At forty years old, after decades of addiction and six years of homelessness, Jon’s pain pushed him to the point where he knew he must put everything he had into getting sober. Sitting in jail for the third time, facing a fourth sentence, he humbly reached out to his sister for help despite years of burned bridges in relationships. She heard the sincerity in his voice and knew he was ready for change… and she knew that change was possible at the Christ Recovery Center at Union Gospel Mission Twin Cities.
While his childhood was “wonderful,” it was not without its struggles, particularly with a mother who was addicted to alcohol and a family history of substance abuse. Jon kept secrets from his parents, including the use of alcohol at age eight and even hard drugs when he was just thirteen. Yet, he was always the kind of guy who thought he could handle it. Things looked alright from the outside.
He started a family with his partner, had three kids and stayed together for twelve years. But the grip of addiction in Jon’s life was immeasurably strong. “I was addicted to multiple hard drugs, and it was unsustainable. I blamed other people for my problems, and it just continued to deteriorate,” Jon recalls.
Even into his thirties, he thought he had enough power to overcome his addiction. “I’ve lost a lot of people to this disease, and lack of power was my dilemma,” he admits. “I ended up repeatedly going back to prison for decisions that I made, and it was because of my hopeless state of mind and body, because of my addiction.”
And there was not just one point of rock bottom. There were many before that call to his sister that got him to the Christ Recovery Center. “I’ve died six times from drug overdoses. I was very comfortable in a gutter,” Jon says. But eventually, he made that call. “I realized that I’m the only one who can change this.”
“People here have shown me what faith looks like in their life, and I want that.”
Right away, Jon knew that the Christ Recovery Center was different than any other treatment he had experienced. When he asked his sister how she found it, she said, “God found it.” Sure enough, Jon found God on his path to sobriety and credits his faith as the biggest factor in his journey to recovery. “I am so thankful for the aspect of God in this program because that’s what I was missing, and that’s what I was so afraid of at the same time,” he says. “I finally see the benefits of faith, and I’m just diving in. People here have shown me what faith looks like in their life, and I want that.”
Not only was God changing his life, but it was the sober community that gave him strength. Every staff member at the Christ Recovery Center has been through the program themselves. He looked around to see “CRC Brothers” and an alumni network who would show up to sponsor and mentor guys who were battling addiction. It made all the difference that “they know what I’m going through and that it can get better. I saw proof, and I wasn’t in a hopeless state anymore, because I saw it working in people’s lives.”
Now sober over twenty months, Jon is thriving. He is attending college for the first time in his life. He plans to become a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor (LADC) to work with others on their journey of sobriety. “That came from God, because God has a plan for me. I’ve got career plans. I have the belief that I can do it,” he says.
“God has a plan for me. I’ve got career plans. I have the belief that I can do it.”
He has even reconnected with family members including his estranged kids. It’s gone slower than he wishes, but he is remaining hopeful and patient. “Today I know if I stay sober and continue to help people around me in this community, reconnecting with my kids is just going to happen. And I’m gonna be a better person when it happens,” Jon says. His family is a big reason he works so hard to stay sober.
Jon’s life is radically different than the day he walked through the doors of the Christ Recovery Center. “Before I came to the Mission, I was hopeless, with no direction… faithless… really beat down,” he remembers. “Now that I’ve come to the Mission, I’ve got hope. I’ve got faith. I’ve got direction. I’ve got a future. And I also have nothing but hope that I will get back together with my family. And that’s what’s kept me safe for so long.”
Would you like to provide the programming and support that men like Jon need for a brighter future? Give today to change lives like Jon’s.
“I want to thank the donors because it is because of them that I get this unique style of treatment program that I’ve never seen anywhere else, but I am in a situation where I go to college. And through this place, God really works in miraculous ways, because I didn’t know that this was possible. And I’m getting Bs in college today!” —Jon, Christ Recovery Center Resident