Success Stories

Nate is a resident on the Salvation Army’s Substance Abuse program. He has been on the program for eight months and graduated in March 2008. When he decided early last year to get his life together, he came to The Salvation Army for help. Because there was no room on the program, it took him eight days of persistently trying to get on before he was successful, but he knew it would be worth the effort. Nate has been known by counselors and other program members to be a man of God who tries to do his best and has the patience to succeed.

Nate’s journey took an unexpected turn when he was looking for a job as part of the requirements of the program. An old warrant came up when they were performing his background check. Instead of running, as he could have done, Nate went to the jail and turned himself in. For six days, he was held in a jail cell, not knowing what would become of him or when he’d be free. Through it all, he trusted in God and found the experience to be an opportunity to witness to his cellmate, a young man with a story similar to Nate’s own. On the sixth day, it was finally discovered that the warrant had been a mistake, and he was released back to The Salvation Army. The job that he had applied for was still waiting for him, too, when he returned.

Phillip Bishop, one of the counselors of the program, said that he was certain Nate’s rehabilitation would be permanent because Nate has the patience necessary for recovering addicts. When asked how he would overcome the temptations that so often cause recovering addicts to fall back into their old routines, Nate simply stated that he would put his faith in God.

Valerie, a 41 year old mother of 2, came to The Salvation Army in desperation.  After 21 years with her High School sweet heart, including 17 years of marriage, Valerie was faced with a bitter divorce and lost nearly everything, including her self-esteem.  The biggest challenge Valerie faced was starting over and developing her independence. Having moved from her childhood home in which she was cared for by her mother directly into a home in which she was cared for by her husband, Valerie knew very little about caring for herself.  With a high school diploma and some college, family life dictated that she go back to work and take care of the children while her husband continued his education, eventually getting a degree and becoming a reputable pharmacist in her hometown. Valerie admits with resolve that towards the end of her difficult marriage, her self-esteem dropped to an all time low and she turned to drugs as a means of escape.

After several years of drug use and finally seeing the damage it was causing to her children, she sought counseling and started attending NA meetings. With great pride and encouragement, she tells of how she cleaned herself up and refocused her attention back to her family. Unfortunately, the damage was done. Just under a year of sobriety and unable to save her marriage, Valerie and her husband separated and soon divorced.  Valerie found herself independent for the first time in her life.  Having been taken care of for the better portion of her life, independence became a burdensome hurdle.  With little more than a high school diploma, Valerie’s employment options were limited.  She kept steady employment but barely made enough to support her and her 2 children. Even though she was awarded split custody, the children began staying with their father more and more -- a final blow to her self-esteem.  Valerie became deeply depressed.  In anger, she walked away from what little she had left.  For years she moved from one family member’s home to the next wearing out her welcome at each. The last family member to take her in was her aunt. After six months, again it was time for Valerie to move on.  With nowhere left to turn, her aunt suggested Valerie visit The Salvation Army. 

 

Valerie came to The Salvation Army in desperation.  Still depressed and discouraged about life, Valerie was faced with the harsh reality that not taking care of herself simply wasn’t an option for her anymore. 

 

Today is Valerie’s last day at The Salvation Army.  She will move into her very first apartment tomorrow.  She is upbeat and excited about the possibilities for her future.  Valerie shares what she considers the most important thing she discovered while staying at The Salvation Army…her self-worth and the courage to be independent.  “That’s the battle right there” she exclaims.  “I know I’m going to face hard times, but I know I can face them now and I give it up to God for helping me see that.”  She also sings the praises of Grace Hammock, the Army’s Social Service Director of 26 years.  She pleasantly refers to many talks she has had with Mrs. Hammock who has encouraged her and “kept it real.”   She also expresses her appreciation for many staff members who have been supportive and kind.  She is grateful for the roof over her head, three hot meals a day and the opportunity to take this journey of self-discovery. 

 

What I personally find most hopeful about Valerie’s future is that she genuinely accepts responsibility for the poor decisions she has made in her life and her realization that she has been her own worst enemy.  She doesn’t sugar coat her actions.  She feels shame for many of the decisions she has made but expresses a true sense of resolve in having learned from them.  It is likely that this is not the last chapter in Valerie’s spiritual and personal growth.  God challenges us all to learn and grow.  Valerie needs our prayers.  Prayer that what she discovered about herself while staying at The Salvation Army will become the foundation in which she can grow. 

 

It is important to note that The Salvation Army did not make Valerie independent, it did not make her accept responsibility for her past actions, and it certainly did not give her self worth. The Army simply gave Valerie a place of refuge while God worked on her heart.  The Salvation Army was her net.  We simply caught her before she hit the street.  By providing basic necessities which all humans need to survive and doing it with God’s love and compassion in our hearts, Valerie was spared from the destitution and degradation of living on the streets. Could she have discovered her self-worth there?

Eighteen years later, Ty now looks back on his early drinking days and can’t recall a time he wasn’t fighting this disease on some level. He poignantly refers to his early days as a “hovering.” His ability to work and carry on a family life with his high-school sweet heart, who soon became his wife, and their two beautiful daughters, allowed him to feel he had things “under control.”  But his successful career in culinary arts soon became his gateway to destruction.

Ty fought the same common daily struggles of life we all face -- the pressures of work, finances, and family.  But he had the burning need for alcohol running through his veins and a fully stocked bar at his finger tips. It was merely a matter of time before a few drinks became several and glasses became bottles. His wife left him in 1991 taking their two children with her; and Ty, finding it impossible to face the consequences, fled his home town of Augusta, Georgia.  He still had one thing going for him though, his exceptional knowledge of cuisine. It would take him no time to find a job in each new town. Trying to start over on his own, his work would keep him going for a while, until the drink became too much for him to handle yet again – forcing him to move on to another city and try again. Exhausted and mentally drained from endlessly fighting his internal demons, Ty soon found himself living on the streets, under bridges and in dark alleys.  Drinking had become his salvation from pain and loneliness.  Countless cities and 14 years later, Ty boarded the ever faithful Greyhound with his one way ticket from North Carolina to Tennessee.

Awakening from an uncomfortable nap at yet another stop over, Ty felt strangely different.  His heart felt heavy, chills ran down his arms, and he sensed a deep spiritual feeling that he knew could only have come from God himself. He was in Augusta, Georgia – an unexpected stop on his journey -- and something in his mind and heart screamed for him to GET OFF THE BUS -- so he did. He hadn’t seen Augusta in 14 years and so much had changed.  Having no idea what he was going to do, where he was going to go, or why he had even gotten off the bus, he knew only that, in all his life, he couldn’t recall such a powerful feeling – an undeniable “knowing” that everything was going to be fine.  Having laid his head on many a Salvation Army pillow over the years, Ty knew one thing for certain – he would have a hot meal and a warm bed while he sorted it all out.

Ty is now enrolled in The Salvation Army’s residential treatment center and has been taking one day at a time for several months now.  With a beautiful spirit and a kind word for everyone, Ty is now fighting his demons head on with the one weapon that can surely save him – the power of God.  Individual and group counseling, AA meetings, and constructive work therapy are a part of Ty’s daily routine now.  He is slowly mending the relationship with one of his daughters, now 21 years old, and patiently struggling through the awesome burden of recovery.
Ty fights a demon many of us can never imagine. Those trivial things in life that so many of us regard as second nature -- like getting out of bed in the morning, calling the utility company to have electricity installed in your new home, working out your finances to pay your next bill -- are things that alcoholics can certainly handle as well, yet they do this and much, much more with an endless stream of demons fighting to take over their mind, their heart, and their lives.

Ty is on a steady course for change. Of course, we don’t know just how far he’ll be able to take it this time.  Unfortunately, relapse is all too often a significant part of recovery.  Sometimes it takes several attempts before an addict can truly understand that he cannot do it on his own.  But Ty feels good about his chances right now.  His life is looking up and things are slowly but surely changing. He knows from memories of his past just how good a life filled with friends and family can be.  He knows God is on his side and he embraces that with each new day.