History

In the mid 1990’s, three recovering alcoholics saw a need for affordable treatment for alcoholism and other drug addictions for people who don’t have health insurance that will pay for it. Lester “Digger” Duncan was a retired factory worker; Harold Ben King had retired from a career as an addictions counselor, and Virginia “Ginny” Barnes was a retired school teacher. They shared their Christian faith as they worked first with incarcerated felons in the Madison County jail, and then decided to reach out to the community of Anderson, Indiana. Together they sought help from Don Osborne, head of the Addictions Counseling department at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana. They formed a not-for-profit faith-based corporation and found a location from which to start. Our organization’s name comes from Jesus Christ’s parable found in Matthew 13: 1-23, Mark 4: 1-20, and Luke 8: 1-15 in the Holy Bible about the farmer who sows seeds, and sees different results depending on whether the seed falls on fertile ground.

Over the years, Sowers of Seeds Counseling, Inc.(SOS) has relocated several times as we have grown. Now, SOS Counseling has branched out to other communities and provides a Batterers’ Intervention Program for people convicted of domestic battery as well as treatment for alcoholics and other drug abusers. The criminal justice system refers many of our clients to us, and we see approximately 300 alcoholics and other drug abusers and approximately 100 court-ordered domestic battery clients each year. We treat people that often “fall in the cracks” of our healthcare system and for whom services are often not readily available. Sowers of Seeds Counseling provides help for “those who need it the most, but can afford it the least.”

Many of our clients inspire people with the dramatic life changes that they make. We have an unusually high success rate with helping addicted people achieve a lasting recovery and joining the community as productive citizens, just as many of our staff have done with their own lives. Former clients sometimes visit us to report that they are no longer in the criminal justice system, or that they are now students at a local university, or are experiencing other successes and living productive lives. We invite you to visit our agency at one one of our locations. Should you have any further interest in us, or if you have any concerns or questions, please contact us. Your prayers for our clients would be much appreciated.

 

In Loving Memory

(Tribute to Virginia “Ginny” Barnes)