Men of Nehemiah opens larger South Dallas home for addiction recovery

A South Dallas recovery program is growing into a new home at the corner of South Boulevard and Cleveland, with room for more men to start over. Men of Nehemiah has spent 16 years helping men work through addiction, and Louis Harrell Jr. leads the effort. The faith-based program traces back to Harrell's own recovery, which his parents first supported by starting the work to help save his life.

The new building adds beds, a full kitchen, a gym and more space for worship. Music sits at the center of the program, and Harrell says everyone who enters is asked to sing. He believes singing helps men lower their defenses and become more open as they pursue recovery. "When a man sings, he starts to be vulnerable," he said.

One participant, a man named Dallas, is two months into the nine-month program. He described a path that included several treatment attempts, time in prison and four years without a home. Now he talks about feeling free and about becoming the man he was meant to be.

Harrell says the expansion means more to him than the building itself. Windows that open toward the street will let the sound of worship reach the neighborhood, which is where he has spent years helping people find recovery.

Original reporting by Katy Blakey for NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth.