Ignatian Spirituality Project

About Us

The Ignatian Spirituality Project  (ISP) welcomes and celebrates individuals in early recovery from drug and/or alcohol addiction and experiencing housing insecurity, providing an experience of love, community, and belonging through overnight retreats.   Through the retreat program, ISP offers participants a chance to feel connected to one another, and remember their inherent worth and dignity.  The healing that takes place on our retreats can lead to long-lasting transformation – the kind only possible when one believes that change is actually possible.  Our retreats provide that spark of hope for a better life. 

A recent participant told us after the retreat: “I am loved and worthy.” Another participant also shared: “I am so grateful because now I can use the power of faith to support my recovery and life.” This sense of worthiness and dignity is one form of hope and healing that individuals access while on an ISP retreat.

Our History

The Ignatian Spirituality Project began in Chicago in 1998 when Fr. Bill Creed, SJ and his friend Ed Shurna held the first retreat for men who were homeless and in recovery from addiction. ISP spread quickly and is now a network of 29 programs across the United States, Canada, and Ireland.  ISP launched in Cincinnati in 2000. This year ISP-Cincinnati’s men’s team will serve over 200 participants through overnight retreats and monthly reflection sessions. ISP volunteers deliver the program and facilitate the retreats. 

Join Us!

As we do not charge for the retreats, our local community supports our expenses through generous donations.  We ask you to journey with us by accompanying those who have experienced homelessness and are in recovery from addiction.  Your gift to ISP provides an opportunity for a participant to encounter the God of their understanding and experience a spark of hope and healing.  Join us on the path to new life!