Ryan’s world took a turn for the worse after his father passed away. He was young, alienated and lost. Covering up the pain with drugs and alcohol became commonplace through his teen years and continued into adulthood. He found himself on a path to destruction, with stints of living on the streets to living out of his car and losing several jobs.
It’s been a long road for Ryan. With many years of searching for solutions and recovery, he needed a new approach and a program that would truly work. His uncle encouraged him to seek help from City Rescue Mission – his first holistic program.
“This one is the first holistic program I’ve been in and it’s changed my life completely. I know I’m in a safe haven. God has given me too many chances, and I feel like this could be my last one. I needed to change my life all the way.”
He’s a year sober now, in a leadership position, taking classes, filled with positivity about his future and excited to walk across the stage as a Bridge to Life graduate.
Because of his experience, he is also working toward becoming a recovery support specialist – something City Rescue Mission helped him discover his passion for.
“I was literally on my deathbed before. Now that I’m clean, I can see that’s what I want to do.”
The desire to help and care for others has always been in his nature (he loves his role as uncle and brother), and now he’s working toward making that passion a career by taking classes at Ocarta.
“I want to help other people before they get to that level of addiction. City Rescue Mission has helped a lot.”
