234
Fax 404-591-0213
© 2013 Cause for Hope
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 9012
Atlanta, GA 31106
IGNATIAN SPIRITUALITY PROJECT
Stories of Hope: Gino Lloyd
Atlanta Retreatant and Team Member
I cannot remember the exact date of my first
ISP retreat, but I can tell you that when I
attended it I was sick and tired of being sick
and tired. I came upon the retreat because
Ms. Jane Elliott, the Atlanta ISP Women’s Team
Coordinator, suggested I attend the retreat.
We met because I attended meetings at
Common Ground of Hope.
Let me give you a brief synopsis of how I
came to be here. I joined the military in
Washington, DC. This is where I first picked
up hard drugs. I battled with the drugs for
over twenty years. Eventually, my brother in
Atlanta urged me to move to Atlanta with
him, hoping that a geographic change might
help me. It was not long after moving to
Atlanta that I was back to my active addiction.
Eventually I went to Veterans Affairs and tried to start a program but again it was not long until I was
back to my addiction and my old ways of living.
When I was 50 years old, I told myself I was going to give recovery another chance. I entered a lock-
down program where they spoon fed me, encouraged me to get a sponsor and to work the 12 steps.
This was the last thing I wanted to do, but somewhere along the way something changed. The
program began to take hold of me. It began to become a part of my spirit. Eventually I began
attending Common Ground of Hope meetings and eventually Jane invited me to attend a retreat.
On that first retreat, a seed was planted.
The day of the retreat I was filled with apprehension, but the calm I experienced almost immediately
was like nothing I have ever experienced. For me, the experience was not an epiphany but a
reconnection with God and with community. I felt rejuvenated and spiritually connected. The retreat
was not forced. Nothing was forced. Everyone was brilliant and patient and open. I connected deeply
with the experience of the Stations of the Cross. I also truly enjoyed watching Gran Torino. It was a
powerful, powerful movie that prompted a powerful discussion. It showed that when someone loves
you, no matter how tough you are, love will break you down and allow you to experience that love
fully.
Two years ago, I was so far from where I am today and God is so good. The retreat showed me the
wonders God can work in us. When we sit in that circle and one man is talking and he can go into the
depths of his soul, do you know how powerful that is? He can talk about anything he wants to
between him and God. There is something about sharing, with a group of men, the spiritual aspects
of life. The combination of NA and the ISP retreat has lead to a change in myself right in front of my
own eyes.
Eventually, Jane asked me if I was interested in helping to facilitate the retreats. Before experiencing
the retreat, I would never have considered a leadership role, but I decided to say yes. I just put one
foot in front of the other. Before, I was scared to have such responsibility. Today it helps me. It
stretches me and I love that. When I am in the facilitator role I am held more accountable and I love
that.
Gino Lloyd is an active member of the Atlanta ISP retreat team and he thanks God that his life is
in order and he is able to participate in the ISP retreats.
Cause for Hope is a
registered 501(c)(3)
organization
