Life of Purpose alumnus to run new program in Tennessee

Life of Purpose Treatment, which locates its facilities at or near college campuses, this week announced the opening of a center in Murfreesboro, Tenn., to join facilities in Palm Beach County, Fla., and Denton, Texas. The Tennessee center is being directed by one of Life of Purpose's first patients, Benjamin Jones.

According to a news release from Life of Purpose, Jones graduated from college and then completed an advanced degree in clinical mental health counseling after participating in the treatment program. After being hired by Life of Purpose, he ascended rapidly in the organization, said CEO Andrew Burki.

“Ben is not just a huge proponent of the academically focused model, he is the living embodiment of its efficacy,” Burki said. “His own recovery and level of education dwarf my own at a comparable age and period of sustained abstinence as a result of his hard work and consistency over a period of years.”

The new center, located near Nashville, is close to the campus of Middle Tennessee State University. Its intensive outpatient programming can serve as stand-alone treatment or step-down care from a residential level of service. Christopher Hastings, a Middle Tennessee State professor, will serve as the new facility's clinical director.

Life of Purpose opened the nation's first residential treatment center in a college setting in 2013, on the campus of Florida Atlantic University.