Background Story: Based on their personal life experience, Ashley Williams and his wife Tiffany have worked side by side to help others who are dealing with the effects of substance abuse on their lives and relationships.
• Their story started when Ashley started smoking marijuana at 15 and by 18 was abusing alcohol and prescription medications. • Ashley was arrested 2 times for bad checks and 2 times for intent to distribute methamphetamines. The last time he was arrested for meth was December 18, 2005. After being convicted of charges he was able to take Pretrial Intervention, PTI, for the two Intent to Distribute charges. • Ashley spent a week in jail while his mother worked to find him recovery resources or a drug rehab program to attend. There were no services available in the jail and they found nothing available in Oconee County. • Ashley was released on December 23, 2005, to go to rehab at Home with a Heart in Liberty SC located by his parents. He was 28 years old when he began his journey of recovery from drug and alcohol abuse. • February 2006 his parents started Families Fighting Addition (FFA) to support other people in the community who were struggling with the same issues. • In August 2008 Ashley began working with Christ Central Ministries Inc., Columbia, SC to establish an Oconee branch. CCM helped financially as programs and services were developed including renovations to the Ash Tree house and the OARS center. • January 3rd, 2009, Ashley and Tiffany started working with the homeless and individuals living with the challenges of persistent poverty in Seneca with Saturday Church in a downtown parking lot. CCMO and local churches helped provide a meal and Ashley led the services. He discovered a high percentage of those served were victims of substance abuse/mental illness. • In 2012 CCMO formed a partnership with Sheriff Crenshaw and started providing substance abuse recovery programs in the OC Detention Center. Beverly Seigler, Program Coordinator, helped orchestrate and identify candidates for the programs. • Ash Tree began February 2, 2013, with two men in an apartment in Walhalla. The program grew and clients came by referral. • In May 2014, Jack Pell gave the donation of a house that could house 7-13 individuals. His niece and niece's husband both had made a life change through recovery services CCMO offered at a local church. From their life change he wanted to bless CCMO. Nancy Morgan who was on the Walhalla City Zoning Board at the time was convinced she heard God tell her to cast the deciding vote for approval of house to be used as a recovery home in Walhalla. As a result of their vision 130 men have been served to date. Mark Shak began as House Manager at Ash Tree in October 2019. • In 2016, with the support of Sheriff Crenshaw and the County Council, CCMO started renovating the prior detention center. The key to the center and cells where Ashley was encarcerated were presented to him by Beverly Seigler. With the help of local faith community and private donations, as well as hundreds of hours of volunteer labor for the next 3 years on the remodel and Thomas Alexander’s help getting a state grant for the sprinkler system, the transformation is nearly complete. • March 16, 2020, the OARS Center reached a milestone and received Fire Marshall and Building Codes approval for occupancy. • May 19, 2020, worked with Amanda Brock to file a BJA grant application to help fund Oconee Addiction Recovery and Solutions (OARS) programs. • October 29, 2020, Oconee Addiction Recovery & Solutions were awarded a $585,693 3-year grant by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance to design and implement a 30-day inpatient substance abuse recovery treatment program for those in pre or post incarceration who are at high risk for overdose and substance abuse. • January 2022 the OARS center opened and began accepting clients into the 30-day program. David Ashley Williams - OARS Director of Clinical Operations Ashely Williams is a life-time resident of Oconee County. His relevant work experience includes Pastoral Counselor Christ Centered Counseling, Christ Central Ministries Oconee - Walhalla, SC December 2017 to Present. Specializing in: Premarital/Marital Counseling, Substance Abuse/Recovery Counseling, Individual Counseling, Life Coach Mentoring/ Counseling Approach, Biblical Counseling, Person Centered, Solution Focused Brief (SFBT), Cognitive Behavioral (CBT), Family System. Peer to Peer Certification. Integrative Director Christ Central Ministries Oconee - Walhalla, SC August 2008 to Present. Direct daily operation of Christ Central Ministries Oconee which has included ASHTREE Men's Recovery Home, Oconee GED, Families Fighting Addiction Support Counseling, local feeding programs to individuals in need, and Oconee Addiction Recovery and Solutions Center focusing on substance abuse, homelessness, transitional housing and life skills. Education: Master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Pentecostal Theological Seminary - Cleveland, TN 2015 to 2018; Bachelor's in Pastoral Studies Holmes Bible College - Greenville, SC 2011 to 2015; Church of God School of Ministry in Minister's Licensing Greenville, SC. Church of God Ordained Bishop October 2008 to Present. Ashley and Tiffany Williams have been married for 24 years with four kids, Dawson 18, Xander 16, Jacob 14, and Debra 5. Ashley Williams is currently a LPCA working at Fortitude Counseling and Supervision Services in Seneca under the Supervision of Chana Land LPC, LPCS.
1 Comment
Being in recovery myself, I feel that by sharing my experience, strength, and hope with those that are struggling with alcoholism and drug addiction will hopefully bring about in them the willingness, acceptance, and God-consciousness one needs to recover.
This calling holds a very special place for me. My personal recovery began, after many previous attempts, when I completed a program very similar to what OARS offers and then moving into a men's recovery home much like the Ashtree Men's Recovery Home associated with our program. My journey has been long. I have been in quite a few "traditional" rehabs, experienced homelessness on more than one occasion, and was labeled alcoholic by my family when I was only 15 years old. When I finally admitted that I was powerless and turned my will and my life over to my Higher Power for help, I was able to let go of my past, "clean up" my side of the street, and became willing to help others and progress to be the man that I was created to be. Joe Brooks CPSS |
Frank MessanaTransitional Case Manager at OARS ArchivesCategories |