Things were looking very bright for me and I threw it all away,” says JonErik, a resident in our New Life Program.
After two years of sobriety, he was studying to become a substance abuse counselor and working as an intern in a ministry like ours. “I was doing counseling and running the kitchen and I loved it,” he says. But when the internship ended and he began a full-time job, the money, he believes, was a trigger. “I stopped doing the things that were keeping me sober, like going to meetings, reading the Bible and serving in church,” he says. It wasn’t long before he relapsed… and his life spun out of control.
“I went from having a job and pursuing a career to being homeless,” he explains. Knowing a long-term, faith-based program would be key to restoring his life, he came to Bridgeport Rescue Mission.
“I came into this program wanting to become a responsible man of God, and this program has allowed me to do that.”
Here, he believes the classes, the work therapy, the community and the love students have for one another have provided the foundation for a new beginning. Most importantly, he has surrendered his life to the Lord: “The Mission has allowed me to strengthen my relationship with God… to see the strengths He has equipped me with… and to know that I am created for something greater than the use of drugs and alcohol.”
He recently graduated from our program and plans to continue to pursue his career, strengthened by his own life experience. “I know that all things can be done through Christ,” he share
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