For the second year in a row, Lisa Erikkson and her family brought dozens of pizzas to the men at Union Gospel Mission Twin Cities… but what they really delivered was dignity, hope and humanity.
The pizzas were served on Father’s Day in memory of Lisa’s late ex-husband, Brian—or “BK” as many knew him. A talented chef and joyful soul, Brian loved feeding people, especially those who had little. He also lived with addiction for most of his adult life. When Lisa met him, he was eight years sober and mentoring others in recovery. She thought the struggle was behind him.
But addiction isn’t a choice. It’s a medical condition. It changes the brain in lasting, devastating ways. When BK relapsed, everything unraveled: his job, home and family. He became homeless again, sometimes staying at UGMTC or a nearby encampment. Yet even then, he gave what he could.
After his passing, those who had lived alongside him, some also experiencing homelessness, came forward to share stories of his generosity and encouragement. They remembered BK not as someone who suffered, but as someone who showed up for others, even when he had almost nothing.
Lisa now sees addiction differently… not through headlines or stereotypes, but through the man she loved. And she wants others to see it differently too… not as a moral failure, but as a medical issue that deserves compassion and treatment.
“All I can do is give people glimmers that they’re worth it.”
“(Some people) look at those who struggle with addiction and paint them as monsters,” she said. “But the ‘monsters’ people are seeing is the addiction—the chemical change in the brain that is making someone want the substance that will ruin their life. Our brains are so delicate, so easily altered. Then you combine that with mental illness, and it’s a tragedy. It’s a tragedy that needs to be focused on. I want people to understand the medical part that is so tragically turning people into monsters.”
The pizza party was her family’s way of restoring some of what addiction had taken from BK, and from others like him. Lisa, their daughter Sky, her son Everett, and other family members served BK’s favorite pizza, Little Oven, in the place where he once found warmth and community. Sky handed out flyers that read “In memory of BK” to share who he was and why his story matters.
As Lisa says, “All I can do is give people glimmers that they’re worth it.” That’s what they offered—one slice, one story, one glimmer at a time.