Article - Making the Change - Denver Rescue Mission

Once homeless and addicted, New Life program post-graduates return to society.

Don and John are very different men in appearance and in character, but they do have some significant similarities. Both were drug addicts who became homeless in the wake of destitution and destroyed relationships. Both men have graduated this year from the New Life rehabilitation program at the Mission's Lawrence Street facility. Both have strong hopes for their futures.

Don
After fifteen years of grueling addiction, Don was homeless and jobless. "I was hooked on methamphetamine for approximately 13 to15 years before I came to the Mission," he testifies. "I was ruining everything."

He had been living in Arizona with his fiancé and her two children, but the cost of his habit drove him from his home: "I've actually been afraid to sit down and figure out how much money I spent on the methamphetamine versus what I contributed to the family. Well, she finally threw me out, and I was on the streets."

"I really didn't have anything, just a big zero."

Blinded by the depth of his addiction, Don could barely sense himself spiraling out of control. "I was so heavy into meth," he says, "that I didn't realize how much I was doing every day." It was impossible for him to keep a steady job. He tried to stay away from the drugs, but found temptation was always within reach. He reflects on those desperate times, "I tried to make it on my own, living in my friend's house, living in a motel. Every time I turned around I had to deal with somebody who was either using [methamphetamine] or dealing it." He reached his limit and found the courage to make the change. "I didn't want to end up dead in a gutter. That's when I called my brother. I said, 'Al, this is it, I'm done. I need out of here.'"

Right away, Al sent him a bus ticket to Denver. He had been talking to Don about the Mission over the course of the previous year. Even so, Don did not know what to expect, and he had never before been in a rehabilitation program. "I got into the program scared out of my wits and not knowing what to do. I [only] knew it was a Christian-based program," he remembers. He found that it was just what he needed. "The New Life program is not an easy program," he admits, but adds, "nor is it an impossible program. It's a program that you have to dedicate yourself to doing."

"I know there will be bumps in the road, obstacles, but as long as I stay focused on the Lord and take things to Him, He will show me the way to go around these things. So I can stay straight on the path."

John
John's experience is eerily similar to Don's. He recalls his decline after losing the job he held for twenty-five years: "I had accumulated a lot of wealth, and in the next couple of years I deleted it all. I had a 401k, I had a rental property, some credit cards, a home I sold, and I spent all the money on crack. I lost my car."

"My life was totally out of control."

John's sister told him he had to leave her house, where he had been abusing her hospitality. "I was more or less using her house just for a party house. I was really disrespecting her." He spent the next two years living on the streets. "I came to the point where I wanted to surrender to God," he remembers. "The New Life program had the structure I needed."

Once enrolled in the program at the Lawrence Street facility, John began to make real changes. Bible study, life skills courses, and counseling all contributed to his comeback. New hobbies and a growing interest in the arts have replaced his formerly destructive patterns. More visibly, his health has dramatically improved. A tall man, John's normal weight of 225 pounds had dropped to 175 while he was homeless. "A lot of people, they see me now and they're really impressed. They're like, 'Wow! You gained your weight back!'"

The most telling change of all has been John's spiritual growth. He considers this important distinction: "The main thing I have is a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. I've got a strong foundation and I'm learning more every day. I'm trying to be obedient to His Word. I had a lot of material things in the past, and I've lost those things...I know not to be materialistic. The most important thing is my spirituality."

"I've got a really good relationship with Jesus Christ. I study my Bible every day. I'm attending a church, and I'm getting back in the community."

Since graduation, John keeps discovering improvements in his life. He has reconciled with his sister. "All my relationships have been healed," he exclaims. "I can't even tell you how much joy I have. My mother is eighty-three years old. I just thank God that she lived to see these changes. She's really proud of me. My children, too. I'm going to go visit them next month. It's just good to wake up every morning clean and sober, and able to be focused on God."

The Post-Graduate Program
Don and John have elected to participate in a one-year post-graduate program available to New Life graduates. For one year they will live as roommates in an apartment supplied by the Mission, work regular jobs, pay rent, and submit proof monthly that they are free of drugs and alcohol. They attend church and meet with their mentors once a month. Last but not least, they have each devised a list of five important goals to complete during the year. Successful completion is capped by assistance with first month's rent and deposit for a new apartment.

Don goes over his list of post-graduate goals. In addition to financial, health and community involvement, he says, "One of my goals is to get completely re-connected with my family. Another goal is to complete reading the New Testament."

Sharing the same space is both a challenge and a source of support for the two independent program graduates. John normally likes to be on his own, and was unsure whether he would like the arrangement, but now says, "I really enjoy Don. I have somebody to talk to and we really have a lot of good times together, we work together. It's kind of cool. It's like having a brother. He's always studying the Word, too."

"I know that I didn't do this on my own-I know God was with me," John says about his graduation from the New Life program. He explains why he chose to continue in the post-graduate program, "I wanted to be able to be accountable, to stay on track. I wanted to make sure I never went back to doing drugs again."

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