For Steve, it took some tough love to get him the help he needed. After doing drugs off and on for 30 years, Steve still wasn’t ready to change his ways.

“My brother said, ‘You need help or you’re going to be out on the street.’ He has two little ones. He told me, ‘If you’re doing drugs, you can’t be around the kids. I want to be around my niece and nephew. I want to be in their lives.”

His brother’s best friend, someone Steve had known most of his life, had previously found success in the program, and came over to talk to Steve.

“He came over and told me, ‘If you’re not going to straighten up, we’ll make you straighten up.’ He grabbed me, pulled me out of my mom’s house and threw me on the ground. He said, ‘If you can’t get up, you’re going to the program.’

“Long story short, I entered the program. I was 52.”

Steve graduated from the program last November and has been living in transitional housing since. The mission helped him get hired at the nearby Goodwill thrift store. Steve also helps with intake of new clients and has gone to court to meet potential program applicants. And when he moves into a place of his own, Steve says he plans to come back and volunteer.

He credits his success to his commitment and the program’s staff and supporters. “In the past, I haven’t been ready,” Steve said. “I didn’t want it as much as I did this time. You have to want it for it to work. This program is a good investment. If it worked for me, it will work for anybody if they want it bad enough.”