Jose’s daughter found the Mission and encouraged him to enter the program.

He’s now working full time with a Mission partner

Jose grew up in Mexico and came to the United States when he was 15. “I grew up with my grandparents,” he said. “I didn’t have my dad with me and my mom was always at work. My grandparents recognized me as a son—they even gave me their last name.”

When he first arrived, Jose went to junior high and completed his eighth-grade year. “I was going to go to high school, but something happened and I had to go to Mexico. I ended up being there for two years before I came back again. This time when I came back, I started hanging out with ‘homies.’ I wasn’t doing well. So my brothers sent me back to Mexico.”

At 20, Jose returned. “I started working and at my work I met a girl I knew would be the mother of my children,” he said. “We were married for more than 12 years. She left me for someone else. At the same time I lost her, my mom—I call my grandma my mom, was dying in Mexico. I couldn’t get back to (see her).”

It was a difficult time for Jose, one that got worse. He lost his apartment and had his kids with him on the streets before finding a shelter, where they stayed for six months. Then they stayed with Jose’s brother for a time.

When Jose’s ex-wife got housing with three bedrooms, Jose thought of his children. “I told her to take my kids with her (so they could have stable, safe housing). I felt like I lost my kids, and I didn’t see them too much. I started drinking more.”

In 2022, Jose went to Mexico for six months, and said he drank every day. “When I got back, I continued drinking,” said Jose, who knew he had a problem at that point. “I just prayed and said, ‘God, help me. I don’t want to drink anymore.’ He heard me say that and put me in jail.”

Jose felt like it was a blessing to be away from alcohol. But, unfortunately, during his two-month stay, he got some heartbreaking news. “I found out one of my son’s was killed. He got shot,” Jose said. “I didn’t know what to do in that time. They let me go out to see my son, to say goodbye at the cemetery. After that, I got out, and I came to this program.”

Jose arrived at the Mission last year when his daughter learned about the Life Recovery Program. “At the beginning, I didn’t know what I was going to do,” Jose said. “It was difficult. I was missing my kids. I already lost one of my kids. I wanted to be close to them. But now, I feel like I’m at home. I’m safe.”

Jose recently graduated the program and is now in the Mission’s transitional housing. “I feel at peace,” he said. “I just pray every day for (my family). I don’t always want to go anywhere else—I know I’ll think differently. At the same time, I know that one day I’m going to go out and live.

“I want to get a good job and help my kids however I can. I believe in one God who forgives. When I came here, I had never held a Bible in my hands. Now, I just continue to believe in him.”