History of LifeHouse Through the Eyes of George Dunagan

By Misty Cryer

Anyone who has talked in length with George Dunagan probably knows that he has a knack for telling stories filled with history about Carlsbad. The story of LifeHouse is no different, as he served as Chairman of the Board throughout the start-up of the nonprofit organization.

George said he first got involved with the establishment of LifeHouse when his wife, Connie, told him about a meeting of a group of people interested in trying to get something started in Carlsbad to help with drug and alcohol rehabilitation in 2015. He said that Phil Huston, the current Executive Director for LifeHouse, was the facilitator at the first meeting.

He said that Connie and the women of Dunagan’s church had been working with Carlsbad Mental Health’s Crossroads, a rehab program for women and their children, providing Bible studies and counsel before the establishment closed.

“We decided that what we really needed the most was a sober living facility,” said George, explaining that sober living facilities are for people who have been through a typical 30-day drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility.

“We would be able to help them get jobs, give them a safe place to live, and get them involved in programs to where they would be successful in their rehab,” said George.

He explained that nationally, about 85% of people who come out of rehabilitation relapse. “If they go into a sober living facility, that percentage goes way down,” he said.

“We were focused on a faith-based sober living facility,” said George. After searching for a location, which George says was a challenge, they finally secured a building with favorable terms that was previously a small church in west Carlsbad. He said the facility needed work to become occupiable and habitable, which started a need to raise funds for remodeling and operating capital.

“In January 2016, one of the people who started participating with us was a recovering addict who had just gotten out of rehab. That really changed the whole dynamic because we were talking to somebody who’s been through that and had been through it successfully,” said George.

After much prayer and effort, the first LifeHouse sober living home, which would house eight men, opened in September of 2016, said George.

At Christmastime, he said, the house manager got a call from LaTienda that they wanted to donate some food to LifeHouse. In a discussion about the location to deliver, George said, a man said he and his brother, who were recovering addicts, previously worked on the building remodeling it, and they prayed every night that the building would become something to help recovering addicts. “That was two years before we ever got involved,” said George.

“We looked at that as a confirmation that God had that planned all along,” he said. “We were just there and willing,” he added.

“We opened up the men’s facility, then in the next few years, we opened up a women’s facility, and then a facility for women with children—sober living houses,” said George.

“Another big thing was the rehab here in town, which at the time had about 12 to18 people in it—men and women—for a 30-day rehab, was going bankrupt. Villa De Esperanza—they were going to close,” George said. “There was no one who seemed willing to take it over or come up with a substitute.”

At that time, he said, LifeHouse was just a volunteer organization, with one employee, part-time. “Phil Huston was volunteering his time,” he said.

The board was looking at taking over the program using the Villa De Esparaza building, along with opening sober living homes, and it was just not going to work, George said.

At the same time, Lakeview Christian Home had acquired Landsun Homes, he said, explaining the nursing home facility on Westridge was underutilized. “We were coming out of COVID, so in 2021, we got together with Lakeview and worked out terms of an agreement where we could buy that facility. We were able to take most of the staff and the residents from Villa De Esperanza,” he said.

“That was just a God thing,” said George. “Lakeview saw what our purpose was; we helped them with a need, and they helped us with a need,” he said, expressing that without that, thoughts were that the rehab would have gone by the wayside.

“That’s when we got into rehabilitation. Now we have about twice the capacity over there, are able to help twice the number of people with rehab, plus mental health counseling,” George said.

“There are five different drugs, including alcohol, that you really need to be under medical supervision to get detoxified from,” said George. “We were able to use part of the facility on Westridge to open up the detox center,” he said.

“We make all these plans, but when we listen to God, he directs our paths in ways that we never imagined,” said George.

“Every organization has a mission statement, whether written or not,” he said, specifying that the board thinks along the lines of “Jesus first—as long as it takes—Jesus last” with the goal to teach about Jesus from detox to graduation from sober living with people still following Jesus.

In our country and our community, George said, most people know someone who is addicted to alcohol or drugs. “We need to agree that if we come together, we can change that,” he said.