Animals at Austin ranch give recovering addicts a helping paw

Austin, Texas - A ranch located in the outskirts of the Austin city limits is using farming an animal rescue missions to replace addictive behaviors with purpose-driven ones.

Ranch House Recovery uses farming, animal rescue missions, and peer-to-peer interactions to help those struggling with addiction.
Ranch House Recovery uses farming, animal rescue missions, and peer-to-peer interactions to help those struggling with addiction.  © Screenshot/Instagram/Ranch House Recovery

Ranch House Recovery not your run-of-the-mill treatment facility. Instead of relying solely on a 12-step program and therapy sessions, the rehabilitation center incorporates farming, animal rescue missions, and peer-to-peer interactions to treat each guest’s unique experiences with addiction.

This center intertwines the 12-step program with farming practices, so each step is associated with an action that guests put to practice while tending to the on-location farm, named Simple Promises Farms.

Brandon Guinn, the founder of Ranch House Recovery and Simple Promises Farms, got the idea for the center while trying to find a treatment program that actually stuck for his son, who was battling with addiction and constant relapse.

After trying 20 different facilities, Guinn started constructing a plan to create one of his own – one that not only helps addicts find the road to recovery but also helps them fight off triggers that often lead to relapse.

Curious kitten and bubbly water don't mix – to the delight of TikTok
Cats Curious kitten and bubbly water don't mix – to the delight of TikTok

The current director of operations at Ranch House Recovery, Rogers Doyle, has spent the last decade sober after a 13-year struggle with addiction.

Having seen his fair share of rehab centers, Doyle knew this one was different in all the right ways, telling Austin360 it was one of the best he’s ever seen. “It’s a culmination of what we’ve seen that works and doesn’t work in this industry.”

A portion of the proceeds from the sales Simple Promises Farms, where guests spend some of their days tending to the fields, go directly towards scholarships for those seeking treatment, with five being given away to struggling addicts since Ranch Recovery House opened its doors in 2020.

Cover photo: Screenshot/Instagram/Ranch House Recovery

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