There was a time, not too long ago, that Anthony was on Skid Row in Los Angeles. “If I saw a needle on the ground with a little something in it, I would pick it up and stick it in my arm. That’s how bad it was. And I’m still here. … I can’t believe it.”

After marrying young and having three sons, Anthony stumbled into drugs after his divorce. His addiction, he said, led him to homelessness. “My heart doesn’t rest. I get loaded, run amuck, and cause problems. I’m running through these homeless communities with my shirt off, with a knife out. I’m ostracizing these people. I’m yelling at stop signs and trees. I’m homeless, filthy, but I’m still arrogant. That’s who I become.”

After spending days or weeks at a time in cities all over Southern California for years, Anthony found the mission. “They let me in here and I just submitted. I gave up my desires, my fears, my doubts, my anger, everything to God. I just asked him to use me in any way. He showed me that he brought me out of these things for a reason. I read scriptures every morning, and get involved in bible studies. The mission has given me the opportunity to anchor myself to the word.”

Anthony, 40, has completed six months in the Life Recovery Program and is doing well. “God pretty much points the way now. I don’t hold the reins on anything. I still have a lot of things I’m working on. It’s going to be a lifelong journey, but I like the path that I’m on. It’s been life changing.”

Anthony’s sons are now in their late teens and early-20s. One of them hasn’t spoken to Anthony in some time. “He just wants to be proud of his dad and not see a homeless dirt bag on a skateboard,” Anthony said. “I don’t want to be that guy anymore. … I’m really proud of all of them.”

“The most important thing about my story is that it starts and ends at the cross, because that’s exactly where my heart is and where God is directing me,” Anthony added. “That’s what I’m most proud of.”