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Desiree can’t quench her ‘hunger and thirst for Christ’
Desiree struggles to describe her difficult childhood. “It was very … dark. It was sporadic as far as stability. It was a lot of bouncing around to friends and family.” Her mom, who had her at 16, was a heroin addict and in and out of prison. “She wasn’t really present for most of my…
Joshua is baptized, finds acceptance while at Mission
Joshua recalled having an “unstable” childhood. After the deaths of both his grandparents in quick succession, Joshua, his mother, and two younger siblings found themselves living in their van and sleeping in motels. At 6 years old, Joshua tried methamphetamines. By middle school, Joshua was regularly smoking meth, getting into fights, and skipping school. In…
Angel finds peace, rediscovers his drive at Mission
“I couldn’t kill myself, so I wanted the cops to come in and shoot me,” Angel said. After years of turmoil, disappointment, heartbreak, and his mother’s death, an intoxicated Angel wanted to end his life. A fight with his father right before the incident was Angel’s breaking point. “I was holding everything in for a…
Gabby fights longtime addiction, approaches year of sobriety
She hopes to inspire others to come to the Mission Since Gabby’s grandparents and parents were both in their addiction during the majority of her childhood, Gabby was raised mostly by her great grandmother. “She would pick me up in the morning and I’d be with her all day long,” Gabby said. “She took me…
Jose feels ‘at peace’ after graduating 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…
Brandy works on overcoming trauma
She’s committed to healing through God Brandy is focusing on the positive. Despite having a lot of hard work ahead of her, she is happy to have found a safe place to live, a supportive sisterhood, and a blossoming relationship with God. “I’m just starting the Genesis Process, but I already know that I have…
Maria plans to help others after graduation
She was living on the streets before her arrival “It wasn’t a really good childhood,” Maria recalled. After relocating from Mexico to Santa Maria at the age of 7, Maria and her family – 10 people in total – lived in a single hotel room for 10 years. Maria’s mom and dad worked in the…
Program gives Dean time to regroup, focus on scripture
He encourages others to find God Dean knows it’s a “blessing” for him to still be alive. While intoxicated, Dean crashed into a car and broke his neck. However, because the other driver was on his cellphone at the time, Dean “got out of it.” A couple years later, under the influence, Dean went over…
Program helps Nadine find her ‘new beginning’
ENGLISH SPANISH Nadine, now 39, started smoking meth with friends at 17. When she had her first son, Brennan, at 19, she was clean during her pregnancy but relapsed a couple years later. This cycle continued when she had two more sons, Abel and Joshua. By the time her youngest was 4, Nadine was back…
After relapse, Ryan asks for help, enters sister mission
Ryan grew up playing sports, but also with a rare disease, which causes deterioration of the bones in the knees. “It’s like osteoporosis in kids,” he said. “They don’t know how to treat it or really how to manage it.” Ryan had more than a dozen knee surgeries throughout his late teens and 20s. With…
Erika is ‘walking into the light’ after years of darkness
She is excitedly welcoming Jesus into her life While her life didn’t go the traditional route, Erika was more or less “the responsible one” for most of her young life. She grew up in San Luis Obispo in a “dysfunctional family, so everything that comes with that,” Erika said, “verbal abuse, physical, visitation fights, substance…
Erik is in it for ‘the long run’ and committed to change
After 5 months in the Mission’s Life Recovery Program, he has a relationship with God for the first time Last year, while under the influence of drugs and alcohol, Erik decided he wanted to drive from his home in San Jose to Tijuana. “I hadn’t slept for days,” he said. “I was hearing voices. I…
