Our Story.
For many of us, addiction didn’t just impact our own lives — it created distance between us and the people who depended on us most. Recovery gave us the opportunity to change that. Not just to stay sober, but to show up again — as sons, brothers, friends, and men others can rely on.
We took the name Big Brother from something a team member’s younger sister said while he was making his Ninth-Step amends:
“During the most important part of my life, I needed you, and you weren’t there. I’m so thankful that you found the people that helped you get sober, because those people gave me my Big Brother back.”
In that moment, Big Brother’s mission was born: to take the blessings sobriety has given us and use them to help people just like us — so the men we serve can become “Big Brothers” once again to the people who matter most.
Our Mission.
At Big Brother, we are 100% owned and operated by men in recovery.
We are men who understand what it was like to drink the way you drink, do the things you’ve done, and feel the way you feel. Our weakness is our greatest strength, and it is yours too.
There is nothing special about what we do here. Nobody needs a sober living home to get sober, nor does living in one guarantee you a life of sobriety.
Our mission is simple;
To provide the best environment and opportunities possible conducive to long-term recovery.
In other words, we aim to create an environment where recovery becomes attractive — where enthusiasm replaces obligation, and staying sober is a blessing, not a chore.
We reiterate the fact that there is never a price tag on recovery, and the spiritual awakening we have experienced is available to anyone and everyone who earnestly seeks it. If you’re looking for a place to start fresh, Big Brother has everything you could ask for.
Our Operation.
We are a men’s-only sober living home based in Elgin, IL. We offer a wide range of recovery services at our locations, such as:
Recovery Program Integration
Regular Drug / Alcohol Testing
Recovery Fellowship Events
Employment, Financial and Educational Mentorship
Structure, Routine & Accountability
Aftercare & Discharge Planning
Regularly hosting outside 12-step meetings
Big Brother is not affiliated with any 12-Step/Recovery programs, but we do offer our space for such meetings to operate independently on the premises. Clients can expect a lifestyle that is busy at times, laid-back in others, brotherhood-oriented, and heavily rooted in the 12-Steps and Traditions.
“There is, however, a vast amount of fun about it all … But just underneath there is deadly earnestness. Faith has to work twenty-four hours a day in and through us, or we perish.”
(“Bill’s Story,” Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., p. 16)
