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Every ending brings a new beginning, and for Mountain Home’s faith-based recovery program, a name change signals a fresh start with expanded services for those struggling with addiction and mental health issues.
CareCenter Ministries has become Kingdom Life Recovery, bringing major changes that will allow the program to serve people it previously had to turn away.
Pastor Ty Cotter, who established the Mountain Home location in 2015 after his own recovery from methamphetamine addiction, said the transition reflects years of adapting the program to fit rural Arkansas rather than the inner-city Dallas model it was based on.
“Basically coming from Dallas, everything, the system, the structure was all built off the inner city,” Cotter said. “We live in a rural community, and we’ve been noticing things have been shifting the last five, six years.”
One of the biggest changes is that Kingdom Life Recovery now accepts people taking psychiatric medications. Previously, the program had to turn away those who needed antidepressants or other mental health medications.
“That’s a hard decision for someone to make when they’re already in a moment of crisis,” Cotter said. “We kept getting more calls from people needing help who were on mental health medication. We couldn’t keep telling people no year after year.”
The policy change, which took effect in December, addresses a gap in services for Mountain Home, where resources for people with both addiction and mental health challenges are limited.
Cotter understands the struggles of addiction firsthand. At 29, he left Mountain Home for Dallas to seek help at CareCenter Ministries after years of methamphetamine addiction that included prison time and multiple failed attempts at recovery. He returned four years later as an ordained minister, starting with just a six-bedroom house and five men. That modest beginning has grown into a program that, before COVID-19, housed more than 40 men on 20 acres of donated property.
The ministry has restructured its one-year program since becoming Kingdom Life Recovery. The first six months still focus on spiritual development and building work habits, with residents waking at 5 a.m. for structured days of worship, classes and community service. But the second half now emphasizes financial independence. When residents get jobs at the six-month mark, they live rent-free and save all their earnings.
“They save 100 percent of everything they make,” Cotter said. “We’re teaching them budgeting with Dave Ramsey’s stuff. First they save for a car, then for a place to live.”
The program is showing results. One woman has nearly saved enough to buy her own car. Cotter said more residents are employed now than at any point in the ministry’s 10-year history in Mountain Home.
After seeing numbers drop to 12-15 residents in recent years, the program now houses 26 men and expects continued growth. The ministry has applied for a $1 million state grant to build a commercial facility for its women’s home.
Kingdom Life Recovery continues all the community services CareCenter was known for, including yard care for widows, building wheelchair ramps and responding to hospital and Department of Human Services calls. The ministry recently regained access to conduct services at the Baxter and Marion county jails after COVID-19 restrictions ended.
The transition extends beyond Mountain Home. The two Missouri CareCenter locations are also changing to the Kingdom Life Recovery name. All three locations will coordinate while maintaining flexibility to meet local needs. Charles Lott, who was set to open a Memphis location in 2022, has returned to Mountain Home to help with the transition.
Cotter’s transformation from addiction to ministry leadership was recognized when Governor Asa Hutchinson granted him a full pardon, with support from Baxter County Prosecuting Attorney David Etheredge and businessman Benny Magnus.
The ministry has moved its annual fundraiser from spring to fall and will continue its Thanksgiving outreach program. Hilltop Church, which Cotter started in July 2023, has grown from 70 to about 160 members.
“We’re really launching men and women back into the world while being a safety net for them,” Cotter said.
The evolution to Kingdom Life Recovery demonstrates how faith-based recovery programs can adapt to serve their communities better. By accepting people with mental health needs and focusing on practical life skills alongside spiritual growth, the ministry can now help people it previously had to turn away.
For Cotter, who once sold methamphetamine in the same community he now serves, the work remains personal. His current focus is letting people know about the changes while reassuring them the mission remains the same.
“Nothing happened to Ty. He’s still there, just changed the name,” he said.
