Serenity Lane, where recovery becomes reality.

In 1973, Dr. Thomas Kerns, Serenity Lane's founder, recognized the disease of addiction as being very destructive; yet little was being done throughout the state of Oregon to improve the health of those with the disease. The stigma attached to the disease of alcoholism and addiction made it easy to ignore.

As the son of an alcoholic father, Dr. Kerns knew the havoc alcoholism has on the family and wanted to make a difference for others who suffered as he did. Taking a break from his regular medical practice, Dr. Kerns teamed up with Monsignor Murnane, Sam Graves and Lois O'Connor to begin Serenity Lane's early treatment model. At an early board of directors meeting Monsignor Murnane threw a dollar bill on the table and kicked off Serenity Lane's first capital campaign.

Together over several months the founders raised $100,000 from corporations, businesses and individuals. These gifts served as the initial investment toward the purchase of an old fraternity house at 16th & Patterson Streets, which was remodeled and became the new home for Serenity Lane.

Initially, there was a struggle to survive financially. Even though Dr. Kerns and his colleagues volunteered their time to start Serenity Lane, the desire to provide exceptional service and the need to hire professional staff put a huge financial strain on the organization.

In 1978, recognizing the need for a strong financial leader who could also maintain the excellent clinical reputation that Serenity Lane had earned, the board hired Neil McNaughton, M.S.W., as Executive Director. This proved to be a very wise decision, for Neil guided the organization through many fiscal challenges, but never compromised on the high level of services provided to patients.

Over the past 37+ years Serenity Lane has admitted more than 50,000 people suffering from the disease of chemical dependency. The majority of those people are still leading clean and sober lives.

EMILY D. and Son

"Treatment at Serenity Lane's New Hope Program was the best thing I've ever done. I learned so much about myself and my disease. My life is so different now. I'm really present for my child and my husband. I'm a straight-A student and have a promising career in nursing and it's all because of my experience at Serenity Lane. Treatment really works and I'm living proof of that."

LARRY B.

Larry went through our program in 1984 and says he is almost evangelical about Serenity Lane for several reasons. "Serenity Lane created a whole new life for me. I went in there with no self respect, my finances torn apart, my family torn apart. Serenity Lane turned my life around. There's no doubt that without my experience there I would not have the life I have today."

JEANNE N.

Jeanne's story is not unique. One morning she woke from an alcoholic fog to find a heart-felt letter written by her husband of 20 years. In it he told her how he missed the "old Jeanne" the beautiful woman he married years earlier, his "loving partner, his friend through everything." He said, "I want the old Jeanne back, not this woman whose love affair with the bottle takes priority over everything else." That letter was the wake up call Jeanne needed. With the support of her husband, she checked into Serenity Lane. Jeanne found peace and lasting recovery, and her husband got his loving wife back; clean and sober and thrilled to take life one day at a time.

TINA L.

"The Family Program helped me understand what my husband was going through so much better. There were two sides to him - Jeff the addict and Jeff the person. The program taught me when to give him space, and when he needed to attend a meeting. It gave me tools to use later on in my own life. We have been married since 1996 and have two sons and a daughter. As a clean and sober father and husband, Jeff is wonderful and I know we wouldn't be where we are today without Serenity Lane."