Erik’s life turned upside down when his parents divorced when he was just 11. The family splitting up broke his heart, and it didn’t take long before he started using drugs and alcohol.
Even getting married didn’t slow down his use. Then, his wife kicked him to the streets. Close to rock bottom, Erik moved into crack housing in North Minneapolis. He closed the shades so no one would see him.
He started taking lots of drugs. “It was chaos,” Erik remembers. “I couldn’t keep a job, couldn’t stay in school, couldn’t pay bills. Nobody wanted to hang around me. I was high or drunk all the time, couldn’t keep my friends around me, couldn’t keep a job or stay in school. My drug of choice was more of whatever you’ve got, because I really had no boundaries.”
Though his wife had just served him divorce papers, she drove Erik to the Mission. “I drank beer the whole way there because I was so nervous,” Erik admits. “When they asked me how long it had been since I drank, I lied and said, ‘a couple of days.’”
When the Christ Recovery Center let him into the program, he prayed a three-word prayer:
“GOD HELP ME!”
Erik says your gifts offered him the time he needed to change his life and thinking and to open his heart to faith. He has also embraced prayer as a way to draw closer to God and to stay connected to the men in the program.
“When I came to the CRC, my cell phone had 30 names in it; now it has 500 names,” Erik says. “I scroll through those 500 contacts sometimes. I haven’t removed the names of those who have passed as a reminder that I need to stay committed to this program.”
Erik’s sobriety began 13 years ago. Thanks to you, he says he’s happier than he’s ever been. And now, he just started working for the Christ Recovery Center as an office assistant. “I wanted to have a job that had meaning,” Erik says. “When the Director called and offered me the position, I couldn’t refuse!”
Thanks to you, Erik has the opportunity to serve men who face similar situations like he was in. Over and over, he sees people walk out the door forever changed.
“The Mission is a house of miracles,” Erik says.